Day 231: Strange Window Display

Walked past this store downtown.....not sure what any of it means, but thought it was interesting

Day 203: Father Daughter Duo

This Father-Daughter duo was entertaining a small crowd at the Portland Saturday Farmer's Market. Some musicians are hired to perform on the stages in the market, but most are like this pair who find a good spot and then make people smile as they pass.

Day 147: Saint Helens Over Portland

Mount Saint Helens could be seen over this great vista of downtown Portland on this beautiful clear day!  I took the photo from the Arial Tram up to OHSU - which gives one of the best views of Portland, I think!

Day 145: Drake Peak, carved in stone

This building in downtown Portland has these carved stones along it's outside wall that show the different peaks around Oregon. This one shows Drake Peak, which measures 8,406ft or 2,562 m.

Day 144: Parking station

 No more of those coin drop meters for Portland!  This is a parking station - they are found all around town, and especially downtown. You can use either a credit card or coins to pay for your parking time.  Many meters, like this one, have a time limit (in this case 90 minutes) - you cannot pay for more than that and you cannot park in this area for longer than an hour and a half.  Once you pay, a small ticket prints and you place it inside your car in a window that faces the curb. You can also buy a ticket in one station and then move your car within the allotted time - using the same ticket. Very convenient if you're running errands or such!

Day 132: Fire escapes

Beautiful day with fire escapes climbing high towards the sky.  This reminds me a little of New York.

Day 129: Takin' a break

It's cold work for city workers who work outside in these winter months. This fellow stepped inside a starbucks to take a short break.

Day 128: Pay to Park

Most of downtown Portland is "Pay to Park". After finding a parking spot, you put money (or credit card) into a payment machine and receive a small ticket to place in the curb-side window. The ticket lists the date and the time at which your parking expires.  You do not have to stay in the same parking spot for the entirety of that time - as long as your time has not expired, you can park anywhere (street parking) downtown. Most curb-side parking has a limit as to how many hours you can stay parked in that one area ranging from 15 minutes to 5 hours. Parking used to be free on Sundays, but as you can see here, you now must pay from 1pm-5pm.  City life....

Day 123: Benson Bubbler

This is no ordinary drinking fountain. There are 52 of these special, 4-bowl drinking fountains found in the downtown Portland area. They are Benson Bubblers - named after an entrepreneur in the early 1900s who donated money to the city to set up drinking fountains to keep workers from getting so intoxicated (as going for a beer was the only way to quench one's thirst at that time)

Day 121: Cork Window

I couldn't help but notice this entire window wall full of wine corks at Porto Terra Italian restaurant. That is a LOT of corks!!

Day 120: Recycling Everywhere

Even on the streets of downtown, there are plenty of opportunities to recycle. This trash can stands next to a "regular" trashcan. With compartments for paper, plastic and glass, there is not much need for the other can!

Day 119: Umbrella Man

 This statue "Allow Me" by J. Seward Johnson was gifted to the City of Portland by a New York artist. You can tell this man is a New Yorker and not a Portlander because 1.he's wearing a suit and tie (Portland is generally much more casual) and 2.he's carrying an umbrella.... here, a hoodie or hat is the choice item to fend off the constant rain!  Still, it's a fun statue!

Day 114: Portlandia

Many people are familiar with the TV show "Portlandia", but the name was not made up for TV. In fact, this giant statue (which is several stories tall - her hand is the size of a person!) is the original PORTLANDIA. The statue sits a couple stories above street level on the Portland building downtown and is the second largest copper statue in the United States (the first being the Statue of Liberty).  She is quite impressive!

Here is a fond farewell to 2012. It has been great, but I welcome 2013 with open arms!

Day 109: Winter Themed Window

Brooks Brothers got into the winter theme in their window display - might be the only snow we see this year.....

Day 108: A TALL order Christmas Tree!

The AMAZING! Christmas Tree downtown in Pioneer Courthouse Square this year is a 75-foot tall Douglas Fir, which was gifted to the city by Stimson Lumber company - a sustainable lumber company.  Did you know that a large percentage of Christmas Trees sold all around the United States are grown in Oregon?!?

Day 107: Vintage Santa

In case you still haven't finished your Christmas shopping, this vintage display in an antique store downtown offers some holiday gift suggestions.

Day 106: O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

How lovely are they branches! These beautiful, large, LED lights decorate the branches of the Christmas Tree in downtown Portland in Pioneer square. According to the city, the 14,000 (!!) LED lights that adorn the tree use 91% less energy and last 50% longer than traditional Christmas lights. Portland, the environmentalist!

Day 37: Mission line

line of homeless along Burnside waiting for breakfast

Even on this rainy morning, there was a long line of homeless / poor stretched down the sidewalk along side W Burnside. In this section of blocks closest to the River is a collection of missions, shelters and food kitchens.  Morning and evening people are lined, often for blocks, at whichever door will offer them some nourishment.  This was especially sad today because it was raining.

Day 35: For the Love of Cars

Mural in downtown Portland

This huge mural is 4 stories tall and I found it really fun as I sat at a stoplight in downtown Portland. It's obviously an advertisement, but a fun one ... and it's Portland!

Day 34: Bike Lanes

Green Bike Lanes at some intersections

Portland is a very bike friendly city. There are bike lanes on many, if not most, busy streets. Some streets, though, go even a step further. These green areas denote "bike only" places to stop at stop lights. Of course it extends to the intersection in the right lane, but if you look closely you can see that it also includes some area in front of the car (in the car lane) so that bikes can approach and get in front of cars - for turning or simply for better visibility.