March 01, 2005
All The Right Moves
Where The Hell Do We Want To Live?
While we are working on a couple of different items that amount to actual content here, we must take a brief moment to ask a question that may or may not be purely rhetorical: Why is it that, apparently, most of the really neat turn-of-the-century brickers (and other compelling buildings from that era) are located in Northwest Portland?
As we continue to give some preliminary attention to the various possibilities for our eventual move to some other area of Portland, we've mainly focused on downtown or the very, very, close-in Central Eastside (the only part which has the potential to keep us on this side of the river). But lately, as we have mused more directly upon what sort of place we'd like to live in, we've noticed that it's much easier to find the types of buildings that appeal to us most in an area of town we've never considered.
We're not interested in newer space, especially. It's older buildings, from the early 1900s, that draw our interest. But, as we said, all the interesting ones appear to be in Northwest.
Do we really want to start considering Northwest Portland as an option? It's not that we particularly have anything against that part of the City -- we just never thought about it until we noticed the prevalence of the "right" type of building over there.
Comments (14)
Justin on 01 Mar 2005
NW Portland is definately a little too trendy for you B!X. But it is a really beautiful part of the city.
doretta on 01 Mar 2005
I thought you had your heart set on downtown? Surely you don't count NW as downtown?
If you aren't committed to downtown, give us some more details about the kind of building you're looking for and the other things you want in a place to live.
There are a lot of us on here who live in a lot of different parts of the city.
The One True b!X on 01 Mar 2005
Surely you don't count NW as downtown?
Well, no. That's why I said I had never thought of moving to NW.
Cat on 01 Mar 2005
The apartment buildings in NW are pretty great...living in NW isn't too bad despite the fancy people. Just walk on 22nd and 24th instead of 23rd. The older buildings on Vista and St. Clair just across Burnside are also interesting. Would they count as downtown?
Sally on 01 Mar 2005
"The apartment buildings in NW are pretty great...living in NW isn't too bad despite the fancy people. Just walk on 22nd and 24th instead of 23rd. The older buildings on Vista and St. Clair just across Burnside are also interesting. Would they count as downtown?"
That's Goose Hollow. I lived there till I got chased out by cockroaches. Word to the wise or anyone looking. Rumor has it there's no small infestation in those quarters, and when they infest a building, you cannot keep them out of your space.
Sullivan's Gulch might be worth checking out, b!X -- close in and good transport, ie, Max along with the busses. Plus the walk into town over the Broadway Bridge is coolsville.
The One True b!X on 01 Mar 2005
If you aren't committed to downtown, give us some more details about the kind of building you're looking for and the other things you want in a place to live.
The overarching and general criteria has tended to be this: I want to be somewhere closer to the urban end of the spectrum, and less close to the residential neighborhood of houses end of the spectrum.
That's the trick.
Beyond that, the other trick is that it's difficult to find a comparable situation. Currently, I'm sitting in a 700 square foot (or so) one-bedroom, and I don't pay more than $600 a month for it, although utilities are extra.
Dropping the footage doesn't concern me, although I think I'd go crazy if I dropped much below 600 -- but because I juggle bills as it is with this site as my job, the total of rent and utilities needs to be in the general area of rent plus utilities I pay now.
Such places do exist, here and there -- they just all seem to end up having fatal flaws, such as the one on the block that's going to be razed by a church. Heh.
The One True b!X on 02 Mar 2005
Anyone know anything about this building?
The One True b!X on 02 Mar 2005
Actually, doesn't much matter because (1) they are rented, and (2) I have a problem with people renting apartments who can't answer the question about suqare footage with anything more than a vague, "Well, I'd be guessing, but..."
Advice: Measure your damned apartments if you're renting them.
Jack Peek on 03 Mar 2005
There is a really nice one bedroom on SE 75TH near Marysville grade school....you can help some really nice folks with their "issues" an gain some insight to a neighborhood you have ignored.
The "neighbors" are a bit disturbed as too what direction they will take next, but I think if you write about it in the "COMMUNIQUE" it would help us all.
Oh that's right, you wrote about it once before, the story of the "AGITATED MAN".
The neighbors take walks by themselfs past the school, you could interview them about how they got too my neighborhood..OH THAT'S RIGHT YOU DONT DO CRIME WRITING. Think about it..LOVE TO HAVE YOU.
The One True b!X on 03 Mar 2005
I'll narrow down what "Central Eastside" means to me in this context, as long as I'm basically discussing ideals and not necessarily doable reality: No further east than 12th, no further south than, say, Madison/Hawthorne, and no further north than Burnside-ish.
And, technically, closer to Burnside than Hawthorne.
Doug Klotz on 05 Mar 2005
The building in no. 7 (7th and Morrison) is I believe owned by REACH (a CDC), as are several further north on Grand. It's urban, but this ain't NW 23rd. The folks who live in these buildings are, lets say, "colorful".
One that strikes my fancy is on Taylor at SE 6th (diagonally across from Rejuvenation). It's a brick building, with some interesting checkerboard patterns near the cornice, and (a plus!) a bar tucked in on the ground floor. However, the bus service is limited to the 6 on Grand/king, unless you walk to Morrison. The building on Morrison is better transit-wise.
Are you aware that Gerding/Edlin has bought the Grand Central Bowl building? Could bring some changes to that immediate vicinity. Also, the night club Holocene is about a block away.
There's another fine brick building, the Melcliff Apartments, located at 711 SW 11th. I like the stained-glass name over the entrance.
Doug Klotz on 05 Mar 2005
It's not brick, but there's an amazing apartment building on NE Couch at about 6th. It's three story wood siding, with giant 2-story classical columns on the front. With the 6, the 12, 19, and 20, it's pretty good transit wise, and you could walk to Metro meetings.
Of course, Couch will get busier there when the Burnside/Couch couplet becomes a reality.
The One True b!X on 05 Mar 2005
There's another fine brick building, the Melcliff Apartments, located at 711 SW 11th. I like the stained-glass name over the entrance.
SE, you mean. Yeah, I passed that the other day on my way home from KBOO, and promptly once home went to look it up. Heh.
tom on 14 Mar 2005
Bix must move to somewhere in the SE, it is his density..destiny, something like that.