Union Station Portland

Dear Liza,

The other day I got to take Cousins Jasper and Kestrel and head into another part of Portland I hadn’t been to yet: North of the Pearl District to Jameson Square. It was journey of transit and imagination.

I walked down to Auntie Katie’s shop, Books with Pictures, to pick them up, and we got on the Orange Line train. It took us through downtown and all the way up to Union Station, which was built in 1896. Being so close, I couldn’t help but step inside. It has been in use for over 120 years, so it has been redecorated, but has kept that lovely vintage look…giant clocks, shiny floors, and neon everywhere.

This train station is actually in my story of 1903 Portland. I had to stop for a few minutes to mentally erase the car traffic and picture horse carriages pulling in to fetch passengers. I love being in a space where the past overlaps so perfectly with the present.

We walked a few blocks between the tall glass and stone apartments and office buildings, playing Adventure. This is an ongoing, free-style fantasy game, where we create our characters. Jasper becomes a human/dragon hybrid, Kestrel channels her inner baby water dragon, and I am the Grandma horse who can fly. We fight invisible foes and overcome obstacles. Imagination makes everything better. The high rise buildings became sheer cliffs as we walked through the canyon.

At Jameson Square, we found that the water feature was turned off for the winter, and the waterfalls became cliffs to climb. We also found a stone bear, which Kestrel immediately named Viny, who took us flying. We talked about seeing what was on the tops of the ‘cliffs’, like gardens, helicopter landing places, and barbecues.

The passage to Tanner’s Square Park is a lovely paved path lined with camellias, but Jasper named it Marauder’s Passage and found all sorts of pitfalls to make it interesting.

Viny the bear became invisible came along with us, reminding me of how the Panther at Hartnell College walks along with you and me as we adventure in Salinas.

I will tell you about the rest of our adventure tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

I am still researching about Portland history, and I’m learning so much! Besides the history, I am learning about how to get around Portland without driving. Yesterday I needed to get to 501 North Dixon, a part of town I had never been in. That’s where the Portland Public Schools keep their archives.

Googlemaps told me there was no transit solution, and I should walk. Almost 4 miles, one way? Carrying research on my back? Um, nope. Thanks anyway, Google.

I chatted with Steven Hanks, the fellow at the District who was pulling files for me. He suggested the number 17 bus, which passes within a few blocks of the office. Grandpa Nelson suggested the Portland Streetcar. There were so many options, and the only way to see which was best was to do them. I chose the bus method first, taking the number 15 downtown, walking a few blocks, and catching the 17.

Downtown Portland always show me something new. This time it was that a 13 block stretch of SW Stark Street was renamed Harvey Milk Street in June of this year. I am proud of my city for recognizing this important gay activist. Well, first I was confused, because I was looking for a bus stop on Stark. But then I was proud.

Catching the 17 took me through the Pearl District and old Chinatown, past the fabulously old Union Station, where people have been catching trains since 1896. Then over the Broadway Bridge and into Northeast Portland. Down in the second sub-basement was Steven, who had found all sorts of wonderful history for me.

As I learn more about schools of 1903, my story keeps adapting. I have been a teacher too long to play fast and loose with facts. So the walking field trip in my story had to get written out, because there were no ‘field trips’ in American elementary schools in the early 1900s. “Kids in school should stay in school”, was the thought. I had included a scene in the school cafeteria, but schools of that time didn’t have them. Kids ate lunches brought from home at their classroom desks. As it is often said, good stories are not written. They are re-written, and re-written…

Heading home, I decided to try Grandpa Nelson’s suggestion, because the Portland Streetcar was as close as the bus. The A Loop runs clockwise, the B Loop, counterclockwise, in a large oval from the Eastside to the Westside of the city. The A Loop would take me within a block of the number 15 for my trip home, so I waited in the Fall sunshine by a delightfully ‘retro’ shelter.

On the streetcar I chatted with folks visiting from Massachusetts and a potter who works at the Radius Community Art Studio, just under the Morrison Bridge. Another new place to explore!

Walking from the Streetcar to the bus stop, I realized I was fading fast and needed a snack. A perfect opportunity to try the NEW place that smells so good: Pufflewaffle! This pretty shop just opened last month. They sell Pufflewaffles, which are unique, cake-like made-to-order waffles which look like tiny round pillows sewn together. They are sweet and light, and rolled around ice cream. After that, I was ready to make my way home, where I rested and thought about how lucky I am to live here.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tag: Union Station Portland

Another Transit Adventure, Part 1

North to Dixon Street