Ever thought what kind of damage a nuclear device would do to the Portland metro area? No? Well, wonder no more. I’ve always had a grim fascination with end times – especially on film or in written form- whether that’d be germ warfare that wipes out most of the population except for a few survivors… Read More End times
Once boasting air conditioning, ample free parking, color TV and direct dialing phones, the Riverside West Motor Hotel has been reborn as the swanky new Hotel Fifty. Here’s a shot from approximately the early 60s: And here’s the now shot: Me likey. Hotel Fifty boasts the H5O bistro & bar, and according to the web… Read More Riverside West reborn as…Hotel Fifty
Then: Now: Broadway in Portland is kind of a boring stretch these days. On the other hand, it also has more trees than it did in 1955 when the above postcard was snapped [my clue was the 1955 “It’s Always Fair Weather” being screened on the theater on the right]. Of course, The Jackson Tour… Read More The late, great Broadway
“Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. Nostalgia literally means ‘the pain from an old wound.’ It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. It goes backwards, and forwards… it takes us to a place where we ache to go again.” – Don Draper So, what years do you consider the good… Read More The good old days
It’s not all kooky 50s architecture, wacky mid-century motels and obvious nods to Don Draper around here. Let’s get heavy. Though it hasn’t been updated in more than a year the local crime blog Slabtown Chronicle is still a favorite of mine. A mixture of current crime, history and mayhem, it’s a fantastic read of… Read More The Milwaukie “Torso Murder” of 1946
Many of the posts on Lost Oregon are neither lost and sometimes not even in Oregon [Vancouver is close enough to fall under my radar]. But, the Monte Carlo is a truly lost relic. Here’s a scan from the early 1960s Portland Fun Guide [loaned to me by Dan at Cafe Unknown which reminds me… Read More Lost: The Monte Carlo on Belmont
The cool kids at Portland’s Mid-Century Modern League shot me over a press release announcing a show they’re putting on. It’s a retro slide show performance by “pop-culture humorist” and author Charles Phoenix, celebrating 50s and 60s tourist traps, theme parks, car culture, space age style, parties, holidays and more. Phoenix also promises to bring… Read More The United States of Charles Phoenix
A reader writes: Back in the late 80s/early 90s, when I was attending PSU, I used to park down toward the end of Water Ave. and walk up the hill on Caruthers to get to my classes. (The uphill trudge was hell, but the parking was free.) Along the way, there was a house that… Read More The “Bates Motel” on Caruthers
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