Friday, August 12, 2011

Hodgepodge Friday

I worked a bit on "Nest" Thursday evening.  The weather and temperature were perfect.  It was so pleasant to be outside. I try and store up days like this to pull out and remember on a dark, gray January day.

One of my treasured memories will be my weekend in Portland, OR.
These shots are a hodgepodge of items which caught my eye... 

After the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922, bits of Egypt show up in local architecture.  This relief was on a building on the P.S.U. campus.

Simon Benson's 1900 Queen Anne home was saved from demolition, and moved to the P.S.U. campus.  Isn't it lovely?

Benson was an interesting man - a successful businessman and generous philanthropist.  He was born in Norway, lived in Wisconsin, then moved to Portland in 1880.  He bought tracts of timber - revolutionizing logging with the introduction of the donkey steam engine, and Benson sea-going rafts.  
His generosity was amazing - his gifts included the land that is now Multnomah Falls Recreation Area - an iconic Oregon Park...and these water fountains!  There are 20 throughout downtown Portland. They were build to encourage workmen to drink something other than alcohol in the middle of the day.  They are fondly know as "Benson Bubblers".  

I love this sign in downtown Portland - those with good eyes will note that Tipperary is "a long way."

MAX provides great fast public transportation to the suburbs east and west of Portland.

I worry about the long-term prognosis for this tree!

These three pig statues, complete with chains around their necks, reside on NW 23rd.

This water feature is the main draw for a small park in the Pearl District of Portland.  The falls create a large shallow pool which is the delight of the toddler set! 

Hope you enjoyed the tour! 

4 comments:

MoonBeam said...

The Queen Anne home is magnificent. Thank goodness it has been saved and cared for.

Bobbi

Sarah Beth said...

Portland looks like a great place to visit for sure. So the train goes down the middle of the streets? Doesn't that make it dangerous to get off because they are surrounded by traffic? Tell me more about it.

Gillie said...

Thanks for the tour. Did you visit the rose garden? We did, in the rain, so felt quite at home, lol! There is plenty of space, Sarah Beth, to wait until it is safe to cross!

Gabi said...

Lovely stitching.
Beautiful pictures of Portland. I never was there. Queen Anne's home looks fantastic. How in heaven do you move something like that? Puzzles me. But they sure did a good job with it.