I heart Stumptown Confidential
A sincere word to everyone who is following the accidental series "The Address Nerd...". Thanks everybody. It's turning out to be a ton of fun. We all, I suppose, have those things we like to obsess on, and then, later, it turns out you were busy finding answers to all the questions that everybody had but didn't really know they wanted to ask. I have that feeling now
Mad stoopid props to Scholckstar and the inimitable Stumptown Confidential, who posted an entry about my blabbing about my hobbyhorse and, consequently, attracting more visitors to my site than anything else I've done. Thank you, Schlockstar, and thanks, visitors. Your humble attention has made my days
There's more Address Nerdery to come. It seems that once I've gone over a topic there's another one I find I want to go over, or something I've overlooked. I have, amongst other things, a couple of treasured maps of Portland that date from the 1920's-1930's. These are wonders to see. Also, I have a collection of Portland maps that extend from that time to the present day.
And when I'm done with that, I have a bunch of maps from other cities whose plans fascinate me. I have, collected from various sources, somewhere between 500 and 1000 maps (if not more...I just gave up counting after about 500) of cities across America and around the world.
Research continues into Vitamin "R"
The consumption of rum is, as I've touched on from time to time, one of the occasional adult pleasures we adults around House SunDial take. We've found a couple of new ones that are quite delightful.
They're big name brands, which is all the more surprising. We've been through the Cruzan Estate Dark (aged 2 years) and found it worthy for mixing and sipping neat. But the big surprises were from two stalwart, somewhat pedestrian names: Captain Morgan and Bacardi.
Captain Morgan has a dark, sweet rum out ther called "Tattoo". It tastes a little like blackstrap but has a hint of berry...blackberry perhaps...in. Okay for sipping neat, better if mixed (with my personal favorites: Diet Dr Pepper and a bit of Blue Curacao (the blue is for the beautiful deep color you get when you shine a light through)). Moreover, C.M. Tattoo goes better with diet Vanilla Pepsi than regular C.M. Spiced does.
The other is Bacardi Vanilé. Simply, Bacardi white rum with vanilla. Sounds a bit facile, what with the current Bacardi and Absolut trend toward flavoring thier signature spirit with every essence under the sun, but unexpectly good. This one mixes well, but I highly recommend this one neat.
As always, drink responsibly. That means, don't drive, and if you're on any alcohol abuse program, stay the hell away. I should have to add this?
Travels of The Wife[tm]
Late tonight...much later tonight...The Wife[tm] will return from her trip to the SCA's Known World Heraldic Symposium, which was held in Boulder-Longmont Colorado. I didn't go. I stayed home and worked - after all, you know how much a ticket to Denver costs?
But my lady is good enough that the SCAdians involved scraped together the money to bring her. Needless to say, I very proud.
The weekend has been long, what with not only going off the The Company Which Must Not Be Named but also coming home to house and just cats. We're all kind of rattling about. Part of us is not here, and we know it.
But in a comforting detail, she's called back as often as she could. She's seen SCA heraldic movers'n'shakers, drunk some really fine whisky and wine, and generally had a ground-burner of a time. Also this is surreal: she sounds no farther away, but she really is farther away.
She'll be back tonight. And we'll dine out...most likely Tik Tok...and go home and just be together. That's what it's all about.
By Samuel John Klein of Portland, Oregon - Graphic Designer without Portfolio, aspiring artist who dawdled too long.
2 comments:
Mr. Klien - interesting blog that I have been following because we hope to retire in Portland to be near the kids --
Anyhow, your reference to maps piqued my interest. My father's birth certificate - 1893- shows that his parents lived at 17th and T - would that now be 17th and Tillamuck?
Thanks, Chris Jones, Wheaton, Illinois
First thing, thanks for the compliment. I'm happy that you are enjoying the ongoing blab.
To your question:I doubt, at least in so far as I'm aware, that 17th and T in 1893 is what we call today NE 17th Ave and Tillamook (which is what I think you meant by "Tillamuck").
Based on what I know about the development of Portland (while it's better than some and less good than others), the most likely possiblilty is that spot is what is in what we now call NW Portland.
This area was originally laid out as alphabetically-lettered and sequenced streets crossing numbered streets (Avenues as numbers only dates from about 1930). In the Great Renaming, notable local people's names got applied to them. Therefore, A for Ankeny (Capt. Ankeny), B for Burnside (David Burnside), C for Couch (Capt. Couch) &c.
The big clue, to me, comes from the fact that you mention the intesection of "17th and T". There is no directional. This strongly suggests a location on the west side, T Street, having no eastside counterpart, would have no directional. The only place on the westside where that would be possible in those days would be what would be today north of Burnside, and T Street was renamed to NW Thurman St. 17th St would be properly called "17th St North", but the "north" suffix may have been elided because saying "17th and T" told the local all they needed to know, and people tend to use the short form whenever they can.
We still do that today. For instance, if I say "39th and Powell", locals know that means "SE" without my having to add it. "82nd and Sandy"...same thing, a local would add "NE" in thier mind. I bet that, in 1893, if someone said "17th & T" they know that it was "17th St North" without having to be told; it's the only place those two streets would have crossed.
So, bottom line, and pending further investigation, I'd say that the location you specified to me would today be NW 17th Avenue and Thurman Street. This would be in ZIP code 97209.
Today that's an industrial area transitioning into a retail/office/residential area. On the NW corner is a light industrial building that housed a cabinetmaker up until recently and at one time was a corner tavern; on the NE corner is a 6-story office building which at one time housed a tire distrubutor; on the SE corner is a bistro that not so long ago was a small machine parts company, and on the SW corner is Premier Tool and Die, which is apparently still a going concern. Most likely, the building your grandparent's residence was razed many years ago to make way for industrial development.
Feel free to contact me by email (or follow up if you prefer) if you have any other questions.
Post a Comment