21 September 2005

[pdx_life] A Header Image Changed In Memory of Zim's

Dig, if you will, the picture above.

According to a story in this last Sunday's new High-Def Oregonian, in the "O!" section (if A&E got upset when The O debuted that self-named section, I wonder when Her Oprahness is going to get all up ons) Margie Boulé commented that this wonderfully kitschy sign, which commanded the intersection of SE 223rd Ave (a.k.a Fairview Avenue) in Alto Gresham for decades now, has come down.

They are going to turn Zim's Shopping Center-or what's left of it (which was latterly a Yamaha dealership then an indoor go-cart run) into a corner of a car lot.

Thank God. I was worried they weren't going to cover eastern Multnomah County in car lots before 2012. Looks like they're ahead of schedule now.

Margie's point in the article was that there is precious little around anymore that's wonderful and odd in a roadside-sort-of way. With the loss of the Zim's sign, Greater Portland looks a little more like Greater EverywhereElse.

So, for the time being, Zim's will virtually command the intersection of Zehnkatzen street and Times Avenue.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't belive they're going to tear that down! I think thats one of the coolest things in Gresham. I remember actually pulling over to get a better look at it the first time I drove past it. Thats a shame.

Samuel John Klein said...

I think thats one of the coolest things in Gresham

Not to mention, one of the tallest things in Gresham.

This says a lot to me about Gresham, and one reason it gets little respect as a major Oregon city (it's Oregon's fourth largest behind Portland, Salem, and Eugene-bet you didn't know). Aside from the Mount Hood Jazz Festival, there's very little remarkable about Gresham. There's very little "there" there.

Buzz has it that they are going to be working on that. But as long as quirky commerical landmarks fall, there will be little personality, and everywhere will just wind up looking and feeling like everywhere else.