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Troutdale's downtown area, that several blocks of Historic Columbia River Highway paralelling the I-84 freeway, is a very prim and tidy place.
The impression one gets is that it was maybe the set on a back lot for an American small town downtown. This is not a bad thing: it's neat and nifty and comfortable, not too large and perhaps a bit small for a town of about 17,000 people ... but it's on the edge of the greatest commercial shopping area in Oregon, so there're other places very close by to do business.
And, strangely enough, there is a Western town vibe. Maybe it's the squarish storefronts, I don't know. History teachers, when I was a kid, were fond of pointing out that the American frontier ... the so-called "Wild West", stereotyped in story and Spaghetti western ... was, indeed, east of the Willamette Valley.
But the feeling is here. A bit glossy, and without the chunky type font, but it's here.
The sound of the train going through downtown helps that a bit.
Even the City Hall is a modest place, fitting in, not drawing too much attention to itself. Prim, proper, tidy, and above all, just doin' its job.
The impression one gets is that it was maybe the set on a back lot for an American small town downtown. This is not a bad thing: it's neat and nifty and comfortable, not too large and perhaps a bit small for a town of about 17,000 people ... but it's on the edge of the greatest commercial shopping area in Oregon, so there're other places very close by to do business.
And, strangely enough, there is a Western town vibe. Maybe it's the squarish storefronts, I don't know. History teachers, when I was a kid, were fond of pointing out that the American frontier ... the so-called "Wild West", stereotyped in story and Spaghetti western ... was, indeed, east of the Willamette Valley.
But the feeling is here. A bit glossy, and without the chunky type font, but it's here.
The sound of the train going through downtown helps that a bit.
Even the City Hall is a modest place, fitting in, not drawing too much attention to itself. Prim, proper, tidy, and above all, just doin' its job.
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