I like the Pearl district. Other than my daughter (who is five), none of my friends seem to share my opinion. I understand why people grumble: Manufactured "lifestyle", trendy restaurants, trendier people, self-satisfaction, faux-urban cosmopolitanism, insert your favorite derogation (is that a word?) here. I've seen that place you're talking about. But that's not the Pearl district I visit with Sage. We go to Tanner Springs (my favorite Portland park) to count the fish; Jamison park to walk shoeless in the knee-deep fountain/pool; Lunch at Bridgeport, ice cream at Cool Moon, then take the street car to Powell's where we read books we'll never buy, then get coffee and/or cocoa from the charming young baristas at Peet's. Other days its surprisingly good sushi at Whole Foods Market, great assemble-your-own-lettuce-wrap-appetizers at PF Changs, or fabulously cheesy hazelnut beer bread at Rogue Brewery. We go in, we enjoy what we like, and we head out. Everyone tends to be friendly (of course, I am friendly first, and that makes a difference), finding on-street parking isn't awful, and I always enjoy myself.
But that's not why I'm writing. I just want to make that clear that I'm not a Pearl basher.
Whenever we go to Tanner Springs, I look around at the lofts that surround the one-block greenspace and I marvel at the empty porches. Saturday afternoons, Tuesday evenings, Friday nights, it doesn't seem to matter: There are 60 porches in view, yet in two years of visiting, I have only seen three people ever enjoying their porch. True, porches aren't for everyone, and these folks surely work most days to pay for these exorbitantly priced purchased-apartments, but it seems to me that one of the joys of having a porch-equipped loft in the Pearl would be the pleasure of sitting on said porch and admiring the sights and sounds of the neighborhood you paid so dearly to live in. Last night a splendid sunset silhouetted the Fremont Bridge and reflected off the various glass towers, yet I could see only one person on their porch. It puzzles me---no one stepping out to smoke cigarettes to prevent the loft from smelling of stale smoke? No one explaining their day over margaritas? No one reading the paper in the waning light of the day? No one sneaking a joint? It astonishes me.
I'm not even a yard dweller, yet if I had a Pearl loft, I'd buy a laptop so I could be writing this on the porch and some dorky guy below could look up and be relieved that at least some people take advantage of their opportunity. (“There's one! I think he's typing...and sipping a margarita...and is he smoking something?”) I love the people we encounter at the park (last night, every person was warm and smiley, and best of all, seemed to enjoy being warm and smiley), but I wish we could take advantage of some of that unused open-air real estate at the 80 feet level. Just like a musical instrument is made to be played and not stored, a porch with a downtown view shouldn't be allowed to go to waste. If you own one of those porches, email me---I have a pitcher of margaritas with your name on it.
2 comments:
You know what else (and let me make this clear, I *am* a Pearl basher, so I just want that known before I go saying something nice about it... hahahaha), the newly-built buildings around there are leading the way in rooftop gardens or "roofscaping" or "green roofs" (a practice that has many names). It's like a nifty little amenity that developers are using to set their buildings apart: Residents can go for a stroll in a rooftop garden.
Though it does have other non-aesthetic benefits. For the building itself, it decreases heating & cooling costs. And for the surrounding area, it helps with stormwater runoff by either pre-filtering it, or "pre-cycling" (another trendy term, which I think just means "using") it before it hits the storm sewers.
Of course since these gardens aren't visible from street level, data on whether the residents are utilizing or under-utilizing them would be somewhat harder for the non-resident to come by. So who knows, maybe all those balcony-neglecters are all hangin' out up on the roof. Or more likely (i.e. my personal pet theory), the type of person who appreciates simple pleasures like "just being" on their balcony, doesn't correlate highly with the type of person who is ego-driven enough to (1) accumulate the wealth required, and (2) be sufficiently impressed with the Pearl District, to live there. Sort of analogous to the classic complaint about how those who would make the best leaders have no particular desire to get into politics. I think it takes someone like you, to unlock the secrets of what's true and good down there.
Rooftop gardens? Awww man, like they weren't blessed enough with the porches.
Years ago, before it was called the Pearl, we spent a year at the Honeyman Hardware Lofts, and I knew the super well enough to join him on the roof now and then for a smoke. There was no garden, but it was lovely to be up there (nine stories) in solitude, even above the noise. It always seemed a shame that it wasn't a utilized space. (But the insurance company forbade it, I'm sure. Might have some idiot fall off and sue the building for not adequately planning for the faller's stupidity.)
"Unlock the secrets of what's true and good"---I like the sound of that. I wish it was my job description.
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