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Friday, November 12, 2010
Broadway - Portland, Oregon
I'm back in Portland after a trip to Hawaii, hoping that the sunshine I stored up will carry me through the cold, wet winter.
Here's an old view of Broadway in Portland, Oregon and the same view today. There are no longer streetcars on Broadway, but bike lanes have been added. The first building on the right is the Benson Hotel, which has changed little over the years. The Liberty Theater, with its Statue of Liberty (on the right, under the American flag) and its Wurlitzer organ is sadly no longer there.
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It's always enjoyable to see how much (and in some cases how little) has changed.
ReplyDeleteHallo Christine, der Rundblick über euren Broadway ist klasse. Google Streetview ist wirklich interessant. In Deutschland wird es sehr kontrovers diskutiert, man befürchtet den Eingriff in die Privatsphäre und tatsächlich, auch wenn Streetview Vorteile bietet, es innert schon ein wenig an Orwells 1984, findest du nicht?
ReplyDeleteScönes Wochenende in Oregon wünscht dir
Janine
Glad you're back on the mainland, Christine. No offense to Hawaii-philes, but I couldn't relate.
ReplyDeleteJanine, you're right. There's at least one jurisdiction I know of here in the States where video surveillance has been used to bully and harass people where there's no evidence of criminal behavior. Jack/Youngstown
Welcome back Christine. I hope you have an easy transition into Old Man Winter. Yet another great street scene from your collection. I'm jealous of those bike lanes. I wish we had them here.
ReplyDeleteJanine,
ReplyDeletePrivatsphäre? Das gibt's ja kaum noch, aber du hast natürlich recht.
Jack and Brian - thanks for the welcome back. Jack, the architect who steals my covers is also not a big fan of Hawaii, but I have to tell you I miss the daily swims in warm ocean water.
Welcome back and thanks for the great HI postcard! I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great street scene of Portland. These urban views are becoming my favorite vintages postcards!
In my not so humble opinion, these views suggest this section of Broadway's streetscape has not fared so well over the years, primarily due to two newer buildings: The addition to the Benson- just after the original building's awning on the right- and the first building on the left, an abomination by Pietro Belluschi, which has the gall to suggest that putting an open parking lot at street level under your building is an improvement to what was a cohesive urban environment... Belluschi did some excellent buildings in Portland, must have been asleep at the wheel on this one though. Fortunately, there is one beneficial addition- the second building on the left is the U.S. National Bank, by A.E. Doyle, which not only has great street presence, but also has a beautiful 2-story banking hall which is little changed since 1917. And although the streetcars have been banished from Broadway, the light rail line runs parallel just one block to the south.
ReplyDeleteNeat! The streets look surprisingly the same, I think. God, I love Google Street View!! It makes postcards even more fun.
ReplyDelete