Eyesore

Posted on 2013-06-27 by Ken

Another of the dingy landmarks I’ve been passing by since I moved here came down in the past few weeks.

I was walking by 218 SW Jefferson and noticed I could see light inside and the rafters were exposed.

Circling the block told the rest of the story.

Over a century old, it was at one point used by the Pendleton Woolen Mills company. The company still has a sizeable presence in Oregon with administrative and woolen mill facilities in the state, and even a bit of manufacturing capability.

It’s of simple design, but I always thought it had a minimalistic appeal. I’m certain it was seismically unsafe though, which is proving to be the kiss of death for many of Portland’s more humble historic properties.

Meanwhile across the river, the burned out hulk of the Taylor Electric Company building at 240 SE Clay seems to be getting a new lease on life. From the look of the renders of the project at least part of the original structure will be retained as a barrier around the parking lot for the new complex and possibly as part of the structure for the new building on the site. Seems to be a popular option for making use of some of the old bones of industrial buildings around the city.

Demolition

Posted on 2013-03-22 by Ken

This shady old eyesore has been a blight on the corner of 18th and Northrup as long as I’ve lived in Portland, and possibly well before.

Sad to see it go if only because it had become so familiar.

I hope something interesting goes in its place and it isn’t left as a vacant lot scar in the city fabric.

Nike Site Summit 2005

Posted on 2012-03-09 by Ken

Another Anchorage NIKE site, Summit, is located near the Arctic Valley ski area in the Chugach mountains. Since being decommissioned in 1979 it had deteriorated considerably, thanks to the harsh weather, vandals, and military training exercises. I paid a visit to the launch bunkers and surrounding buildings in 2005.

They were rather decrepit, and completely open to the elements. While the situation for the site looked rather grim back when I checked it out, it seems to have improved considerably since. Friends of Nike Site Summit and the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation seem to have been successful in their push to get the site recognition as historic. Since the summer of 2010 FONSS have been performing restoration work at the site.