Portland is a very well run and welcoming city. A thing I especially liked was the ubiquitous bubblers. I consider bubblers a sign of civic virtue. Another unique feature is the free public transportation. Yes – free, at least within the city. That keeps down the traffic and makes the city more open.
You notice but do not immediately comprehend that all the buildings in the downtown area have retail space on the street level and even the streets near tall buildings are tree lined. This makes the city livelier and more pleasant. Nothing is so depressing for a city street than to have it made into a canyon of blank walls. I suppose the challenge is to keep stores in those many storefronts but it doesn’t have to be all retail. There were things like Bally’s and some offices.
Mariza and I had supper at Jake’s Grill. It was founded in the early part of the 20th Century. A lot of the buildings are from around then. They are well maintained. We had lunch at Old Town Pizza. Mariza wanted to go because she read that it was haunted. According to the story the place is haunted by the ghost of a prostitute murdered by her employers after she tried to get out of the business. I think they just made that up.
Below is Mariza on the Portland street. She saw a lot more of the city than I did, since she did not attend the tree farm conference. I hope she will contribute an entry.
