Flashback

Ugh.  One post in the past year.  It's not that I don't think about this blog; it's just that I'm...well, out of practice in many senses of the words.

So, here's something to break the mundanity of the gray weather we've been having here this winter so far: the sunny front of KBOO headquarters on SE 8th, complete with last spring's lovely blossoms.

Named after a kind of pot associated with Berkley, California, in the mid 60s (and how appropriate is that?), KBOO has adhered to its mission for over 40 years now.  That's a lot of rabble rousing and community activating.  How many other organizations have given up, given in, or dramatically shifted their mission in the same amount of time?  But the KBOO charter calls for providing "programming to diverse communities and unserved groups" and " a forum for unpopular, controversial, or neglected perspectives on important local, national, and international issues, reflecting KBOO's calues of peace, justice, democracy, human rights, muticulturalism, environmentalism, freedom of expression, and social change."  Indeed, if you were to look at their schedule for the day I'm writing this, you'd see an array of programs from "Astral Traveling" to "Islamic Point of View," and with focal points ranging from Conjunto music to Italian music from the 60s.

Sure, they have their controversies, and the to-be-expected accusations of hypocrisy.  You can't be a political-commercial endeavor that exists for this long and please everyone.  But there's something so very Portland about this station, with its open-armed policy of social equality.  If nothing else, no matter what our politics,  we should give props to the KBOO community for the constant commitment to both the various peoples of Portland and to their original vision.

Maybe it's best to think about KBOO in a larger perspective--perhaps balance an hour of it with a certain amount of time given over to conservative talk radio.  At the very least, you'll be hearing voices in your head for days.

It's a colorful life.

It's an Up thing

It's a funny thing: I come back from a winter hiatus, I take a few walks, get a few good pictures, and, of all things, my research skills fail me.  I'm trying to pull some things together, bit by little bit.

This photo wasn't even taken on a walk, but out out my car window.  With my phone camera.  While sitting at a red light.  The colors at dusk were so striking that I really couldn't resist the temptation (I've often said that if  I die in a car crash it will be because I'm saying "tree pretty").  In fact, for whatever reason, a couple of months ago I was driving the Burnside-Couch couplet regularly at this time of day, and did indeed say no to the shot several times.  I'm glad I finally succumbed to that yummy blue sky.

It's the Portland Bottling Company/7Up Bottling Company building on NE Couch, of course.  That 7Up sign glowing moon-bright in the sky is as iconic in this town as they come, especially on the East side.  Its coverings and unveilings have made the news several times in the last decade, and there have been repeated speculations about the amount of time that's passed since the sign last spun (20 years?  after the Columbus Day storm?  some recent time after they replaced the ball bearings as mentioned in the KATU article linked above?).

The Portland Bottling Company itself has been in Portland for just shy of a century, though it's had its ups and downs according to the economy just like everyone else in the manufacturing industry--thus the attempt at harnessing the market on a trendy new health/energy drink which caused the most recent changes in the sign's appearance, before 7Up regained top billing.  I have to admit, though, even if it's the sign which first catches my attention, it's the building itself which always turns my head so dangerously in traffic.  I know I'm not the only sucker in this town for the sinewy beauty of an art deco line.  As Bart King puts it, "the aerodynamic building gleams with the prospect of a brighter future through bottling soft drinks in fashionable digs." If the company has had fluctuating success, the building itself seems to hold tightly to a sense of optimism--that concern for public elegance and style which almost always only comes when more dramatic pressures are not at hand.  In fact, this was the last building erected in Portland before WWII austerity demanded a temporary moratorium on such construction. Even the folks whom you can thank for the recently opened Burnside-Couch couplet realize the significance of the building, calling it a landmark and making its restoration and redevelopment a part of their development plans for the area.

A fun bit of trivia for us children of the 80s: according to the Inside Portland page linked above, Portland Bottling Company was also responsible for the production of later versions of Teddy Ruxpin.  I have no idea how to fit this in smoothly with the discussion of this building, but it must be noted.