Dave Knows Portland

Archives for March 2011

OMSI Science Pub (7-March-2011)

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Omsi Science PubExpedition Titanic 2010: Return to the Deep is the topic of the latest OMSI Science Pub, which takes place on Monday, March 7, 2011.

RMS Titanic, Inc. in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and other leading oceanographic experts, embarked on what is arguably the most technologically advanced and scientific expedition to Titanic ever organized. The mission endeavored to create the most detailed portrait of the Titanic wreck site to date, “virtually raising” this beloved Ship to share what only a privileged few have been able to witness firsthand.

This Science Pub will be presented by P.H. Nargeolet, director of Underwater Research for RMS Titanic, Inc., and the 2010 co-expedition leader.

The show takes place at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne) from 7pm until 9pm, but arrive early (5pm doors open) to secure your beer, grub, and a seat! The suggested donation/cover charge is $3.00. Minors with adults are welcome, otherwise this event is 21 and over.

Little Blue Pill World Premiere (26-March-2011)

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Little Blue PillThe world premiere of Little Blue Pill takes place on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Hollywood Theater (4122 NE Sandy).

From the press release:

Montauk Project Films announces debut feature length film, LITTLE BLUE PILL: a comedy about an unlucky hipster who accidentally takes two Erectile Dysfunction pills and goes on a day of misadventures.

The Erectile Dysfunction and male enhancement industries are overripe for satire and parody. Drugs designed to help people with Erectile Dysfunction are the butt of many jokes, and have become a huge part of our popular culture, yet no one has produced a film about this hilarious and explosive subject. Until now…

Aaron Godfred, a Linfield and UO alumnus, wrote and directed Little Blue Pill, and shot much of the film in Portland. The Pittock Mansion, Voodoo Doughnuts, The Rheinlander, and other iconic Portland locations appear, and the cast and crew includes numerous Portlanders.

Tickets to the 9pm premiere are only $8 (buy them in advance here). For more information on the film and the premiere visit the Little Blue Pill website or Facebook page, and watch the trailer below!

March 6, 1915: Ground Broken for Interstate Bridge

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Morning Oregonian headline on March 7, 1915Construction of the Interstate Bridge connecting Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington began with dignitaries displacing ceremonial shovelfuls of Hayden Island sand on March 6, 1915.

The Morning Oregonian reported the next day:

It was a time of congratulations, following a long campaign for the bridge that has covered a period of years. Among the speakers were men who have been working since the inception of the project, and that their efforts have proved successful was said to mark a new and greater epoch in the development of both states.

The bridge opened on February 14, 1917 (Morning Oregonian, 15 February 1917). A trolley trial run was conducted on January 24, 1917, and the streetcars ran regular between Portland and Vancouver until the 1940s. The original span carries traffic northbound and traffic flows south on the newer, 1958, span.

March 5, 1918: Two Portlanders File Patent for Car Alarm System

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Drawing accompanying U.S. Patent 1,300,150One of the earliest patents for a car alarm system was filed by two Portlanders, St. George Evans and Edward B. Birkenbeuel, on March 5, 1918.

The patent, number 1,300,150, describes an Automobile-Theft Preventer:

The objects of our invention are to provide a means for automatically signaling an attempt to move an automobile by unauthorized persons; and to provide a means for locking the electric circuit open, in which case it will be impossible to move the car by its own power.

The invention includes:

a controlling switch board for setting an alarm upon leaving car, and releasing it upon returning to same, or for opening the ignition circuit to prevent operation of the car.

The patent was approved on April 8, 1919.

Mr. St. George Evans was from Astoria, and married Florence Elizabeth Baker in Portland in 1912. His wife’s name appeared frequently in The Oregonian society pages of the era, and she was active with the Willamette Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Finding more information on Mr. St. George Evans, however, proved elusive.

Mr. Birkenbeuel, whose trade is described as “Public Draftsman” in Morning Oregonian Portland business listings of 1918, received several patents in his lifetime. He also wrote frequent rambling letters to the editor.

Portland Ale: a Tribute to Timber Jim

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Portland AlePortland Ale, a special beer created by Cascade Brewing to honor Timber Jim, will be bottled today, March 4 2011.

The beer is a pale ale, weighing in at 5% ABV and 26 IBUs.

Combining German Pilsner and Noble aromatic hops makes this light bodied, straw colored ale a perfect choice for the Pitch. Here’s to Timber Jim and a Portland state of mind! Happy Inaugural Season!!!!

The Timbers have an exclusive beer marketing agreement with Widmer, so printing a copy of the 2011 MLS season schedule on the commemorative bottles was nixed. But Timber Jim worked with the 107 Independent Supporters Trust and Cascade Brewing, and the Historic Ale will soon be available.

Only 600 cases (12 22oz bottles per case) were produced, which go on sale at the Cascade Brewing Barrel House (939 SE Belmont) and The Raccoon Lodge (7424 SW Beaverton Hillsdale) on March 16, 2011 Monday, March 7, 2011. Cases will set you back $48, and individual bottles are $4.25. As Timber Jim is fond of saying, spread the love: $1.00 per case will be donated to Harper’s Playground in the name of the 107ist.