Dave Knows Portland

Archives for May 2011

May 12, 1992: Clyde Drexler Named to the Dream Team

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BlazersThe Portland Trail Blazers‘ Clyde “The Glide” Drexler was officially added to the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team, aka the Dream Team, on May 12, 1992 (The Oregonian, 13-May-1992).

Drexler and Christian Laettner, who was also added to the team that day, were the final members of the team that many consider the best basketball team ever assembled.

Clyde actually got the word he would be added to the team the evening before, right before he played 51 minutes in a 153-151 double-overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns, netting 33 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists.

The Dream Team made its debut in Portland, Oregon on June 28, 1992, when they defeated Cuba 136-57 in their first game in Tournament of the Americas. In the Barcelona Olympics the Dream Team won games by an average of 43.8 points, ultimately winning the gold medal without a single loss. The entire team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. As individuals every player on the roster except Laettner and every coach except Carlesimo has also been elected to the Hall of Fame.

May 11, 2001: Portland Timbers A-League Home Opener

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featured-timbersAfter an eleven year absence the Portland Timbers soccer team was reborn in 2001. The team played in the A-League, the second division of American soccer at the time. The announcement that Portland had acquired an expansion team had occurred on July 31, 1999. Nearly two years later, on May 11, 2001, the team took to the field to face the Seattle Sounders in Portland’s home opener.

Before 12,295 fans in the newly renovated PGE Park, the Timbers won the match 2-0, getting goals, both assisted by Darren Sawatzky, from Mark Baena and Brent Sancho.

The Timbers Army (then known as the Cascade Rangers) sang for the home team for the first time, and Timber Jim reappeared as well that night, after a nearly 20 year absence, to cut slabs and rile up the crowd.

Sound and Vision Fest (May 12-14, 2011)

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Sound and Vision FestThe Sound and Vision Fest, a benefit for Portland’s historic, and non-profit, Hollywood Theatre, takes place Thursday through Saturday, May 12 through 14, 2011.

A three day festival featuring works in progress by Michel Gondry and Lance Bangs, new work from Spike Jonze and Matt McCormick, a rare screening of “Who Took the Bomp: Le Tigre on Tour,” as well as performances by Eluvium, Goodnight Billygoat, the Corin Tucker Band and Hurry Up (featuring members of the Thermals).

On Thursday filmmaker Matt McCormick curates an evening that includes a live performance by Eluvium and screenings of short films by Vanessa Renwick, Karl Lind, and others.

Carrie Brownstein hosts Friday – highlight of the evening include a screening of Who Took the Bomp: Le Tigre on Tour and a performance by Hurry Up.

And on Saturday night, Lance Bangs hosts and screens an excerpt from his new documentary on the band Slint. Shorts by Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze will also be shown, and The Corin Tucker Band will top off the evening.

Each night festivities begin at 7pm at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy). Visit the Sound and Vision website for more details. Tickets are $10 each night.

May 10, 1862: The Oregon Pony, First Steam Locomotive in Oregon, Makes Inaugural Run

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Oregon Pony (Image courtesy of the Oregon State Library)With machinist and engineer Mr. Theodore A. Goffe at the controls, the Oregon Pony made its debut run on the morning of May 10, 1862 (Morning Oregonian 23-July-1905). The tracks of the Oregon Portage Railroad, the state’s first, ran between Tanner Creek (not the Northwest Portland Tanner Creek, but a creek of the same name near where the Bonneville Dam is now) and Cascade Locks.

The locomotive was built by Vulcan Iron Works of San Francisco for the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which operated the railroad and steamships that served the Columbia River ports of Astoria, Portland, and The Dalles. The Oregon Pony was used to portage steamboat passengers and goods past the Cascade Rapids (which were inundated when the Bonneville Dam was completed).

In 1864 another railroad, with heavier locomotives and better rails, was built on the Washington side of the river. The Oregon Pony’s duties briefly shifted to a portage railroad around Celilo Falls, but in 1866 the locomotive was sold and shipped to San Francisco, where it was used to grade roads. In 1904 the locomotive was donated to the Oregon Historical Society, which displayed it at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition and then later at the Albina Rail Yard. It was put on display at Union Station in the 1930s, and then returned to Cascade Locks in 1970. Restored by the Port of Cascade Locks in 1981, the Oregon Pony is now on permanent display in a weatherproofed enclosure at Cascade Locks Marine Park near the Cascade Locks Historical Museum.

Image courtesy of the Oregon State Library

St. Johns Bizarre and Parade (14-May-2011)

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St. Johns BizarreThe 5th annual St. Johns Bizarre, a one-day Art/Craft/Music event in downtown St. Johns celebrating the unique character of North Portland takes place Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 10am until 6pm.

At noon join the revelers to take in the 49th annual St. Johns Parade.

The Bizarre boasts over 75 craft booths, four music stages, and a beer garden!

Over twenty bands, including And And And, Archers, Jared Mees and the Grown Children, Casey Neill and the Norway Rats, Sean Flinn and the Royal We, and the Cardboard Songsters will perform throughout the fest (visit the St Johns Bizarre website for the full schedule).

The juried craft fair features art, handmade crafts and demonstrations, and Anna Bananas hosts Ye Ol’ Der Bier Garten.

The theme of this year’s St. Johns Parade is Reach For The Stars. A North Portland tradition since 1962, the parade features floats, bands, drill teams, and horses (visit the parade website for route information).