Nice little Vimeo video by Justin Tucker (@Amazinmovement on Twitter).
A view of this mornings walk around portland oregon. 9-30-2011
Canon t1i
Canon 50mm 1:1.8
Archives for September 2011
Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 3 #4: The Great Fire
Kick Ass Oregon History is the latest series of podcasts from the enthusiastic historians behind ORHistory.com.
Volume 3 #4 dropped yesterday – The Great Fire:
The Great Portland Fire of 1873
This episode examines the 1873 blaze in downtown PDX. The biggest fire in Portland history. Arson? To this day the answer is unknown.
The brains behind this Kick Ass project are the crack hustlers of Oregon History Doug Kenck-Crispin and Andy Lindberg. Doug is a graduate student studying Public History and Pacific Northwest History at PSU, and Andy, though a Portland native, is currently working as an actor in New York City. Doug does most of the research and writing for the podcasts with input from Andy, who voices the broadcasts with a thespian’s flair.
With the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast they plan to cover just the good stuff: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Earth Shattering, Devastating Destruction.
Ultimately, our goal is to take Oregon History out of the hallowed halls of the academy, get folks excited and enthused about this shared history, and get them out into the state, digging it and experiencing it. Get them to embrace it, and get their boots muddy in the process. It’s all OUR History; nobody owns it.
Visit ORHistory.com and stay tuned to @Oregon_History on Twitter for further details on specific episodes and the series. Catch up on missed episodes at the Kick Ass Oregon History archives.
September 30, 1908: Portland and Hillsboro Connected by Interurban Electric Rail
Portland and Hillsboro were first linked by electric rail on September 30, 1908, when the Oregon Electric Railway Company’s new line opened to an enthusiastic crowd (Morning Oregonian, 1 October 1908). The line, which would extend 26 miles when it reached Forest Grove a few days later, was the first electric passenger line in Washington County.
The trolley cars were warmly welcomed by the people of Hillsboro and Washington County, who carried out an elaborate reception . . . Officials of the Oregon Electric left the city for Hillsboro on a special car at 1 o’clock yesterday afternoon, headed by General Superintendent Coolidge. As the special reached Hillsboro, it found an immense crowd of people to greet it, and the warmth of the welcome of the new trolley line was unmistakable.
You know how the story goes, of course. Eventually reliable roads and cheap gas; automobiles, trucks, and buses took over. Passenger service to Forest Grove ended in 1932.
Almost exactly 90 year after the debut of electric rail to Hillsboro, the service would be reborn when the Westside Max, which actually utilizes former Oregon Electric Railway right-of-way between Beaverton Central and downtown Hillsboro, opened on September 12, 1998.
Weekend Amusements (September 30-October 2, 2011)
The big deal this weekend is the 60th annual Greek Festival, but Occidental Brewing and Prost are still Oktoberfesting, and a pair of film festivals and a juggling event round out a glorious weekend.
Ongoing
Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2011
The 15th Annual Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival takes place September 30 through October 8, 2011 at Cinema 21 (616 NW 21st).
“This year the festival begins September 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Cinema 21 with a very special screening of local filmmaker David Weissman’s deeply moving We Were Here. The film chronicles the heavy impact the AIDS crisis had on San Francisco in the 80s through the eyes of five survivors. David Weissman will be in attendance.” [more]
All Weekend
The 60th annual Portland Greek Festival takes place this weekend, September 30 through October 2, 2011 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (NE 32nd and Glisan).
Join about 15,000 other guests enjoying the greek food (feta, lamb, souvlaki, spanakopita, koulourakia, diples, bougatsa, etc.), cooking demonstrations, crafts, and of course beer and wine! [more]
H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival and Cthulhu Con 2011
The unnameable fear and cosmic horror of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival returns to the Hollywood Theater (4122 NE Sandy) Friday and Saturday, September 30 and October 1, 2011.
“The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival promotes the works of H.P. Lovecraft, literary horror, and weird tales through the cinematic adaptations by professional and amateur filmmakers.” [more]
Portland Juggling Festival and Vaudeville Extravaganza 2011
The 19th annual Portland Juggling Festival takes place this weekend, September 30 through October 2, 2011 at the Reed College Sports Center (3202 SE Woodstock).
The Portland Juggling Festival is one of the largest regional juggling festivals in the United States, with jugglers from around the world and down the street joining together to share their knowledge and show their skills. [more]
Friday
Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2011 – Last official weekend, still some birds!
Every September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts come to Portland. They spend their days eating lots of bugs. In the late afternoon the Swifts begin flying in a giant undulating swirl in the sky about the school. Around sunset they swirl more tightly, like a ground pepper tornado, and begin disappearing, measure by measure, down the chimney. On the lawn below, hundreds of Portlanders gather on lawn chairs and blankets to stare at the sky, mesmerized. Boos erupt when opportunistic Peregrine falcons occasionally get lucky. The crowd cheers, however, when the predators are thwarted. Meanwhile unruly oblivious children scream and roll down the grassy hill. [more
Saturday-Sunday
The Prost! Portland (4237 N Mississippi) Oktoberfest takes place this Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, 2011.
“We will have 1L Boots and Mugs for sale at the door, Live Music, Traditional German Dancing, Masskrugstemmen Competition, Food, and of course plenty of Cold Bier!” [more]
Saturday
Celebrate Oktoberfest in St. Johns with Occidental Brewing Co. this Saturday, October 1 from noon until 10.
“Enjoy German cuisine cooked up by the neighboring Cathedral Park Kitchen, and of course there will be beer! Occidental’s 2011 Festbier will debut at the festival, and their regular lineup of German-style beers will be available as well.” [more]
And for even more weekend events and activities, check out the Dave Knows Calendar, and visit Around the Sun, Blogging Portland on the Cheap, PDX Pipeline, and Oregon Events at OregonLive.com.
September 29, 1849: Tualatin Academy, Later Pacific University, Chartered by Territorial Legislature
One of the oldest chartered universities in the West, Forest Grove’s Pacific University was incorporated by the Oregon Territorial Legislature on September 29, 1849 (Pacific University, by Henry L. Bates in The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society Vol. 21, No. 1 March, 1920).
Tabitha Moffat Brown, with help from Reverend Harvey L. Clark, his wife Emeline, and the Reverend George H. Atkinson established what was then called Oregon Orphans’ Asylum and School at Tualatin Plains in 1848. The school was incorporated by the legislature as Tualatin Academy in 1849. In 1853, Reverend Sidney Harper Marsh (pdf) arrived as an instructor, and would become Pacific University’s first president a year later when the school received a new charter as the Tualatin Academy and Pacific University.