Dave Knows Portland

Archives for June 2012

Bigfoots in Oregon Part One (Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 4 #8)

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KAOH4.8: Bigfoots in Oregon Part OneKick Ass Oregon History is the latest series of podcasts from the enthusiastic historians behind ORHistory.com.

Volume 4 #8 dropped Friday – Bigfoots in Oregon Part One:

In which we learn that Bigfoot is the smelly, elusive messiah of Oregon’s green, hopeful heart.

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.

And don’t forget to join Kick Ass Oregon on June 19th at 7:30pm for “Bigfoots in Oregon” LIVE at The Jack London Bar!

The Many Lives of South Portland: From Immigrants to Hippies and Highrisers (4-June-2012)

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The Oregon Encyclopedia, in conjunction with McMenamins and the Northwest Examiner, presents The Many Lives of South Portland: From Immigrants to Hippies and Highrisers on Monday, June 4, 2012 at the Mission Theater (1624 NW Glisan).

In 1955, a Mayor’s Advisory Committee identified the blocks at the southeast end of downtown Portland—bounded by Market, Front, Arthur, and Fourth—as suitable for a land clearance and redevelopment project. Civic leaders wanted to use new federal legislation that had expanded the Housing Act of 1949 to include what soon became known as “urban renewal.”

This area, later extended to include twenty-six acres between Market and Jefferson, was known as the South Portland/South Auditorium Urban Renewal Project. Hundreds of residents and small businesses were displaced during the project over the years, radically transforming the neighborhood and downtown.

The presenter is Carl Abott, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, and author of the book Portland: Planning, Politics, and Growth in a Twentieth Century City.

Admission is free to this, and all the OE History Night events. Children are welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian. Doors open at 6 p.m., presentation starts at 7 p.m.