Lost Portland — Page 10

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Returns to Portland

November 19, 2009 by Dave Knows 19 Comments

Farrell's Another generation of parents can soon terrify its children at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour.

According to KPTV, Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour is returning to Portland.

There’s no timeline yet, other than “as soon as possible.”

The first Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour opened in Portland in 1963, followed quickly by numerous franchises (58 by 1970). The heyday of the chain lasted through the 70s and into the early 80s. (You can read the whole story here.) A new Farrell’s recently opened in Mission Viejo, California.

Alas, as I’ve written before, I don’t have particularly fond memories of Farrell’s:

In the 70s and early 80s in Portland, if you were a parent with a sensitive child who didn’t like to be the center of attention, Farrell’s was the place to bring him on his birthday to thoroughly embarrass and humiliate him.

Bright lights, banging drums, sickening quantities of ice cream, and teenagers disguised as members of a barbershop quartet: a recurring nightmare and also my childhood memory of Farrell’s.

Read the rest: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour – a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#2)

October 23: Celebrate Atomic Living with Charles Phoenix

October 20, 2008 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

The king of retro, Charles Phoenix, comes to Portland Thursday for a performance at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St).

He will be presenting a live comedy slide show performance celebrating 50s and 60s, theme parks, space age style, car culture, roadside attractions and more! For this Portland show he’ll be including vintage slides of 50s and 60s Oregon.

For those of you not familiar with Charles Phoenix:

From the kitsch to the classic, Charles Phoenix loves to celebrate mid-century life and style. His massive collection of flea market-found 1950s and 60s vintage slides inspire his live Retro Slide Show performances, “Slide of the Week” e-mails, and colorful coffee table books – including his latest, American the beautiful: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome. Charles is also a recurring correspondent for the Martha Stewart Show and NPR’s Day to Day. He lives in Southern California.

It is through the efforts of the Mid-Century Modern League of Portland, that Charles Phoenix is bringing his show to Portland.

The Mid-Century Modern League is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation and our goal is to garner this appreciation through public education, hopefully stunting the razing and remodeling of these marvels in the process. As “Portlanders”, our agenda is two-fold – accomplish this great feat AND have fun commingling with like-minded individuals! (umbrella’d drink in hand!) We meet every month, if you have a passion for Portland’s Modern architecture, feel free to join us at our next meeting.

Tickets are $15 and the show is all ages. You can buy tickets at the Clinton Street Theater box office, at Deco to Disco (1960 Se Hawthorne), or online at MCMLeague.org.

Quality Pie – a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#3)

September 16, 2008 by Dave Knows 20 Comments

Ah, Quality Pie. On NW 23rd across from the hospital. In the late 80s I was a wide-eyed, parochial-schooled suburbanite. Quality Pie, in addition to Powell’s and the McDonalds (now Rich’s Cigars) by the Galleria, was my introduction to the city. Sipping coffee into the wee hours, we observed eccentric late night Portland while we shared grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, or a slice of truly quality pie.

1992. The reprehensible Measure 9 made it to the ballot in Oregon, the Blazers lost to the Bulls in the NBA finals, and the legendary Quality Pie closed. The Willy Week, at the time, summed it up:

Portland loses another dining institution when Quality Pie, a 24-hour haven for hipsters, scenesters, scamsters, hamsters, rock stars (pre- and post-nova), street people, alcoholics in various stages of recovery, poets, gamers, insomniacs and other assorted creatures of the night, serves its final cup of joe.

But the year wasn’t all bad. The abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse Measure 9 was soundly defeated by the citizens of Oregon, I turned 21, and Dot’s started serving up jalapeno cheddar fries.

Other QP memories:

Northwest Portland sites sit barren amid bustle – Portland Tribune
quality pie – The Long Way Around

More 30-something Portlander’s Flashbacks:
#1: Sam’s Hof Brau
#2: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours.

Rosebuds for 8.19.08

August 19, 2008 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

Oly Sandor ponders how Arvydas Sabonis, cerca 1986, would stack up against Olympians Chris Bosh or Dwight Howard

Portland experienced its first ciclovia back in June. And the ciclovia movement continues to sweep the nation.

Lost Oregon takes a look at the Burnside Burger King, circa 1978

. . . which post borrows a photograph from Cyclotram, which provides us with tips on How to walk the Ross Island Bridge and not die, if you’re lucky.

. . . which leads me to remember that the Ross Island bridge carries, in addition to automobiles and the occasional foolhardy pedestrian, gravity-fed Bull Run water to the West Side, where it fills reservoirs in Washington Park.

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour – a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#2)

February 27, 2008 by Dave Knows 9 Comments

Update 11/19/2009: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Returns to Portland

In the 70s and early 80s in Portland, if you were a parent with a sensitive child who didn’t like to be the center of attention, Farrell’s was the place to bring him on his birthday to thoroughly embarrass and humiliate him.

Bright lights, banging drums, sickening quantities of ice cream, and teenagers disguised as members of a barbershop quartet: a recurring nightmare and also my childhood memory of Farrell’s.

The locations I recall having reluctantly visited, thankfully in some cases for other poor kids’ birthdays, were the Farrell’s at Raleigh Hills, Lloyd Center, and Washington Square Mall.

Farrell’s lives on in various places, including California and Hawaii. Bob Farrell, the founder, is now a motivational speaker, known for the suggestive phrase “Give ‘Em the Pickle!”

You can read the first installment of a 30-something Portlander’s flashback here.

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