Mt. Tabor Park

Filed Under Parks · Tagged: , , , ,  

Portland’s Mt Tabor was named after another Mt Tabor, which sits six miles east of Nazareth in Israel. Our Mt Tabor makes Portland one of only two cities in the continental U.S. to have an extinct volcano within its boundaries; the other city is Bend, Oregon. The volcanic features of Mt Tabor became known in 1912, years after it became a public park. The volcanic cinders discovered in the park were later utilized in surfacing the park’s roads.

At the top of the park is a bronze statue of Harvey W. Scott, editor of The Oregonian newspaper from 1865-1872 and from 1877 until his death in 1910. A gift to the city by Scott’s widow, Margaret, and family, it was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum in the early 1930s while at work on his monumental sculpture of four American presidents on Mt Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Cast by the Kunst Foundry in New York, it was unveiled in June 1933 with great ceremony.

 

January 31, 2009 by Greg ·

Waterfront Park

Filed Under Parks · Tagged: , , , , , ,  

The idea for this park came at the turn of the century when the 1903 Olmsted Report pointed out the need not only for parks within the city, but for a greenway scheme for the riverbanks in order to ensure their preservation for future generations. The 1912 Bennett Plan again showed a need for more parks and river greenways, but instead of reorienting itself to the river, the city’s focus was pulled further inland.
In the late 1920s, the seawall was built along the Willamette’s west bank for the protection of downtown from the annual floods. The seawall not only cut off the water from the people, but the people from the water as well. The construction of Harbor Drive along the west bank in the 1940s continued the trend of isolating the public from the river.

With the opening of the Eastbank Freeway (Marquam Bridge, I-5), Harbor Drive became less important to the traffic flow of the city. Governor Tom McCall created the Harbor Drive Task Force in 1968 in order to study proposals for creating a public open space in its place. In 1974, Harbor Drive was torn up and construction of a waterfront park began. It was completed and dedicated in 1978, gaining instant popularity. In 1984, the park was renamed Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

January 30, 2009 by Greg ·

Eastbank Esplanade

Filed Under Community · Tagged: , , , , ,  

The Eastbank Esplanade has been an important part of the long-term vision for downtown Portland. Early city planners included the park in the 1988 Central City Plan. At the direction of City Council in 1993, work began on developing a master plan to guide the design and construction of the Eastbank Esplanade. The City formed a citizen Eastbank Riverfront Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to provide project oversight to City staff. The PAC included members of adjacent neighborhoods, the Central Eastside Industrial
Council, landowners, river and environmental enthusiasts, and long-time parks activists. Hargreaves Associates, landscape architects based in San Francisco, was selected as the lead consultant.

Completed in January 1994, the Eastbank Master Plan described an esplanade with docks, piers, overlooks, a plaza for festivals and gatherings, floating walkways, fountains, public art, and connections to the neighborhoods and Portland’s bridges. The Esplanade would connect the east and west sides of the Central City around its central feature – the Willamette River. Construction of the Esplanade began in October 1998 and was completed in May 2001.

The Esplanade was named after Mayor Vera Katz in November 2004 to honor her vision and leadership for Portland – which included support for the construction of the esplanade. A bronze sculpture of the mayor by Bill Bane was installed on the plaza at the south end of the esplanade in June 2006.

January 30, 2009 by Greg ·

Pittock Mansion

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Once the private home of Henry Louis Pittock, founder of The Oregonian newspaper, this 22-room house was built in 1914. The mansion sits 1,000 feet above sea level and commands a view of five mountains in the Cascade Range. It is an outstanding architectural achievement, combining fine plasterwork, cut and polished marbles, cast bronze, and superbly crafted hardwoods and paneling. The house is completely furnished with antique furniture and objets d’art appropriate to its 17th, 18th, and 19th century French and English designs. Website

January 29, 2009 by Greg ·

E-mail Notifications

Filed Under Buyers Info, Home Search · Tagged: , , ,  

The Portland HomeQuest Property Search

Click here to sign up for listings in your target neighborhoods.

Our HomeQuest Property Search has implemented the latest state of the art technology available in the real estate industry today. This intuitive web based system uses a graphical interface with the multiple listing system that updates each hour. Now you can search properties by using our easy map based interface that allows you to zero in on just the neighborhoods of interest and receive addresses immediately. Then drive by the prospective homes in your liesure, without engaging a Realtor until your ready. Just select the neighborhoods of interest below and you will receive daily e-mails of all the hottest properties on the market.

At the heart of HomeQuest is Looking Glass…

 

 

Looking Glass – The Most Advanced Tool in Real Estate

Looking Glass is your interactive map. Built specifically to search for listings by neighborhood, a once tedious task is now simplified into a streamlined, powerful search. Looking Glass is simple yet powerful; search for listings, perform sophisticated market-trend analysis, create showing routes, browse community information such as parks and restaurants, and more. Once you’ve tried Looking Glass you’ll never go back!

January 27, 2009 by Greg ·