The bridges

[East Coast Hustle]

In an architectural/aesthetic sense, the St. Johns bridge is my overwhelming favorite, but for sheer horror Hawthorne wins hands-down. I usually walk across it on my way back from an excursion to downtown and I'm always bemused by having to make the choice of putting my earbuds in and turning the music up loud enough to drown out the song of the bridge and the yells of the CHUDS living in/under it or leaving them out and exposing myself to the siren song so that I might hear if I'm about to get taken out from behind by a vehicle sliding on the grates.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The Morrison bridge is one of the most innocuous bridges in Portland. It's heavily traveled and well-designed, and nobody really loves or hates it. Its most distinguishing characteristic, besides the unsettling giant bascule action of the raising mechanism, is probably the colored lighting (shared by many bridges in town) which highlight its piers at night. The current incarnation was built in 1958 and has the dubious distinction of being "the largest mechanical device in Oregon".

The neighborhood it passes over is a light industrial/warehouse area with the catchy name "Central Eastside Industrial District". However, as it slowly converts to lofts, galleries, and restaurants, a push is underway to rename it "Produce Row", which is pretty much what everyone has always called it anyway. Once upon a time, that was where all the groceries that came into Portland were unloaded. Corno's was a household name back then; sadly, the old Corno's building was recently demolished.



The Morrison bridge has been in the papers recently due to the unprovoked shooting of two homeless men under the bridge. The men, who were longtime partners, had been turned away from the local privately-run encampment where they usually stayed, due to lack of space. A passing motorist shot them in cold blood as they slept.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

In an architectural/aesthetic sense, the St. Johns bridge is my overwhelming favorite, but for sheer horror Hawthorne wins hands-down. I usually walk across it on my way back from an excursion to downtown and I'm always bemused by having to make the choice of putting my earbuds in and turning the music up loud enough to drown out the song of the bridge and the yells of the CHUDS living in/under it or leaving them out and exposing myself to the siren song so that I might hear if I'm about to get taken out from behind by a vehicle sliding on the grates.

The St. Johns is by far the most majestic, but yeah, there's something about the Hawthorne that's just terrifying.

[El Sjaako]

Its most distinguishing characteristic, besides the unsettling giant bascule action of the raising mechanism, is probably the colored lighting (shared by many bridges in town) which highlight its piers at night.

I wanted to have a look at this, and I found this picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atul666/2506794938/lightbox/

Also, you can actually pay to have the lights colored the way you want. Why would someone do that?

[Kai]

And this is why I will never drive in Portland. And also why everyone has a bicycle.