PDC takes on Skidmore Fountain

The sole purpose of the PDC's interest in this area is to kill the Saturday Market and reinvent the area in the image of the Pearl District. That means that the craftspeople, artists, and workers have to be shunted off to some other location while the poverty stricken people who congregate around this area must disappear. (Under this plan, the city does not actually have to do anything constructive about the conditions that create poverty and homelessness, but the homeless simply have to go somewhere else.)

"The purpose of this event is to discuss strategies for revitalization..."

The spot is pretty damn vital right now, in fact I don't know how it could be more thriving. I hope lots of people will show up to say "leave it alone, it's fine the way it is."

Jeez, pretty soon downtown Portland is going to look like a Gap commercial.

as much as the chamber of commerce crowd would cheer to see the homeless population to disappear from sight, it's not very likely to happen all at once, considering the proximity of several large homeless shelters within a block or two...(having said that, i've seen redevelopment of this nature occur before. places i used to spend time hanging out at became completely unrecognizable only a few months later).

i think the immense popularity of the saturday market will ensure that they won't be able to do anything like build a shopping center in that spot, but i wouldn't be surprised if redevelopment in hand with police pressure would make sleeping under the bridge a little less desirable than it is currently.

Let us bring back the cast iron facades to the area around the Skidmore Fountain. The block where the fire station is located should be the first to restore the oringal brick and cast iron facade of the Lewis and Flandres Building torn down in 1940. The Fountain is the heart and center and soul of the city. Let us be the first city in American to REBUILD our lost heritage, as European cities did after their destruction in the the 1940's. There are so many parking lots that could have at least the facades in cast iron returned along First and Second Avenue and Naito, and then along Ankeney, Ash, Pine. This is the heart of the city. REbuild the Ladd and Tilton Bank building, which exists in Salem and take casting of it's facade and return them to the parking lot the sits vacant. I do not care if there are condo's,apartments, parking lots, squares, or markets behind these facades. Return our historic center and show the county that Portland is different and can be the best by rebuilding it's heart and soul.

Yes, it is possible to reconstruct the facades of the old buildings demolished in the 1940s, but while it may be romantic, the original buildings are gone and best appreciated in the Minor White Photographs in the OHS Collection. No amount of reconstruction can restore the ambience present in those photographs. The reconstructions would be just that reconstructions. They would be more expensive than modern buildings and would contribute nothing to the poverty and homelessness problem solutions. Al Staehli

I must agree with Mr. Sheridan. The beautifully ornate Portland of the "Cast Iron" era seen in faded photographs in the Oregon Historical Society is something that was foolishly squandered. So many timeless structures, many of which were pivotal locations of our very history, were demolished "in the name of progress"... a term a hope I never hear associated with a historic structure again.
We have lost many buildings, such as the Portland Hotel, The original Oregonian building and the Worchester building. Even more saddening is the loss of the fabulous homes that populated the Cities hart in the early years, like the Captain George Flanders house, the George H. Wielder house, the Richard B. Knapp house and the William S. Ladd estate.
Where there once was a massive abundance of these "works of art" only a hand full remains today, only by the grace of god and a few people who new what they had. Only in the last 2 or 3 decades have we finally "gotten the picture" and work to save what we have left. ]
The cities inherent need to modernize and "revitalize" is a good and prosperous goal, but sometimes seems to come at the price of more artistically modern buildings that lack both style and class. To populate the Ankeny/Skidmore plaza with buildings that have a modern look would further lower the axe on the cities historic look and if done wrong could destroy it altogether.
Revitalizing the plaza with modern structures skinned with cast iron era reproduction facades however, would give the entire area a drastically different look that would re-create and recapture the by gone era of the 1870's 80's and 90's when Portland was young.
These buildings would not have to be faced in cast iron as the originals were, but rather more modern, cost effective materials better suited for the elements to recreate the patterns, details and designs long lost to the wrecking ball.
Revitalization in this manner would attract more people than not, as most of the current generation never new these buildings except for photographs and old film footage.
In this day and age what was once old and tired is new and fascinating once more, and what was demolished for progress then, we pine for now and wish that we could relive it once again. With the abilities we have in technology and innovations, we finally have a chance to bring back a glimpse of the long lost look of Portland's youth and the ghosts from our past.

I must agree with Mr. Sheridan. The beautifully ornate Portland of the "Cast Iron" era seen in faded photographs in the Oregon Historical Society is something that was foolishly squandered. So many timeless structures, many of which were pivotal locations of our very history, were demolished "in the name of progress"... a term a hope I never hear associated with a historic structure again. We have lost many buildings, such as the Portland Hotel, The original Oregonian building and the Worchester building. Even more saddening is the loss of the fabulous homes that populated the Cities hart in the early years, like the Captain George Flanders house, the George H. Wielder house, the Richard B. Knapp house and the William S. Ladd estate. Where there once was a massive abundance of these "works of art" only a hand full remains today, only by the grace of god and a few people who new what they had. Only in the last 2 or 3 decades have we finally "gotten the picture" and work to save what we have left. ] The cities inherent need to modernize and "revitalize" is a good and prosperous goal, but sometimes seems to come at the price of more artistically modern buildings that lack both style and class. To populate the Ankeny/Skidmore plaza with buildings that have a modern look would further lower the axe on the cities historic look and if done wrong could destroy it altogether. Revitalizing the plaza with modern structures skinned with cast iron era reproduction facades however, would give the entire area a drastically different look that would re-create and recapture the by gone era of the 1870's 80's and 90's when Portland was young. These buildings would not have to be faced in cast iron as the originals were, but rather more modern, cost effective materials better suited for the elements to recreate the patterns, details and designs long lost to the wrecking ball. Revitalization in this manner would attract more people than not, as most of the current generation never new these buildings except for photographs and old film footage. In this day and age what was once old and tired is new and fascinating once more, and what was demolished for progress then, we pine for now and wish that we could relive it once again. With the abilities we have in technology and innovations, we finally have a chance to bring back a glimpse of the long lost look of Portland's youth and the ghosts from our past.