Down Mississippi and across Russell to Irvington

Not every block in Portland is nice, or even inhabited.



This is Russell Street, not far from the Widmer Brewery. It's an area just itching for gentrification, but no one has hit it yet.

Mississippi Street south of Skidmore could use a little grooming:



It's full of stairs that go nowhere:



Maybe a block that burned down?

Then I made it to Irvington, which is much more sanitary and affluent. I almost bought a condo here:


Instead of the place I got so close to the no-man's land previously pictured. I think I like my neighborhood better, although Irvington is very nice to visit. They have cats right out in the open, hanging out on the porches. Look closely.

Pedestrians Keep Out

Most weekends I get a few blocks in the Pearl walked. I volunteer at a library on the West side, so it's a nice early morning walk to get there. The problem with the Pearl is all the construction. It has reached absolutely hyper levels of development, which I normally approve of. The problem is the frequency with which I run across signs like this on both sides of the street:



Come on Portland, have a heart. It's bad enough to make me cross the street eight times in eight blocks for various construction projects, but don't make me detour all the way around! I'm never going to mark off all my blocks at this rate.

One particularly egregious block is the one before the Bridgeport Brewery. They're putting in a large block of urban condos. I hope that the people who buy there make sure to stop by in the early morning, when the stench of brewing beer is incredibly strong and somewhat nauseating.