Old Town/Chinatown News

[MightyAlweg]

Originally Posted by NewUrbanist

The site will sit vacant, and the city will have missed the opportunity to bring a catalytic project to Chinatown.

Not to mention the fact that the reporters at the Oregonian Metro Desk, and some folks in city hall, will have to remember that Japan and China are different countries and cultures, and that lumping them all together because they are "Oriental" won't really fly if all the street signs and civic nomenclature brands the location of the Japanese grocery store as "Chinatown".

[zilfondel]

^ off-topic, and we really shouldn't even be going there.

This district has been considered an international district for some time now, no?

Hell, Naito Parkway is named after the Naito family (Japanese), and the Japanese memorial nearby along the waterfront, not to mention the cherry trees that are everwhere in the area, are all very culturally Japanese.

[MOPIdaho]

Work on the Saturday Market MAX station, possibly a coffee shop?


looks like there are a few loose bricks on the Skidmore building

[PDX City-State]

I think that's just a shed isn't it?

[alexjon]

"Saturday Market MAX Station"

I like it.

Better than Skidmore Fountain or the lovely "Skidmark Fountain".

[MOPIdaho]

Originally Posted by PDX City-State

I think that's just a shed isn't it?

Maybe, but there are plans at some point to extend the wall east to limit the camping space.

[tworivers]

I thought I read something about that wall being replaced with glassy retail spaces.

[PDX City-State]

pessimist, I like to think of old town being half full of pee not half empty.

I didn't say Old Town wouldn't redevelop, I just don't believe the Naito project will happen...at least not all of it. There are too many volatile relationships to manage in that deal.

[NewUrbanist]

That is a new retail space to be incorporated into the MAX stop. It is replacing some unorganized storage for Saturday Market. I guess for the longest time, people were allowed to store there, but then some people stopped paying, left items behind when they moved out, and overall was poorly managed. Not sure what will go in here, but it will be a welcome change to the guy playing the diggery-do (spelling?).

YAY for the new Saturday Market.

[WestCoast]

had my window broken into on 23rd a few weeks ago.

called the police to rile a report, and they say this is happening many times a day.

Officer said it was usually the kids from all over the country that come to hang out in Portland during the summer and have nothing to do. It's so easy for them to hang out, get tax payer funded food, lodging and transportation.


I ride along the waterfront now to get to work, and the multitude of people sleeping all over the place is just awful.


I can't believe such an amazing city tolerates such a stain on it and the problems these people create.

Other than some human compassion, these people represent nothing positive.

[bvpcvm]

^ i'd be pretty leery of anything a police officer tells you.

maybe i've just gotten used to it, having lived in the central city for almost 20 years now, but i just don't see the things you claim to see. there doesn't appear, to me, to be any huge rise in the number of homeless people, or the number of people asking for money downtown. in fact, market st in san francisco seems to have far more, and far scarier, homeless people than i've ever seen in portland. but i think we've already had this conversation, haven't we?

[davehogan]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

^ i'd be pretty leery of anything a police officer tells you.

in fact, market st in san francisco seems to have far more, and far scarier, homeless people than i've ever seen in portland. but i think we've already had this conversation, haven't we?

Amazingly, much of Market St is considered a high crime area as well. In fact, I'd compare Portland to the safer parts of San Diego, which is considerably safer (overall) than San Francisco.

Dave

[MOPIdaho]

The Hung Far Low sign is missing does anyone know if it is just in the shop or gone permanently? I have heard a rumor that the owner of Pok Pok is opening a restaurant in this building.

[65MAX]

Hung Far Low isn't there anymore. They moved to 82nd Ave. a couple of years ago.

[NewUrbanist]

From what I know - the owner of Pok Pok is working with some others to create a new restaurant called Ping. If I can find the article, I will send it over.

[MOPIdaho]

Originally Posted by 65MAX

Hung Far Low isn't there anymore. They moved to 82nd Ave. a couple of years ago.

I realize that HFL moved to 82 but the sign was repainted and read (Hung Far Low Building est. 1928) and looked great after the restaurant was kicked out. My theory is that it is in the shop having the neon redone.

[vjoe]

Originally Posted by NewUrbanist

From what I know - the owner of Pok Pok is working with some others to create a new restaurant called Ping. If I can find the article, I will send it over.

Ping? Man, it would be totally awesome to have a northern Thai restaurant in town. Ping is a major tributary that runs through Chiangmai and northern Thailand.

The HFL sign is so Chinatown, hope it'll be back soon.

[PDX City-State]

The Ping news is old news. Here's an update from the Dude of Food.

http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/?p=1823

[vjoe]

“Some of you may know that I am involved in a new project in the old Hung Far Low Building called Ping (Thai for “grilled”).

English is so ... clumsy....

[NewUrbanist]

Old news? Sept 30th? Whoa. Three days old, and I am already out of the loop.