tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650750.post4745482148034161777..comments2024-03-14T19:06:06.139-07:00Comments on Cafe Unknown: Dan Haneckowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835041678951859205noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650750.post-49650769402605926702009-12-29T15:35:00.961-08:002009-12-29T15:35:00.961-08:00Thank you so much for making me even more homesick...Thank you so much for making me even more homesick than I already am! For six years, I was a narrating Gray Line tour driver with the Portland City Tour as one of my assigned tours. We drivers were given a basic outline for our narration and told to "fill in the blanks". I did my homework well, although several years later, I have forgotten a good deal of the information I gathered. My favorite example of PDX architecture: the Poppleton Building (I see from your photos that the round window at the top seems to have been covered over from the inside). <br />I know reside near Lexington, KY, a city that is serious about mimicking Portland's many attributes, including light rail and a downtown transit mall, and let me tell ya, they could use it!<br />Thanks again!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10529413520435157455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650750.post-54914701261408784952009-01-12T12:15:00.000-08:002009-01-12T12:15:00.000-08:00Love your insightful essay. Due to snowy weather ...Love your insightful essay. Due to snowy weather the Dec. 18 City Council meeting was rescheduled. It is tentatively booked for March 19, 2009. So there is still time for interested readers to get active on behalf of this historic district. <BR/><BR/>Keeping buildings in-scale is critical for bringing the district together in a cohesive historical context. There are so many reasons to maintain a lower building height standard -- not the least of which is simply comfort for humans walking around Old Town with smaller scale buildings creating an entirely different density vibe than you'd experience in the Pearl or elsewhere. There are plenty of development sites for larger buildings -- there is only one Old Town/Chinatown/Skidmore. It is the city's birthplace. It deserves our respect. <BR/><BR/>Portland is ready for this district's economic revival. Replacing the parking lots with architecturally, historically appropriate smaller scale buildings (hopefully re-installing some of the original cast iron components salvaged by Ladd, Bosco and Milligan) will solidify it's status and enhance it's preciousness.<BR/><BR/>Anyone can attend the meeting; you can check PortlandOnline to verify schedule -- note an interim date of Feb. 4 had been posted, but as of today slated for March 19. <BR/><BR/>Subject: SKIDMORE/OLD TOWN CODE AMENDMENTS-DESIGN GUIDELINESPBJVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12803918875511016663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650750.post-1541001543047147692008-12-15T20:10:00.000-08:002008-12-15T20:10:00.000-08:00Thanks for raising this issue with your readers. ...Thanks for raising this issue with your readers. FYI, the Architectural Heritage Center/Bosco-Milligan Foundation have taken a strong stand against the possibility of higher buildings in the district and in favor of the enlightened new guidelines proposed by the Landmarks Commission.<BR/><BR/>Lots of links and background information can be found on the AHC website: http://www.visitahc.org which has links in its Advocacy News section to sources of letters and agency filings, including the design guidelines.<BR/><BR/>The prospect of a rejuvenated Old Town, with reconstructed cast iron buildings filling in the unsightly gaps now used for parking, is an exciting one. In some instances it will be possible to reconstruct buildings with significant amounts of their original materials. In other instances buildings that once stood just outside the district on a site now occupied by something else can be reconstructed in the district. The effect could result in a signature and emblematic section of Portland that is not only economically viable but also a major tourist attraction.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, there are ownership interests in the district that seem willing to wait until the city gets tired of the ugly parking lots and abandons the historic designation -- thereby hugely enriching the current, patient property owners. The City Council MUST jolt these owners into developing their property with the existing height restrictions -- based on the certainty that they will never be lifted.<BR/><BR/>Too bad that the PDC owns 2 of these sites targeted for higher buildings. Shame on them. They should be leading the charge to develop creatively designed, compatible in-fill buildings for the district, not undermining the district's integrity.Jim Heuerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07770439777091963045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650750.post-10815477442838892632008-12-08T09:41:00.000-08:002008-12-08T09:41:00.000-08:00I'm all for good architecture, and good tall archi...I'm all for good architecture, and good tall architecture. In the post "At the Pig and Whistle" I said nothing disparaging about replacing the Zell Brothers building with the new Moyer Tower, even though the Zell Brothers Building was historic and significant from a design standpoint. As painful as it was to see it go, in the end I felt it was an appropiate place for a high rise. <BR/> <BR/>I don't think it is possible to add higher rise development in Old Town Skidmore without doing the district harm. It would be kind of like trying to find a good species of ivy to introduce to Forest Park. It might be impossible. <BR/><BR/>Even tower happy Vancouver BC recognizes that high-rise development isn't appropiate for all places and protects Gas Town and the historic Chinatown with zoning similar to what Portland is seeking to do away with in Skidmore Old Town.<BR/>-DanDan Haneckowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13835041678951859205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650750.post-2484172872235077662008-12-08T07:45:00.000-08:002008-12-08T07:45:00.000-08:00It is important to promote both good architecture ...It is important to promote both good architecture and urbanism in Portland. I would encourage you to ask for better design standards for these new buildings. Your ultimate goal should be new buildings that increase the quality of Portland. The fight to restrict height limits does not protect you from bad architecture. Cities like Vancouver and Miami have adopted design guidelines that control the height of buildings on the streets and allow for developers to gain increased building.Edward W. Erfurt IVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07511869256391333500noreply@blogger.com