Saturday, September 13, 2008

East side of the Fox Tower and a bit of the Jackson Tower

091308_fox_tower_jackson_bldg

As you read in Friday's post: The building is most notable for the contrast between its curving east side and boxy west side. The juxtaposing angles of the building create a unique shape from nearly every angle. This multiplanar and set-back design is meant to prevent as much of the building's shadow as possible from falling upon Pioneer Courthouse Square on the opposite corner.

I took the photo from Pioneer Courthouse Square last Saturday, about 4 p.m. I didn't notice a dark shadow cast by the building, just a shaded ambience in the block-sized square. People were everywhere, reading, walking, sitting, talking on their phones, enjoying being outside in Portland.

Here's a photo from the corner of SW Washington and Broadway, looking south, showing how neat the Jackson Tower looks at night. I took it in February, 2007, so I'm not sure why the clock face is bathed in green light.
091308_jackson_tower_night

From Wikipedia:
The Jackson Tower, formerly the Oregon Journal Building is a glazed terra-cotta historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon. Located on the corner of Broadway and Yamhill Streets, it enjoys a prominent location adjacent to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

The building was constructed to house the operations of the now-defunct Oregon Journal. The Journal occupied the structure from its completion in 1912 until July 4, 1948, when the newspaper moved to larger quarters on the Portland waterfront. The structure was renamed Jackson Tower to honor the newspaper's founder, Charles Samuel Jackson. The impressive clock tower results from the practice of newspapers integrating such structures into their headquarters. Additionally, 1,800 light bulbs illuminate the tower after dark. The Jackson Tower was renovated in 1972, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places (as the Journal Building) in 1996.

* Each of the 1,800 light bulbs screw directly into the facade.
* In addition to the tower's illumination, at one time the clocks used to chime every 15 minutes.
* Each clockface is 12.5 feet in diameter.

Architectural style: Beaux Arts.

By the way, I'm sick with some sort of flu or something that started yesterday evening. I don't think I'll be commenting--maybe later on if I stop aching all over.

Pray for those impacted by Ike as it continues its path across the country.

1 comment:

momom said...

I love the night photo.