Looking in the windows of the Red Light Clothing Exchange in SE Portland

I took all of these photos in October--Halloween must have been a whole lotta fun for some folks!


The store and its fantastic windows are at 3590 SE Hawthorne Blvd.











ABOUT US, from their Web page.

Open in Portland since 1999, The Red Light Clothing Exchange is the City of Roses’ one-of-a-kind, homegrown, buy-sell-trade, men’s and women’s fashion emporium.

Since the beginning, The Red Light has been buying, selling and trading clothes with people from all walks of life, from all over the Northwest. Our extensive inventory changes daily (thanks to all that buying and trading!), but it always includes a vast selection of choice vintage pieces alongside brand-name modern garments. Plus, our incredible clothing inventory is complimented by a large selection of wigs, deadstock novelties, socks, tights, jewelry and other accessories.

We don’t cater to one particular fashion style, instead focusing on providing unique, quality, stylish clothing at truly affordable prices. Whether you’re in the market for classic basics, one-of-a-kind statement pieces or just costume frocks, we’ve got you covered. That’s why on any given day shopping at The Red Light you can rub elbows with local trend-setters, touring rock stars, eco-conscience thrifters, Japanese tourists and Portland bargain-hunters. They all shop here because there truly is something for everyone at The Red Light.

Another reason shopping here is so fun: our famous décor. From the blood red walls to the velvet paintings and ornate carpets, we provide a uniquely lavish shopping experience. Vintage burlesque movie posters, Urkle dolls, Spanish iron hanging lamps and old black light posters all have a place in The Red Light…and we’re always adding new art and collectibles to our eclectic space, too.

This one-of-a-kind inventory and ambiance has gotten us a lot of attention, from local awards to international reviews. Along with “Best of” recognition from Portland media such as Portland Mercury, Willamette Week and Citysearch, The Red Light has been spotlighted by Lucky, GQ, Elle, NPR and even London’s The Guardian and Japan’s Lightning. Likewise, Britney Spears, Benicio Del Toro, Cate Blanchett, Billy Bob Thornton, The Dandy Warhols, Beth Ditto, Tigan and Sarah and Leslie Hall are just a few of the celebrities who have shopped at The Red Light.

Still, nothing means more to us than the personal kudos from everyday customers. “You’ve got great stuff!” is magic to our ears and we’re constantly working hard to keep you happy!

(Oh, and because so many customers ask about our relationship to Red Light in Seattle: our owner is the founder of Seattle’s Red Light. Selling that business allowed us to relocate to Portland and we love it here. The Seattle and Portland stores are not affiliated; the Portland business remains owned by its founder.)

There was a tender tulip with a curl ...

I couldn't help but think of the poem below when I saw the curl of this tulip petal, a lovely sight in someone's front yard.

Found at The Poetry Foundation, online:

There was a little girl

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

The Interior - First Congregational Church, downtown Portland, Oregon

The Povey Brothers designed and made the stained glass windows.














The pipes certainly are beautiful. Wish I could have heard the organ.




The craftsmanship makes these details exquisite.






More curves and arches--they're throughout the sanctuary.








I don't like those light fixtures one bit. Can you find the two people standing in front of the window? If you do, you'll be able to tell just how huge it is.

The Exterior - First Congregational Church, downtown Portland, Oregon

Found on the WWW about First Congregational Church--it faces onto the South Park Blocks in downtown Portland:

Swiss architect Henry J Hefty. Cost $100K to build over five years 1889-1895. Venetian Gothic style, resembling Boston's New Old South Church. Two 100' towers were removed in a 1940s modernization, leaving only the 185' central tower. Cruciform interior 92'x92'. Slopes down to pulpit, with gallery, capacity 1100

Welcome to Portland's First Congregational United Church of Christ!

Our Vision -- We are a progressive Christian community in the heart of Portland. We celebrate diversity through our warm and inclusive welcome. In our worship and in our lives, we believe that God is still speaking and that the risen Christ lives in and among us. We covenant together to:
create a sacred space that is accessible and welcoming to everyone;
work for justice in our community and in our world;
express, in our living, a care for creation and a stewardship of all God's resources;
nurture our relationships with one another through our listening and our caring;
grow in faith, learning and service.
If this vision catches your imagination, we welcome you—whoever you are, whatever household of faith into which you were born, whatever creed you profess, whatever your race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, you are welcome in this place if you come looking for the presence of God or to rededicate yourself to God’s purpose. Please do not leave this place without a prayer for yourself, your friends and famly, and for all those who worship here; for our nation in these times of trial' for all hapless victims and recovering survivors throughout the world; for the fellowship of the Christian Church universal; for the advancement of God's realm of justice and peace; and for all men and women of every nation, race, and faith who sincerely desire to live together in unity and peace. We invite you to join us in our mission of peace and justice by becoming a member of our church. We stand ready to assist you in every way possible. God is still speaking and the risen Christ lives in and amongst us.

Our History -- First Congregational United Church of Christ was established in 1851. Our current sanctuary and 175-foot bell tower was built in 1891, designed by Swiss architect Henry J. Hefty to resemble Old South Church in Boston. The stained glas
windows were designed by Povey Brothers of Portland. We are people of different ages, education, races, abilities, sexual orientations and gender identities. We hold varying theological and political beliefs and come from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. We celebrate and find strength in that diversity and view it as a way of understanding the inclusiveness of God's love.

We celebrate the image of God in every person and we affirm all relationships of support that are founded on the principles of love and justice. We encourage all members to share their talents, gifts and energy in the life, work and leadership of the church. We are a community which is spiritually alive, intellectually curious, and open to new learning, ideas and scholarship. We are tolerant and supportive of other religious traditions and committed to learning about and from them.

McMenamins Kennedy School, northeast Portland

Kennedy School is 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. In early March I rode the bus there for a day-long meeting. It was fun, riding a bus I'd never ridden, going on streets I'd never seen, and then getting off the bus practically in front of the building.

Found on the WWW: Renovated in 1997, the 1915 Kennedy School features Portland's most unusual lodging, 35 classrooms-turned-guestrooms, hallways lined with colorful artwork, an outdoor soaking pool, restaurant, and a brewery located in the old girls' lavatory! Sip a fresh-juice cocktail in the Honors Bar or savor a whiskey and a cigar in the Detention Bar. Our theater is one of the "10 Theaters That Do It Right" (Entertainment Weekly). We'll bring beer and pizza to your seat during the movie!


The Detention Bar--what a hoot!


Seen in a front yard flower bed.


From the Ladies Home Journal, April, 1916. I love this photo of the school.


Here's a hallway--what an interesting carpet. I imagine it would have confused elementary school students.


Another historical rendering that I found in a hallway. I remember doing a May Pole Dance in the sixth grade, all of the boys and girls in my class. I felt amazed at our accomplishment!

Found on the WWW about McMenamins:
McMenamins is a chain of nearly sixty brewpubs, microbreweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs. The chain is located mostly in the Portland metropolitan area, but has many other locations in Oregon and Washington. According to the Brewers Association, McMenamins is one of the top 50 largest craft breweries in the United States.

History
McMenamins was founded by Mike and Brian McMenamin, brothers who grew up in Northeast Portland, Oregon; they trace the beginning of McMenamins to the 1974 opening of Produce Row Café. They created the first post-Prohibition brewpub in Oregon — the Hillsdale Brewery & Public House in southwest Portland — in 1985. That same year McMenamins became the first brewery in the USA to legally use fruit in the brewing of ales (raspberries, for Ruby Ale, one of their "standard ales").
Their first theater pub was the Mission Theater (1987). The company then entered the broader hospitality business starting in 1990, when they converted a 74-acre-site (that at one time served as the Multnomah County Poor Farm) into Edgefield, which over the years has been expanded to include "vinting, distilling, gardening, lodging, [and] golf." By 1997, food accounted for over half of McMenamins' total sales. The purchase, $4 million remodeling, and 1997 re-opening of the Crystal Ballroom as a dance hall/music venue got McMenamins into the staging of national music acts.

By May 1998, there were 37 McMenamins locations in Oregon and six in Washington, grossing $50 million/year in business.

Notable locations
Many of its locations are renovated historical properties; as of June 2004, nine are on the National Register of Historic Places:
a former elementary school (Kennedy School),
a movie theater built by Universal Studios (The Bagdad Theater and Pub),
a building once used by the Church of Sweden as a Swedish Evangelical Mission (Mission Theater),
the site of a former general store once owned by Oregon's first state treasurer (Boon's Treasury),
a saloon once used by Polish immigrants to plan what became the west coast's first Polish Catholic Church (White Eagle Saloon),
a saloon and former brothel in downtown Centralia, Washington (Olympic Club Hotel),
a pioneer homestead with an octagonal barn (Cornelius Pass Roadhouse),
a former Multnomah County poor farm (Edgefield),
a ballroom with a floating floor (The Crystal Ballroom),
a saloon in Olympia, Washington called Spar Café and Bar, first opened in 1935.

Other locations include a former Masonic retirement home (The Grand Lodge), a building that was part of the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition (St. John's Pub) and a former funeral home in North Portland (The Chapel Pub) that also serves as the company's headquarters.
As of May 2009, McMenamins is in the process of renovating The Hotel Alma in downtown Portland, a former hotel, bathhouse and nightclub, into what the company hopes will become another property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Look, up the sky! It's a ... ?

At first I took this photo on March 10, 2010, because of the Fish Grotto sign that hangs in front of the Fish Grotto Seafood Restaurant at 1035 SW Stark in downtown Portland. Once I checked the photo in the camera, I noticed that giant crustacean in the background, hanging on the corner of a building. So I zoomed in for a few others shots, not that I had my actual zoom lens with me--that thing's pretty heavy.


It must be an inflatable crab--it reminds me of piles of crab legs I used to see at the buffet at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Not my sort of dish to dine on. Anyway, it's hanging on Jake's Famous Crawfish‎ at 401 SW 12th Avenue in downtown Portland.

I remembered that I'd noticed the crab from a block to the north, as I rode by on the bus home on Burnside. Then I remembered that I had seen something just like this at the other Jake's site--Jake's Grill, 611 SW 10th Avenue, also in downtown Portland.


Yep, it's a crab for sure. There's the sign to prove it.

Gotta love Portland!