Dekum relief

dekum relief
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

smile, you're on candid camera. the guy standing outside his pawn shop gave me a strange look when i was about taking photos of his wonderful building. i'm a sucker for architectural reliefs like faces or gremlins or naked bodies. The Dekum, @ SW 3rd/Washington in downtown portland is just one of those buildings. everytime i come accross the morrison bridge into downtown, i'm put on morrison going west. i usually take the left @ 3rd and BOOYA, there's the dekum. there's probably some amazing history about this building that i should share with you, but last time i did that, others on the web had already trumped me with portland architectural history. so i give you conjecture.

The Dekum was originally a high priced brothel in the height of portland's debauchery of the 1880's-90s. many a portland native dipped thier toes in The Dekum's well.

not really.....

you gotta give the stonemason some credit. this is amazing work. everything about it is perfection and quality. they didn't just pour concrete or use block, they used hammer and chisel to create an amazing texture of relief with faces and smiles and love. yes people - LOVE.

just down the street around 3rd and "the max trax," theres a parking garage with an amazing art display. ever since i can remember (like 3 weeks ago) i have seen "THE FISH!" how many times have you parked downtown and wondered - hey, can i get some fish here? well, go to this garage and you'll get fish:

so, what did you do today? i walked and enjoyed the sun, the breeze, the concrete sidewalk below my feet, the smell of a hot dog stand, the sound of a panhandler, the feel of a camera in my hand, the taste of a nice cold fresh brewed beer, the feel of dirt in my hand while planting, the strain on my muscles while one-handed mowing the lawn, the joy of knowing the problem at work wasn't my fault, a smile from a little dog, and the love of a beautiful woman.

so, what did you do today?

lastly- gotta give props to PUMA truly an amazing display of how the web has transformed our shopping lives - thankyou josh rubin.