the sw hills are pretty cool. no traffic, some cool houses, even cooler winding streets and stairs - numerous stairs. i know in nw there are public stairs all over the place, but am just now discovering the cool stairways in sw. one of the sets i found yesterday was at the end of sw broadway, just before it shoots uphill into the neighborhood. the stairway was wooden and well made and long. i didn't count, but would put it at 200+ steps. i'm surprised about it being wooden. did the city build this? is it private/public? it even had a resting spot:
the castle above is a pretty cool old house. i don't know any history, but i remember it from my childhood whenever we would go downtown. i also remember one of my first adventures into blogville going to Oh Dog's site and his quest to find the castle.
as i kept going up the hill, i began to worry if i would get back before my lunch hour was up. i didn't have any meetings, but didn't want to push it. i was surprised getting to the bottom of another set of stairs up off sw 12th and i had 12 minutes to get back and made it. woooo hoooo.
check out my other photos of the walk here.
as i kept going up the hill, i began to worry if i would get back before my lunch hour was up. i didn't have any meetings, but didn't want to push it. i was surprised getting to the bottom of another set of stairs up off sw 12th and i had 12 minutes to get back and made it. woooo hoooo.
check out my other photos of the walk here.
5 comments:
It was built in 1892 by Charles Piggott, a lumberman, and called Mt. Gleall Castle until he lost it in a foreclosure. According to "A Century of Portland Architecture": "Mount Gleall was an anagram drawn from his children, named Gladys, Earl and Lloyd." Have you found the lovejoy columns yet on your walks?
David,
Thanks for the info, that's great. yes, i have found the lovejoy columns. i remember them when they were actually supporting the viaduct.
thanks again.
That is SO cool to see the map of your walk. And can I just say, you are a fast walker! Impressive!
Regarding the myriad of public stairs---
look for Stefana Young & Robin Davis' book titled:
"Portland's Little Red Book of Stairs :The City's Ultimate Guide to More than 150 Curious and Colorful Outdoor Stairways."
(Coobus Press, 1996)
It's sure to expand your world of stair exploration.
...ora et labora...
-Oregbear (a native Oregonian)
I love Piggott's. I did some research on it a few years back, searching for haunt legends in Portland. Piggott's was once considered haunted, because you could hear eerie moaning and whistling sounds throughout the house. Turns out it was the system of communication ducts Piggott had built in. They have since been sealed.
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