The Pearl district, in front of us, hasn't always been the, urban designer's dream, it is today. Until about 20 years or so ago, it wasn't really known for anything at all. Sort of a blank, vaguely forbidding area between downtown and north west 23rd avenue, full of empty warehouses and vacant lots.
It was the industrial part of town; with loading docks, railroad tracks, warehouses, cobblestone streets, and loggers known as 'River Pigs'.
Whom, if you disrespected, you'd better be prepared to take a punch in the mouth; hints at the Pearl's past.
Gradually, a small vanguard of artists, drawn by the cheap rent, and out of the way, loft spaces, started moving in.
By 2001, the city council voted to adopt the Pearl District Development Plan, and it worked.
Nowadays, you have to dress up to come here.
Transformed, it is now known as Portland's very own Soho; with sleek artists' lofts, & condos overlooking tree-lined streets, art galleries, boutiques, sidewalk cafes, hip wine bars, micro breweries, and restaurants in the newly gentrified Pearl District... The area's history is an example of inner-city regeneration, and gentrification.
This area was once home to the Henry Wine hard's Brewery Blocks, the big brick building in front of us (built in the historic Italianate style). They built and operated a beer empire here, for more than 130 years (from 1864-1999) and was known as the West's oldest continuously operated brewery.
They made so much beer, (100,000 barrels a year) that at one point, they offered to just go ahead and pump it into Skidmore Fountain, so everyone could enjoy it!
Originally, this was the industrial part of town, located adjacent to, skid road, and railroad tracks ran through, including right up to Henry's.
Henry Wine hard's atmosphere, hearkens back to a time, when loggers logged, and flannel wasn’t a god damn fashion choice. The name ‘River Pig’, refers to the lumbermen, who worked West Burnside (Also known as, Skid Road), in the old days, floating timber downstream from the forests to sawmills on the river. "They were brutes, who enjoyed their booze, and good times.
During prohibition, Wine hard's survived, making, near beer and root beer! But nothing lasts forever. In 1979, what was by then Blitz-Wine hard, was sold to Pabst, and Pabst sold it to Shroh's, in 1996. 3 years later, Stroh's sold it to Miller, and that was the end of Wine hard's Brewery Blocks. But it's still made today, by Olympia Brewing in Tumwater.
Next stop, the Deschutes Brewery.
It was the industrial part of town; with loading docks, railroad tracks, warehouses, cobblestone streets, and loggers known as 'River Pigs'.
Whom, if you disrespected, you'd better be prepared to take a punch in the mouth; hints at the Pearl's past.
Gradually, a small vanguard of artists, drawn by the cheap rent, and out of the way, loft spaces, started moving in.
By 2001, the city council voted to adopt the Pearl District Development Plan, and it worked.
Nowadays, you have to dress up to come here.
Transformed, it is now known as Portland's very own Soho; with sleek artists' lofts, & condos overlooking tree-lined streets, art galleries, boutiques, sidewalk cafes, hip wine bars, micro breweries, and restaurants in the newly gentrified Pearl District... The area's history is an example of inner-city regeneration, and gentrification.
This area was once home to the Henry Wine hard's Brewery Blocks, the big brick building in front of us (built in the historic Italianate style). They built and operated a beer empire here, for more than 130 years (from 1864-1999) and was known as the West's oldest continuously operated brewery.
They made so much beer, (100,000 barrels a year) that at one point, they offered to just go ahead and pump it into Skidmore Fountain, so everyone could enjoy it!
Originally, this was the industrial part of town, located adjacent to, skid road, and railroad tracks ran through, including right up to Henry's.
Henry Wine hard's atmosphere, hearkens back to a time, when loggers logged, and flannel wasn’t a god damn fashion choice. The name ‘River Pig’, refers to the lumbermen, who worked West Burnside (Also known as, Skid Road), in the old days, floating timber downstream from the forests to sawmills on the river. "They were brutes, who enjoyed their booze, and good times.
During prohibition, Wine hard's survived, making, near beer and root beer! But nothing lasts forever. In 1979, what was by then Blitz-Wine hard, was sold to Pabst, and Pabst sold it to Shroh's, in 1996. 3 years later, Stroh's sold it to Miller, and that was the end of Wine hard's Brewery Blocks. But it's still made today, by Olympia Brewing in Tumwater.
Next stop, the Deschutes Brewery.
