The Sellwood Blog

Moving over to OregonLive...

2005-05-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Okay kids, the Sellwood blog is moving to OregonLive. Hope to see you there!

Dump your junk this Saturday

2005-05-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

According to the SMILE neighborhood website, this Saturday May 21st is the 26th Annual Sellwood-Westmoreland Cleanup Day. So if you have a lot of junk sitting around your house, and you're not planning on selling it during the neighborhood garage sale, you can take it to the Westmoreland Park parking lot between 9 am and 2 pm.

Accepted:

yard debris
junk from the basement and garage
scrap wood
unwanted furniture and appliances
metal

Not accepted:

food garbage
plaster
concrete
dirt
sheet rock
aerosol cans
hazardous materials
anything else not accepted at the landfill

The prices for dumping your junk are $5-10 for a car or station wagon, $10-15 for a small pickup, $15-25 for a large pickup, $25-up for large vehicles, $15 surcharge for accepting appliances containing Freon (refrigerators, air conditioners), and a surcharge of $10 for computer monitors. You must present proof that you are a Sellwood-Westmoreland resident (such as a driver's license) at the dump site.

If we can't have a new bridge, maybe we need a ferry

2005-05-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

As a resident of Sellwood who lives south of Tacoma and west of 13th (ie. close to the Sellwood Bridge) I was pretty darn disappointed that they took away bus 40. I'm for bridge safety as much as the next guy, so I guess I shouldn't be unhappy about the restrictions on our old bridge, but it was nice having a semi-direct route downtown. My husband was especially disappointed, as he works in John's Landing, just on the other side of the bridge, down Macadam Ave. (His disappointment was assuaged a bit by the joy of unicycling to work.)

Sometime when I wasn't looking (or really, sometime shortly after I had a baby) Tri-Met added bus 41T to Sellwood, which takes Sellwood-Westmoreland residents downtown via the Hawthorne Bridge instead. I'll be honest and say I have never ridden the 41T. Apparently not many other people are riding it either. The SMILE newsletter says that the 41T averages 6 passengers per hour, and Tri-Met is thinking about shutting the line down if ridership doesn't go up soon. If they take this bus away Sellwood will be again cut off to direct bus access to downtown (though you can ride bus 70 and transfer to the 33). Maybe we should get a new bridge! Oh wait...tens of billions of dollars short. About that ferry idea...

Yarn store and coffee shop coming to Sellwood

2005-05-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

I saw over at the Kennilworth-Abernethy blog that soon there will be a new yarn store in town, and it's going to be located in Sellwood. Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks will be offering classes, knitting clubs, knitting getaways, as well as selling yarn and coffee. I'm already a big fan of Mabel's so I hope this place will be just as cozy and welcoming because it's a lot closer! Abundant Yarn will be at the intersection of 17th and Sherrett.

When will the "prime Sellwood location" be ready?

2005-05-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

I could be wrong, but it seems as though work on that old building on 13th has stopped. I never see trucks or construction workers there when I walk by. I thought they were just working on the inside of the building, and maybe that's the case, but it really appears that nothing has changed since I took that photo a month ago. The outside is still the same as the picture. And yet even last week Windermere was advertising it as available for occupancy on May 1st. I wonder if they're having a hard time finding renters?

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

2005-04-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Are some of them sex offenders? Someone pointed out this website the other day which has the sex offender data for a bunch of states including Oregon. You type in your zipcode and it brings up a list. I entered Sellwood's zipcode, 97202, and it brought up the list. It lists names and addresses (and yes, some of them were in Sellwood), but it does not say what kind of crime they committed. Would I want to know? I'm not sure. This discussion points out that the term "sex offender" isn't always what we might think. Still I'm glad the registry is available to the public.

Spring cleaning for summer selling

2005-04-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

Our house is a two bedroom, two bathroom house. It was the perfect size for a couple who had only lived in apartments or shared houses before. We had just the right amount of furniture for this house. It was also what we could afford in Sellwood.

Two years, one baby, one cat, and a bunch of stuff later, it's feeling kind of small. Babies, especially, have so many accessories: the crib, the changing table, dresser, toys, high chair, toys, sippy cups, bottles, breast pumps, toys, slings, back packs, diapers, and more toys. And then there are all the clothes he grows out of in just a few months.

Last week I started cleaning out the bookshelf, replacing the photo albums and hefty coffeetable books on the bottom two shelves with board books, stuffed animals, and plastic donuts. I ended up reorganizing the whole bookshelfing and was left with a big bag of books I no longer wanted. Then the thought struck me: garage sale!

I've seen a couple of mentions recently of the Sellwood/Moreland neighborhood garage sale happening this summer, and it seems like a good idea. So I'm signing myself up! And now that I've made the decision, I'm looking around my house, at each object, and asking "Could I sell that?" Yes! As I trip over another tennis ball or pile of books, I am about ready to sell anything that's not nailed down.

Are any of you other Sellwood/Moreland people going to do this? This is my first garage sale ever so if anyone has any good garage sale tips, I'd appreciate them!

Quiznos makes a new home near Sellwood

2005-04-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

So this isn't Sellwood news, exactly, but its close to Sellwood, and could affect Sellwood residents. I may be the only one excited about this, except maybe some of the people who work every day in John's Landing (such as the case with my husband) with its very few good restaurant options for lunch. They just opened a new Quiznos last week on Macadam, on the west side of the street, between Carolina and Iowa streets. There was a new building constructed for it, and its next to the going-out-of-business Portland Rug Center, and the mexican restaurant that has changed hands three times in the last two years. The new Quiznos is strategically located near Subway too. I, myself, definitely prefer Quiznos over Subway (in fact I've never even been to the Subway that's right in Sellwood on Tacoma), so I am very excited that there is now a Quiznos near Sellwood.

Another one bites the dust

2005-04-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

I was walking up 13th the other day and I noticed that another Sellwood business is closing its doors. Primitive Home, the antique store that made its home in that cute red and cream house near the library, had some "Closing sale" signs as well as a "For Rent" sign in its window. According to this article from the Portland Tribune, it was a relatively new business as of last year. Its interesting to note that the article from the Tribune is from a year ago, and it raised the question, should Sellwood be referred to as "Antique Row" anymore?

Bybee Bridge is cracked

2005-04-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

According to today's Portland Tribune, the cement on the newly-built Bybee Bridge is cracked. The experts say they are surprised that it cracked so soon, but are not overly worried about it. Nonetheless, they are keeping an eye on it.

A recent walk across the bridge found hairline cracks almost every six inches. O’Longaigh said those were consistent with the concrete naturally shrinking as it dries out and loses moisture. Other cracks snake along near the maximum-tension points around the bridge’s supports. A few larger cracks — not much larger, he said —appear in other areas of the bridge.

Apparently the early warm weather we had affected how fast the cement dried. The article says that local business owners are concerned about any more closures of the bridge for construction and repair. I don't blame them.

Will a Farmer's Market come to Sellwood?

2005-04-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

According to "The Neighbor" (a newsletter about Sellwood-Westmoreland) someone is proposing a Farmer's Market for Sellwood.

I love Farmer's Markets, but I am never motivated to get myself down to the large one that's held at PSU on the weekends. And though I am generally happy with the selection and quality of produce at New Seasons, it would be great to see a weekly Farmer's Market in Sellwood. It's nice meeting the people who are actually growing your food, as well as bumping into all your fellow Sellwood residents on a regular basis. I would hope, though, that like New Seasons the market would have a good selection of organic fruits and vegetables.

The link above gives more details about the person who is trying to get this going. It says that one of the main obstacles at the moment is a location. Hopefully the group working on this will bring it to fruition.

Fundraiser for the Sellwood Community Center TODAY

2005-04-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Oops, I meant to post this before the fact, but today is an awareness fundraiser for the Sellwood Community Center. If your read the Bee you know that the Center is going to be closed down by the the Parks and Rec Department in 2006 due to lack of funds. We just drove by Spokane St. and saw all the balloons and that's what reminded me about the event! Here's the info about the fundraiser, from the Bee:

Citizen “awareness fundraiser” for Sellwood Community Center. From noon to 6 on Saturday, April 9th, a group of Sellwood residents is holding an “awareness fundraiser” at the Sellwood Community Center, S.E. 15th and Spokane Streets. There will be live entertainment, food, demonstrations, children’s activities, fun and games….all for a suggested donation of $3 or more. The money is to be dedicated to helping to save the center, currently slated for cuts by the Portland Parks and Recreation Department, which operates it. For information, call Will and Melissa Moye at 503/234-3742.

Bloggers review Assagio

2005-04-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

There's a new blog on the town, called Dinner with the Girls! Eight women go out to a different restaurant each month and review it. This month's selection was Assagio, at SE 13th and Lambert. My husband and I have only eaten there once (it's a bit spendy) but came to the conclusion that it has some of the absolute best food in Portland. (Seriously, try the chocolate bread pudding.)

The women who reviewed their dinner at Assagio were not quite as impressed. It seems their dinner started out on a sour note because they had to wait for the table they had reserved. You can read their reviews here, here, and here.

Caprial and John's Kitchen closes

2005-04-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

The other day I was driving by Caprial and John's Kitchen at 14th and Bybee and I noticed a "For Lease" sign in the window. According to the Sellwood Bee, the Kitchen is closing! Caprial and John Pence have decided to close it in order to focus more on their restaurant, Caprial's Bistro around the corner on Milwaukie Ave. The Kitchen will only be open until April 15th, but classes will resume at the Bistro in July.

Sellwood Town Homes completed

2005-04-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

The Sellwood Bee reports that Buena Vista Custom Homes has completed the Sellwood Town Homes located at SE 9th and Marion. These just happen to be on my block, and I am happy to see them finally finished. When we moved in there was just an abandoned building of some sort sitting there. The first summer we spent in this house was filled with the BOOM BOOM BOOM CRASH of construction crews tearing that building down.

The second summer we spent in this house was spent with the KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK BZZZZZ sounds of the townhouses going up. And then the surpise of looking out our second story bedroom window to see some construction guy standing on a roof staring back at us. We watched the town houses go from a big hole in the ground, to the skeleton of a house, to the finished product it is now.

We walked by last weekend hoping they would be open and we could take a look around (no luck). I took the photo posted above while we walked by. It looks like at least one unit is already being lived in. Hopefully this summer we'll only be seeing our new neighbors around rather than the construction people who have been our temporary "neighbors" for the last two years.

More cool shops for Sellwood?

2005-04-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

I've been watching the transformation of the above building with interest. It is on 13th, across from the Red Caboose I mentioned previously. I walk by it every time I go to the library. It used to be full of apartments, the kind where the shades were always down and you never saw anyone actually living there. I always thought it was a shame they didn't put something more interesting in such a prime location. Then they started gutting it.

At the beginning it was just a bunch of empty rooms with old appliances sitting around. Then they started taking down walls, getting rid of half the doorways. You could tell there was a major overhaul going on.

I've been wondering what was going to take its place, and then the other day I stumbled across this advertisement on craigslist. (I guess "Historic Renovation" means they ripped out that ugly shag carpeting from the 70s.)

There aren't a lot of details, but I hope that some of the spaces are retail, not just offices. More shops/restaurants in Sellwood! I feel that we have enough massage places, salons, antique stores and yoga studios already. Lets see something different!

Keana's Candyland (aka the gingerbread-looking house)

2005-03-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

A few posts down, Mason commented that the COOLEST candy shop around is on Milwaukie Avenue between the Brooklyn neighborhood and Westmoreland. I've always been a little too intimidated to go in there myself, because it does look a tad strange, but luckily another blogger went in and documented the experience. Over at Oh Dog, You Sleuth! there are pictures of Keana's Candyland and a little investigative reporting. "Inside, every square inch had been decorated with fake candy...I couldn't put my finger on it if they were Jesus-y or if they were witches. Mainly, I'm just always dazzled by people who take architecture into their own hands and try to make the outside world look like what's inside their heads." Check it out here, you have to scroll down to the February 27th entry.

Sellwood's history in photos

2005-03-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already seen the great historic photos over at pdxhistory.com you chould check out the photos of Sellwood. Some of the images look very familiar, which shows that Sellwood has held on to a lot of its original charm. There are photos of 13th Street, of the old car barns, and of the streetcar that used to run through the neighborhood.

Fun Easter activities at Oaks Park

2005-03-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

The first 300 kids in the gate at Oaks Park this Saturday will have the chance to take a photo with the Easter Bunny. From 11:00 am to 12:30 pm the park will have Easter activities such as making bunny ears and tails, decorating cookies, coloring a funny bunny picture, and listening to a story.

Enjoy photos of your neighborhood

2005-03-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

Over at Portland Ground, Miles Hochstein posts photos daily from all over the Portland area. He has a nice collection of Sellwood-Moreland photos, like the one above of Share-It Square. Check it out--you're likely to see some of your favorite spots around Portland.

Westmoreland tries to distinguish itself from Sellwood

2005-03-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

I can't say enough how happy I am the the Bybee bridge is now open again. Since I live on the Sellwood side of the bridge, it didn't affect how often I frequented Westmoreland or Sellwood businesses, but it sure made getting to places east of 17th a pain in the butt. Bybee/Woodstock are much easier and nicer to drive on than going up to Holgate or Powell, or down to Tacoma/Johnson Creek. In fact, now that it's open again, I find myself wanting to get to know the Woodstock neigborhood more.

The Oregonian today has an article about the impact of the year-long Bybee bridge closure on Westmoreland businesses. Several business owners felt that a few more months without the direct connection to Eastmoreland and beyond would have put them out of business.

The article also talked about how Westmoreland has created its own business alliance to promote Westmoreland:

"We always got confused and thrown in with Sellwood on 13th (Avenue)," said Tom Brown, the alliance's president and owner of various buildings in the district, including the Adobe Rose and Starbucks sites. 'We're trying to get people to walk here more and spend the day if they can."

In my mind, I lump Sellwood and Westmoreland together. It seems kind of silly to try and separate them, or worse, make them compete against each other. Without Westmoreland, Sellwood is just a place with a bunch of antique stores and only a few good restaurants . Without Sellwood, Westmoreland is just a couple of restaurants and shops, with no library or natural foods store. Together they make one great neighborhood.

The little caboose that couldn't (sell, that is)

2005-03-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

It seems like the whole time I've lived in Sellwood this red caboose next to Grand Central Bakery has been for lease or for sale (or both, as is the current case). For about 30 seconds there was a clothing shop inside, but it didn't last long. It again has the For Sale sign up. Usually when I'm walking by I see kids playing on it. Maybe someone should turn it into a toy store or a very very small day care. Or maybe a candy shop! Sellwood could use a candy shop.

Hooray for crosswalks

2005-03-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

There is finally a crosswalk in front of the Sellwood library! The other day I went to jaywalk across 13th in my usual manner, only to find that someone had painted a crosswalk right where I wanted to cross. Did the traffic stop for me because I was in a crosswalk? No. I guess that will be step two.

The ever changing restaurant

2005-03-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

According to the new, somewhat ugly sign on what used to be Occasions restaurant, it is now the Sellwood Public House. It is a pizza joint, even though Bellagios Pizza was set up right next door. That makes this the third different restaurant in one spot since I moved here in 2003. First it was fine dining, then a breakfast/cajun ribs place, now pizza. Oddly enough, according to this write-up on Digitalcity, the place offers free Wi-Fi. Maybe I'll have to check it out.