A couple of years ago a small building stood on the corner of Rodney and Russell. Though technically a remodel, the building on the same corner now in no way looks like the old Dad’s Oil office. The top floor has a couple of rental apartments and the bottom floor is now Afrique Bistro.
Back in 2003 when we moved into the neighborhood there weren’t nearly as many places to eat. Sure, Popeye’s has been on MLK for a while now. Billy Reed’s was also serving up good food, but was just about ready to start the dreadful transition that had it change styles, ownership and names over and over again. Then in 2004 the level of cuisine in Eliot changed…starting with Echo.
Once again Dawson Park will host three concerts this summer in July (and August). The gazebo, renovated in the the Spring of 2008, will be the stage for the live performances. Last year three great acts graced the gazebo and this year’s lineup looks fantastic. Concerts begin at 6:30 PM and last about 2 hours. Best of all, the concerts are free!
If you have been around Russell Street near MLK recently you probably noticed a new hip store in the neighborhood called Adorn. The small urban clothing and accessory shop opened last September in the same building as Project Hope.
My new favorite neighborhood bar is the Secret Society Lounge located on the 2nd floor of a newly renovated 1907 building on NE Russell St. It’s small and cozy with a fantastic wooden bar. My husband would die to have one exactly like it in our basement, but maybe a touch smaller.
You may have noticed the recent activity at the American State Bank building on the corner of Graham and MLK. Over the past few months CrossFit MLK has been staging the building as a fitness center. CrossFit MLK opened earlier this month.
I grew up in Bend where it snows often. In my 12 years living in the Portland this recent storm is the most snow I have seen here. As I talk to “old-timers” they have a hard time remembering this much snow accumulating and sticking for so long. I love it! My wife and I along with our dog made the most of it over the last few days.
One of the things I like most about our neighborhood is being able to walk a few short blocks for food and entertainment. In July my wife and I along with the dog packed up a picnic and walked to Eliot’s Dawson Park to see free concerts. This year Dawson Park hosted three “Summer Concerts in Portland Parks” on Wednesdays in July and we attended them all.
On Friday August 22 nearby Irving Park will be hosting Portland Park and Recreation’s “Movies in the Park”.
Last Friday I had that end of week feeling. You know the one that starts about an hour before you’re off work on Friday. It happens whether your Friday is actually Friday or another day. At the time my mind was wandering, thinking about sitting outside drinking a nice cold beer. Once I got home my wife and I decided to walk over to Alu for some wine, beer and great food.
On an unusually cold Friday in April we were deciding what do do with our Friday night. We had already narrowed it down to two choices – go to Waypost and see the Tony Green Orchestra perform or go to McMenamins Kennedy School and see the movie Juno. We decided to go to see Tony Green and it was a great choice.
Eliot Neighborhood has a new wine bar and lounge to add to it’s growing list of places of to hang out. The wine bar quietly opened their doors about 6 weeks ago.
According to the menu Alu refers to the aluminum finish on the side of the building. Inside, Alu has a good variety of wine, beer and a German inspired menu created by chef Sandro di Giovanni.
Every morning, Sundays excepted, a man and his dog stand outside of the pretty Spanish Renaissance Revival building at 216 NE Knott, waiting for the doors to open at 10:00. Originally a library designed by Ellis Lawrence in 1912, it now houses Title Wave, one of the most unique bookshops in Portland, where the videos, DVDs, music CDs and books retired from the Multnomah County Library (MCL) system are sold.
Continue reading Title Wave: Out Of Circulation, Though Not For Long
The Multnomah County Library Title Wave Used Bookstore on Knott street is having a Bag of Books Sale. They are selling books and audiotapes.
They’ll give you a bag for $10 and you can fill it up with books and audiotapes. There is a limit of 10 bags per customer. Books have to fit in the bag completely. The sale is Saturday, Jan 26 from 10am – 4pm or until they run out of books. It’s a great deal and helps to support the Multnomah County Library. Title Wave is at 216 NE Knott, phone 503-988-5021.
Ok, I’m a typical guy and I waited until the last minute to do most of my holiday shopping. I like the holiday season, but shopping is not my favorite part and there are a lot of places I would rather be than in the mall during the holiday season. As I was trying to figure out what to get my wife I thought about doing a themed gift package. I decided I would get her gifts from Eliot.
Eliot Neighborhood 