A series of posts about places where you can buy, borrow or donate books in and around our amazing neighborhood.
Black Hat Books is an eclectic bookstore that opened only a year ago. Located between Stanton and Graham on MLK, it is home to unique collections of Latino and Native-American literature and history, as well of one of the largest collections of African-American literature, history, and poetry in the Pacific Northwest.
At the corner of NE Graham St and MLK Boulevard lies a building which, from the outside, looks like many other buildings in the neighborhood. However, on the inside is a newly renovated community space occupied and run by Open Signal.
It all started at Cascade Head at the mouth of the Salmon River. It is quite tricky to get to the three rocks past the spit on the other side of the river, but this is where Kipp Baratoff and Duncan Berry were sitting in 2012 when they came up with the idea for their business venture. They were sitting on those rocks talking about the ocean, the fish and how sad they were with some of the complexities of the seafood industry. They wished the industry could connect better with consumers. There in the “original boardroom” the idea for Fishpeople was born to transform the consumer’s relationship with the sea.
52-Unit Apartment Building to Bring New Life on Monroe and MLK
Eliot is experiencing a sustained building boom that is slowly replacing housing that was lost by original residents, the majority being African Americans. With the new Cascadia campus on MLK and Monroe, the neighborhood has a chance to revitalize and provide some housing relief for families that have been forced to leave as the neighborhood transitioned.
Want to get back in shape but feeling out of place next to those super-fit twenty-something bodies happily preening in their color coordinated Lululemons? Maybe you’re in need of a workout that accommodates or helps you rehab an injury? Well, your answer lives right here in the neighborhood and it’s called BodyQuirks (BQ).
In September Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare’s Garlington Center, located in the Eliot neighborhood on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (between NE Morris and NE Monroe Streets), hosted an exciting community event celebrating the groundbreaking of a new integrated health and wellness clinic and a new 52-unit affordable housing apartment building. The new clinic will provide mental health, addiction treatment, primary care and wellness programs to low income community members. The new apartment building will be available to Cascadia clients, US Veterans and displaced North/Northeast Portland residents.
Continue reading Garlington Center – An Innovative Model for Healthcare
The future of Eliot was hotly debated during the NE Quadrant (NEQ) plan process with most of the NE neighborhood representatives opposing widening I-5, replacement of the overpasses with “lids,” and the Hancock overcrossing. The NEQ increased allowed building height and density along Broadway and in the area across Broadway from the Rose Quarter. City Planners believe the new lid and Hancock extension will “reconnect” Eliot to a new “Pearl District East” development across Broadway from the Rose Quarter and along Broadway on Eliot’s southern edge.
1735 NE 7th Ave
Right here in our neighborhood, on the west side of NE 7th Ave at Schuyler, the Democratic Party has an office if you’re interested in talking to anyone about the upcoming election and the candidates.
The Wellspring School for Healing Arts has been providing comprehensive training in Amma Bodywork Therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Movement Arts, and Wholistic Nutrition since 1995. Our goal is to build healthy communities through whole mind/body education – empowering every individual to realize their full physical, mental, and spiritual potential!
On the transportation side, a few things are heating up. City staff hosted a meeting about a future NE 7th or 9th avenue bikeway. There was a strong preference to use 7th in Eliot’s section of the greenway due to it being cheaper and being able to address other safety concerns on 7th avenue at the same time. There is concern from the City’s perspective about diverting many of the cars from 7th to other routes although they have some tools to help this.
Current Projects:
At an Open House on December 9, 2015 Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare released architectural plans for its new $3.5 million center in Northeast Portland. Here is what Sue Vorenberg, Contributing Writer of the Portland Business Journal, wrote about the project:
Continue reading Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare’s New Facility
The old bank building on the corner of MLK and Russell where the Marinello School of Beauty used to be has been sold. It was purchased by a long time business owner in Eliot who has rented it as office space for himself and Fishpeople, a packaged seafood company.
Congratulations to Ashley Berry, the winner of the fall photo contest! These were all taken at the Garlington Wellness Garden, which is adjacent to NE Morris St. and MLK Jr. Blvd, in the Garlington Center. They are very proud of the harvests this year and are happy to be a part of the neighborhood!
Eliot is becoming more of a cultural destination every day. On October 2nd, Eliot’s newest art gallery opened its doors in the building that houses Bridges Café. Lloydean Presents art gallery, is owned and operated by Jullie Lloydean. Former office manager turned gallery owner, Lloydean is excited to start her next epic journey with a creative space that hopefully will be officially included in First Friday Eastside Artwalk. Lloydean is trying to get First Friday to expand their boundaries to include her gallery. The gallery will be open Tuesday through Friday noon to 6:00pm and Saturday and Sunday noon to 5:00pm.
Eliot Neighborhood 