Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that was among the first in the area to be transformed into something
new. When its remodel was finished in 2001, the U.S. Green Building
Center gave it a LEED Gold rating, the first ever for a restoration of a
historic building. Its design, which even those indifferent to architecture
can appreciate, preserves the look and texture of the original (including
some of the walls around the parking area, rough edges and all) and in-
cludes an ecoroof and a set of solar panels that provide 10% of the
building's energy supply. In short, it's a pretty cool building, and is one
of the reasons people got so excited about what was going on in the
Pearl District when the wave of warehouse renovations began. (There's
also a really good pizza joint inside: Hotlips, which uses all-local organic
ingredients.)
From NW Johnson St., take a right on NW 10th Ave., then a left on NW
Kearney St., to reach Jamison Square Park. When the park first ap-
peared it was a little, um, stark: essentially a featureless concrete disc
with a fountain in the middle. But it quickly grew into itself and now
feels more like an urban oasis, with shade trees and seating areas
around the fountain. It's wildly popular, especially with the parents of
little kids, so it can get hectic on weekends and summer afternoons. But
it definitely helps make the neighborhood seem like a place where
people actually live, rather than just a theoretical exercise in how one
might live. (The park is named after William Jamison, a universally ad-
ored Portland art gallery owner who died in 1995.)
Cross the square diagonally, emerging at NW 11th Ave. and NW John-
son St., and take a right onto Johnson. At NW 13th Ave. turn left. This
strip has a number of very highly rated restaurants, if you're feeling
peckish. And for the coffee addicts, between NW Hoyt and Glisan is
Barista, where you can get an impeccably pulled espresso shot and great
advice on choosing a bag of beans to take home with you.
Between Everett and Davis on NW 13th Ave. is the Portland headquar-
ters of the Wieden + Kennedy ad agency, which runs prominent cam-
paigns for Nike and Old Spice, among others. The building is yet anoth-
er astounding renovation of an old warehouse (from 1908). Even the
front doors are intimidating.
From NW 13th, turn left on W. Burnside St. This area was once home to
the Henry Weinhard Brewery blocks. (Note the slick, newish Henry's
12th Street Tavern, a block down.) Weinhard ran a beer empire from
