I’m actually the great grand daughter of Benjamin Tarlow and the history is pretty spot on! Tarlow’s Maple and Bedding House on Hawthorne was founded with his brother Milton and business partner Sam. When it moved Tarlow’s furniture was just Benjamin and later his son Lawrence. We still have some things in our house from the old furniture store so the history lives on!
My mom Wilma was a long time friend of Gordon and worked at Gordon’s in the late 90’s and early 2000. You really should take a dive into Gordon’s personal history. He was a unique man who traveled to NY and Paris to find items for his store. He had a little dog who escaped the fireplace shop and was found running on I-84 (unharmed) and returned to him. When that dog eventually passed away he kept her body in his house for days due to heartbreak. He was also a gay male and I only mention that as I saw a person comment that her aunt dated him and I find that very unlikely. However he was always good friends with everyone. He lived in a home on blue lake out near Gresham.
as a kid growing up/ living in PDX.. I love yo channel. Literally everything I've ever wondered WTF is that in my childhood days, you educate me on! big ups to you & your growth!
I used to drive for Uber down there and shocked to see the transformation of this building. I drive mostly in Vancouver now but I had a delivery the other night and had to drive past it. I had to do a double take because the graphitti made it unrecognizable in the dark.
Gordon's Fireplace started out as a sweet, little shop in the original Gateway Shopping Center in the 60s. When I was 11yrs old I won a watch at Gordon's at the Gateway Shopping Centers annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was sad to see them leave Gateway and "expand". This leads to the end of so many small businesses. Thanks for chronicalling my home town❤
Thanks for sharing your love of our area. I have memories of the changing landscape of Portland. This film hits on one I have been recently discussing, since my daily commute recently changed to East of 205 to Downtown, via Halsey to Broadway... I have been in Portland since 1985. I remember when Gordon's was at Lloyd Center, and I had forgotten that until you mentioned it. Your videos make me nostalgic and very happy. I too love both the history and the urban decay.
Thank you for sharing all of your passion for history, preserving and passing on information along with your talented flair in telling the story. Love all of your videos. So do my kids. ❤
Steve, dude, we gotta get you a grant somehow. You’ve proven your chops, I’d really like to see this work get connected in to the state & city history work that the posh archives and such do. Not because I think you need to be hanging out w insufferable people lol, but this kind of work is neglected horribly in community history & speaks to socioeconomic representation very deeply. I do not trust YT or the internet archives for preservation, and digital video is going to be a toughie anyway, I really want this work to be properly archived & maintained. Or at least write a book, take it to the small presses, & capture some of these stories in print. But dear god, keep going. This is very groundbreaking work. These places are so often easy to ignore, but they often hold powerful & uneasy truths about the way we gloss over the reality of city history.
I grew up near there. And sympathize with the Portland development problems you bring to light! I’ve felt that the majority of Portland history has been stripped. I also grew up and am still apart of a property that you might be interested in checking on in NW Portland. It’s the Radio Cab building at 1613 NW Kearney. It has some interesting history. Part of the building is still occasionally called the barn, because it was near a 100 years ago. Also it’s the only functioning gas station that’s within building in Oregon and is open to the public. I’d love to see you do your handiwork on our place. 😉
Love this place! It is cool to be able to buy gas from a local business and not a big corp! I used to always go to their vending machine on the way back home from hitting the bars with my friends!
Over the years before it closed down I always wondered how it looked inside and why a fireplace shop would need so much space. Then it was gone and I never had a chance to visit. Now I live in a house with three fireplaces. Nice job!
I visited Gordon's in the early 2000s, looking for a new screen or facade for my own fireplace. they could make a custom one, but no way I could afford what they were asking. The store was a very cozy, warm place on a cold winter day with all the fireplaces going inside. I don't know how they handled all the flues / chimneys -- must've had a heck of a manifold on the second floor?
Excellent video Steve! Your love of the history of the city you live in is evident in your drive to continue to do extensive research to produce excellent quality videos! Thank you for all the work you do!
Have been binge watching your channel. Love the content. I think an interesting and popular idea for a story, would be the history of Mcminimums and there historic buildings, or Portland's beer (brewery) history up to current times. Just a thought.
I Grew up in a house on 28th North of Broadway, I frequently walked to the YMCA on 38th, passing that building. This was in the late '40's and early '50's. I have a strong memory of the pasta factory in the east end of that building. They made "Porter's Frillet" pasta. This was a wide flat noodle with frilly edges. This is separate from the macaroni place on 35th.
I got to 3:02 and subscribed. Your fascination for the building and reference as a kid was so similar to who I was as a child. Always viewed architecture with a story. Well thank you fellow pnw ‘er your channel is a new fav.
My grandparents came over from Montana to Portland, Oregon by covered wagon after they got married. They bought two lots and had a house built on one of them in SE Portland. The house is still there but the beautiful garden on the lot next door was sold off and someone built an ugly house there.
I also looked for that warehouse . As a kid I thought was shaped like a boat. my mom took us in Gordons once just to look around for fun. It’s so satisfying for the mysterious quirks of the building to finally make sense. Thanks for preserving this history. I have a feeling it will be gone soon.
😂 🤦🏼♀️🤣 I never would have guessed that word was "Parlor" even on my large TV screen it was a bit blurry. Interesting that the word "beauty" was a little less blurry and legible though 🤷🏼♀️ But, I'm willing to assume it was the extremely fancy "P" causing added eyeball and brain havoc (at least for myself) hahaha. Just wanna add: I truly enjoy your videos. My kids think I'm a nerd because I've always been fascinated with architecture no matter where we go. And I love learning about our local history. Especially the parts that aren't typically discussed. Thank you Steve, appreciate you
Thanks Steve for doing yeoman's work on the history of this property. I've lived in this neighborhood for 35+ years and if I had to hazard a guess, the winner at auction will likely do a tear down and erect god knows what...just bringing that building up to earthquake, electric and plumbing code would likely be financially daunting. It's kind of a difficult location to imagine what could pencil out. Thanks again for your diligent work.
Very interesting documentary... Definitely recognize the building although it wasn’t so vandalized last time I saw it a few years back. Thanks for sharing! Love your videos, keep them coming! 😊👍🏼
That BurgerKing was my first visit to fast food when my church youth group went there after an event. I was very overwhelmed and didn’t know how to order. I was about 12 yrs old at the time, so ~1982.
I love this building so much. And I love the graffiti on it as well. I wish I could afford to buy it. I would live on one of the floors and rent it out to artists to have space for their projects.
I grew up in Northeast. 38th and Alberta Court, to be exact. So that strip of Broadway is super-familiar to me. I've seen so much change there over the years. And Tarlows? My family was extremely into the whole furniture thing because my dad ran a professional upholstery shop on 21st close to the Lloyd/Holliday Park District, so I probably went in there with my mom a few times. And that Burger King was where we always got Whoppers. It was probably the first drive-through I ever went through (in Portland anyway) after I got my drivers license. Geez, all those memories. I even went into Gordon's to apply for a job once...I think I chickened out at the last minute
My wife & I went into Gordon’s looking for furniture for our new condo in Goose Hollow in 2009…right after we moved to Portland. Being unfamiliar with the area at the time, we went to just about every furniture place between Beaverton & Troutdale. They had fireplace accessories for sure but also a wide variety of local hand-made furniture. It was very nice furniture (but very expensive) and would have been more suited to a mountain cabin than a new downtown condo.
I drive by Gordon's every day, to know all this history is incredible, I'll think of it every time I drive by, hopefully it's restored and not just replaced with a Starbucks and McDonald's
In the cir. 1993 period I went inside and was shopping for what were the best options for Wood Stoves and Pellet Stoves. I remember that it looked "high class" inside and did display well as "not being any bargain low class Walmart junk clone." The prices were what I considered high, but I realize that what was here was "quality." The type of (Internal Horn Victrola style Phonograph) mentioned can still be come across .
Thanks for doing this. The area has a lovely rich history. I’m a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, went to school at Fernwood and Grant, worked at Kienow’s at 33rd and Hancock during the early 80s, and ended up working for Providence. I remember the Porter Scarpelli factory where the strip mall is now. Where Shandong is now was Boc’s Drive In, the neighborhood burger joint (Yaw’s was slowly dying), and The Hollywood Burger Bar was on 42nd and Sandy. Personally, I can’t imagine trying to bring that building up to code without stripping it down to a skeleton. I love old buildings and hate to see them go, but if the buyer rebuilds bringing the flavor of the original structure in a safer, usable building with parking, it would really benefit the neighborhood.
Месяц назад+2
That place is getting more tagged these last few years for sure. Portland reminds me of a lot of the buildings in Oakland, but yeah, Portland has a lot of history being one of the bigger cities on the West Coast - many times we hear the same city stories. Thanks for the history of this place.
I work in community history in the rural west. I love the work Steve is doing, would love to do some locally but am backlogged years on my personal research lol. But there’s so much packed in to Steve’s work. Some of it I won’t elaborate because I’m too academic & esoteric & will sound like a loon talking about the poignancy of liminal spaces. But to speak like a normal human, there’s a story in every intersection, and since the Great Newspaper Digitization, we have freaking searchable access to the details of so many places - and it’s easy & quick vs microfiche. There’s no excuse anymore to have the same tired stories everywhere. I have found so much new new history locally & expanded/corrected stories, but there’s still 1k more stories to find and tell - by loads of people - to actually understand our communities. Industrial spaces often are economically very relevant in history & have huge impact, but we need creatives like Steve to tell this in a way that engages and intrigues. I am kinda interested in finding a non-video (I’m a great writer & public speaker & ok on film but not if I have to ever see it haha, and I cannot talk to the camera directly in a way that is good) to do a “what the heck is that--“ series in my town…people keep making TikTok’s about the same mystery door (it’s an engineering access point but it’s on the city for sticking a door in a cliff face) and I’ve spent years poking around weird places. Too bad I have a bad case of “social worker face,” my friends sweet but ex-con hubby told me I was scaring some neighborhoods in my old minivan with my “DFS” look, I was looking at history & was grooving to 1890 life, meanwhile everyone was scared I was coming for someone’s kids (certain neighborhoods get targeted based on one person’s crimes), so someone with better vibes needs to do it here. I just look like a Karen with a tiny bit of authority.
I bought my current fireplace screen from that shop. Ultimately, I hope they level it. It's not going to be economical to bring it up to current seismic codes.
The Blind Onion pizza place puts out fresh pizzas on top of their trash/recycling cans across from this place for the poor/homeless. It's terrible pizza, but I've eaten it a a few times if it's still been warm. The Sizzle Pie on Burnside does the same thing after 12 AM.
I think that many people who say that they want to save the building and maintain the character of the old masonry structures probably really do desire to do just that. Unfortunately what they probably do not understand is the structural requirements for a structure like this pertaining to current building codes. Once they find out what will be required structurally to renovate the building and meet the current codes, they soon discover that it's not economically practical. It's most often discovered that it's much cheaper to tear down and build new. Masonry buildings, especially old brick ones do not perform well during seismic events. The work required to reinforce these old brick buildings is extensive and expensive. So, you might want to go a bit easier on the lying scum bag developers. I think most probably mean what they say originally but after starting into the project a bit further, soon find out what it's going to cost them. Unless money doesn't matter, most developers are forced to realize the economics of the renovation and are forced to change direction.
i love that the taggers seem to specifically not be hitting the old phonograph signage. So curious to see what comes of this building...hope it's something good. We could really use a win in the turning portland into a lame personality-less gentrified armpit battle.
We share the same fascination, as a young man I can only dream of buying that brown shop like building along the road there I pass it here and again for work purpose
I have family that still lives in the U.K. Many of the old buildings lay in ruin that were once gems. It sad to see it in its current state, but that's going on everywhere around the country. You want people to care about things, you have to give them a reason too.
I urinated in the tall blackberry bushes behind this place in the summer during a drunken weekend walkabout. I'd go to a gas station, grab a beer, market grab a beer, another market, another gas station. At some point you have to pee. Great walk TBH. They didn't have the fence up on the east side of the building. Back in the late 1990's/early 2000's my dad would drive me into Portland from Vancouver Washington to go record (CD) shopping at Everyday Music on Sandy BLVD. I remember this place on my right ride out of the car window driving into the Hollywood exit. I learned about Everyday Music because they showed one (1!) commercial once in 1996 during the Rosie O'Donnell show on ABC (KATU-2) Portland. Makes sense as the buildings are/were basically next to each other during that time. Later on, recently, one of my siblings lived at the Grant Park multi-apartment near Gordon's.
From 1988 to 1994 I used to drive by that building every day on the way to work, I used to think it was a beautiful building, sad to see what it is now!
Gordon's reminds of the Olympia brewery building in Tumwater. A relic of pre Neoliberalism, when small businesses wanted to be a cornerstone of urban development.
This does sound cool, but I would never go here. The lack of parking would be the issue. They could use the Burger king space, but the amount of security they would need to have on site as the area is now would be the issue. Sounds good. I just don't see it with the current city leadership.
It is sad about Gordon's, but you say the same thing about Lloyd Center and most of Portland in general. With a landscape of apartment buildings, Portland has to turned into one big housing project.
Because of the location this building is doomed. Why? Access to the property is limited to the east of the property. A developer may not have access of a driveway on the south side or the west side and only many feet away from the intersection heading east.. The city has doomed the building due to building use constraints.. I wouldn't be surprised if it does not sell as developers will find it to tough to do anything profitable with the building.. Tearing the building down will be expensive and may be hampered by toxic materials use in the original construction and subsequent remodels.. The cost to remove the building will exceed a million dollars and a replacement building with usable parking will be hampered by current city codes which will preclude profitable usage..
That BK was open in 2021 or so maybe even later. I know for a fact I ate there after 2017. Well shit could have sworn I was there in the pandemic but hell am old so............. Will say just sad to see all the closed down businesses now.
Interesting that the origins of this building are rooted in a booming population and the need for housing development, and here in the comments we find the usual bitching about housing development and blaming of newcomers for all the city's problems. The more things change..
i wonder how much the city spent to put that solar powered trash can in front of this abandoned building? it p¡sses me off every time i pass it to go to fred meyer’s.
6:13, The project cost $30,000 to build in 1917, what's that in today's money? Include that figure for comparison. 19:11, Mobil gas, 27.9 cents per gallon (1956). 29:02, I had a few burgers at Boc's from '67 thru '70 while attending Grant High. If it wasn't for the city's excessive, expensive, and time-consuming permitting process, this building wouldn't be the mess it's in now, thanks, "progressives". City Hall needs to establish tougher penalties for taggers: Jail time, a fine, and community service (graffiti removal). 41:05 You love blight but hate the circumstances that brought it about? That makes no sense. Cheaper to raze Gordon's and start over with something new, historical value is gone. Out of state developers are usually worse than local ones, Lloyd Center is a good example.
PARLOR! Oh... you got it. Kinda funny how some things are easier for some people than for others... but i love ya. Next time you need help, reach out!!
I’m actually the great grand daughter of Benjamin Tarlow and the history is pretty spot on! Tarlow’s Maple and Bedding House on Hawthorne was founded with his brother Milton and business partner Sam. When it moved Tarlow’s furniture was just Benjamin and later his son Lawrence. We still have some things in our house from the old furniture store so the history lives on!
You really are great at this. The combination of detailed historical research with current day viewpoint…
My mom Wilma was a long time friend of Gordon and worked at Gordon’s in the late 90’s and early 2000. You really should take a dive into Gordon’s personal history. He was a unique man who traveled to NY and Paris to find items for his store. He had a little dog who escaped the fireplace shop and was found running on I-84 (unharmed) and returned to him. When that dog eventually passed away he kept her body in his house for days due to heartbreak. He was also a gay male and I only mention that as I saw a person comment that her aunt dated him and I find that very unlikely. However he was always good friends with everyone. He lived in a home on blue lake out near Gresham.
as a kid growing up/ living in PDX.. I love yo channel. Literally everything I've ever wondered WTF is that in my childhood days, you educate me on! big ups to you & your growth!
My parents have two grandfather clocks from Gordon’s. It was an absolutely magical place to wander through and explore.
I used to drive for Uber down there and shocked to see the transformation of this building. I drive mostly in Vancouver now but I had a delivery the other night and had to drive past it. I had to do a double take because the graphitti made it unrecognizable in the dark.
Another great video, Steve! @OPB needs to do a piece on all the hard work you do.
Gordon's Fireplace started out as a sweet, little shop in the original Gateway Shopping Center in the 60s. When I was 11yrs old I won a watch at Gordon's at the Gateway Shopping Centers annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was sad to see them leave Gateway and "expand". This leads to the end of so many small businesses. Thanks for chronicalling my home town❤
I remember the Easter egg hunts at Gateway. We would shop the for Red Ball Jets "tennis shoes " at the Red Goose store.
Thanks for sharing your love of our area. I have memories of the changing landscape of Portland. This film hits on one I have been recently discussing, since my daily commute recently changed to East of 205 to Downtown, via Halsey to Broadway... I have been in Portland since 1985. I remember when Gordon's was at Lloyd Center, and I had forgotten that until you mentioned it. Your videos make me nostalgic and very happy. I too love both the history and the urban decay.
Thank you for sharing all of your passion for history, preserving and passing on information along with your talented flair in telling the story. Love all of your videos. So do my kids. ❤
Steve, dude, we gotta get you a grant somehow. You’ve proven your chops, I’d really like to see this work get connected in to the state & city history work that the posh archives and such do. Not because I think you need to be hanging out w insufferable people lol, but this kind of work is neglected horribly in community history & speaks to socioeconomic representation very deeply. I do not trust YT or the internet archives for preservation, and digital video is going to be a toughie anyway, I really want this work to be properly archived & maintained. Or at least write a book, take it to the small presses, & capture some of these stories in print. But dear god, keep going. This is very groundbreaking work. These places are so often easy to ignore, but they often hold powerful & uneasy truths about the way we gloss over the reality of city history.
I grew up near there. And sympathize with the Portland development problems you bring to light! I’ve felt that the majority of Portland history has been stripped.
I also grew up and am still apart of a property that you might be interested in checking on in NW Portland. It’s the Radio Cab building at 1613 NW Kearney. It has some interesting history. Part of the building is still occasionally called the barn, because it was near a 100 years ago. Also it’s the only functioning gas station that’s within building in Oregon and is open to the public. I’d love to see you do your handiwork on our place. 😉
Love this place! It is cool to be able to buy gas from a local business and not a big corp! I used to always go to their vending machine on the way back home from hitting the bars with my friends!
It's still there. They sell gas to locals. The Triple Lindy bar one block over is super solid!
@@jilliannorth Which bars?
@@503punxoioioi9 woke garbage
@@503punxoioioi9 Triple Lindy, Paymaster, and Yurs!!!
I remember Gordons had a bunch of beautiful grandfather clocks in the showroom,
I used to pass by it walking to school - up hill both ways.
Over the years before it closed down I always wondered how it looked inside and why a fireplace shop would need so much space. Then it was gone and I never had a chance to visit. Now I live in a house with three fireplaces. Nice job!
Managed the store for a few years in the late 90’s.
I visited Gordon's in the early 2000s, looking for a new screen or facade for my own fireplace. they could make a custom one, but no way I could afford what they were asking. The store was a very cozy, warm place on a cold winter day with all the fireplaces going inside. I don't know how they handled all the flues / chimneys -- must've had a heck of a manifold on the second floor?
Excellent video Steve! Your love of the history of the city you live in is evident in your drive to continue to do extensive research to produce excellent quality videos! Thank you for all the work you do!
Have been binge watching your channel. Love the content. I think an interesting and popular idea for a story, would be the history of Mcminimums and there historic buildings, or Portland's beer (brewery) history up to current times. Just a thought.
and how they helped or if they gentrified neighborhoods
I Grew up in a house on 28th North of Broadway, I frequently walked to the YMCA on 38th, passing that building. This was in the late '40's and early '50's. I have a strong memory of the pasta factory in the east end of that building. They made "Porter's Frillet" pasta. This was a wide flat noodle with frilly edges. This is separate from the macaroni place on 35th.
I got to 3:02 and subscribed. Your fascination for the building and reference as a kid was so similar to who I was as a child. Always viewed architecture with a story. Well thank you fellow pnw ‘er your channel is a new fav.
Really awesome job! I've always been curious about the history of this building!
Thank you for taking the time to document this before it’s too late!
My grandparents came over from Montana to Portland, Oregon by covered wagon after they got married. They bought two lots and had a house built on one of them in SE Portland. The house is still there but the beautiful garden on the lot next door was sold off and someone built an ugly house there.
Great documentary!🎉 My wife and I bought our stove tool set from Gordon's back in 2012. Still using the set today!😊
thank you man. really great video. not too many natives around here left lol
I also looked for that warehouse . As a kid I thought was shaped like a boat. my mom took us in Gordons once just to look around for fun. It’s so satisfying for the mysterious quirks of the building to finally make sense. Thanks for preserving this history. I have a feeling it will be gone soon.
Please keep us updated with this. I hope whoever takes control of it is able tondo something with it while also preserving the historical integrity.
Suprise! The city of Portland makes it almost impossible for anything to move forward.
That was a great presentation, Steve.
I appreciate you making these videos. I enjoy learning more about these buildings that I've wondered about.
Thank you for this fascinating history!
😂 🤦🏼♀️🤣 I never would have guessed that word was "Parlor" even on my large TV screen it was a bit blurry. Interesting that the word "beauty" was a little less blurry and legible though 🤷🏼♀️ But, I'm willing to assume it was the extremely fancy "P" causing added eyeball and brain havoc (at least for myself) hahaha.
Just wanna add: I truly enjoy your videos. My kids think I'm a nerd because I've always been fascinated with architecture no matter where we go. And I love learning about our local history. Especially the parts that aren't typically discussed.
Thank you Steve, appreciate you
I'm with you,..architecture and History. It's where we came from and how we got here!
Thanks Steve for doing yeoman's work on the history of this property. I've lived in this neighborhood for 35+ years and if I had to hazard a guess, the winner at auction will likely do a tear down and erect god knows what...just bringing that building up to earthquake, electric and plumbing code would likely be financially daunting. It's kind of a difficult location to imagine what could pencil out. Thanks again for your diligent work.
Very interesting documentary... Definitely recognize the building although it wasn’t so vandalized last time I saw it a few years back. Thanks for sharing! Love your videos, keep them coming! 😊👍🏼
That BurgerKing was my first visit to fast food when my church youth group went there after an event. I was very overwhelmed and didn’t know how to order. I was about 12 yrs old at the time, so ~1982.
I love this building so much. And I love the graffiti on it as well. I wish I could afford to buy it. I would live on one of the floors and rent it out to artists to have space for their projects.
I grew up in Northeast. 38th and Alberta Court, to be exact. So that strip of Broadway is super-familiar to me. I've seen so much change there over the years. And Tarlows? My family was extremely into the whole furniture thing because my dad ran a professional upholstery shop on 21st close to the Lloyd/Holliday Park District, so I probably went in there with my mom a few times. And that Burger King was where we always got Whoppers. It was probably the first drive-through I ever went through (in Portland anyway) after I got my drivers license. Geez, all those memories. I even went into Gordon's to apply for a job once...I think I chickened out at the last minute
My wife & I went into Gordon’s looking for furniture for our new condo in Goose Hollow in 2009…right after we moved to Portland. Being unfamiliar with the area at the time, we went to just about every furniture place between Beaverton & Troutdale.
They had fireplace accessories for sure but also a wide variety of local hand-made furniture. It was very nice furniture (but very expensive) and would have been more suited to a mountain cabin than a new downtown condo.
You are doing an amazing job thank you for the interesting and local content I really enjoy i
I imagine any kind of renovations to bring that thing up to code is going to be way more than the sale price.
I drive by Gordon's every day, to know all this history is incredible, I'll think of it every time I drive by, hopefully it's restored and not just replaced with a Starbucks and McDonald's
In the cir. 1993 period I went inside and was shopping for what were the best options for Wood Stoves and Pellet Stoves. I remember that it looked "high class" inside and did display well as "not being any bargain low class Walmart junk clone." The prices were what I considered high, but I realize that what was here was "quality." The type of (Internal Horn Victrola style Phonograph) mentioned can still be come across .
They were overpriced at the original Lloyd Center.
@@MarvinThiessen For sure I can believe this.
Great history! Thanks for documenting it!
Thanks for doing this. The area has a lovely rich history. I’m a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, went to school at Fernwood and Grant, worked at Kienow’s at 33rd and Hancock during the early 80s, and ended up working for Providence. I remember the Porter Scarpelli factory where the strip mall is now. Where Shandong is now was Boc’s Drive In, the neighborhood burger joint (Yaw’s was slowly dying), and The Hollywood Burger Bar was on 42nd and Sandy.
Personally, I can’t imagine trying to bring that building up to code without stripping it down to a skeleton. I love old buildings and hate to see them go, but if the buyer rebuilds bringing the flavor of the original structure in a safer, usable building with parking, it would really benefit the neighborhood.
That place is getting more tagged these last few years for sure. Portland reminds me of a lot of the buildings in Oakland, but yeah, Portland has a lot of history being one of the bigger cities on the West Coast - many times we hear the same city stories. Thanks for the history of this place.
I work in community history in the rural west. I love the work Steve is doing, would love to do some locally but am backlogged years on my personal research lol. But there’s so much packed in to Steve’s work. Some of it I won’t elaborate because I’m too academic & esoteric & will sound like a loon talking about the poignancy of liminal spaces. But to speak like a normal human, there’s a story in every intersection, and since the Great Newspaper Digitization, we have freaking searchable access to the details of so many places - and it’s easy & quick vs microfiche. There’s no excuse anymore to have the same tired stories everywhere. I have found so much new new history locally & expanded/corrected stories, but there’s still 1k more stories to find and tell - by loads of people - to actually understand our communities. Industrial spaces often are economically very relevant in history & have huge impact, but we need creatives like Steve to tell this in a way that engages and intrigues. I am kinda interested in finding a non-video (I’m a great writer & public speaker & ok on film but not if I have to ever see it haha, and I cannot talk to the camera directly in a way that is good) to do a “what the heck is that--“ series in my town…people keep making TikTok’s about the same mystery door (it’s an engineering access point but it’s on the city for sticking a door in a cliff face) and I’ve spent years poking around weird places. Too bad I have a bad case of “social worker face,” my friends sweet but ex-con hubby told me I was scaring some neighborhoods in my old minivan with my “DFS” look, I was looking at history & was grooving to 1890 life, meanwhile everyone was scared I was coming for someone’s kids (certain neighborhoods get targeted based on one person’s crimes), so someone with better vibes needs to do it here. I just look like a Karen with a tiny bit of authority.
You should apply to KGW for a weekend TV show. I'd watch 😉💯
💯%!👍
Amazing. Good stuff! Thanks for all your research and for sharing!
I’m always so curious about this place when I’m stopped at the intersection!!
Thanks!
Great Portland history. Nice job on the documentary.
Do one on the drive-in theaters in Portland that are no more
This was super interesting! Thank you
35:58 amazing you randomly met someone with fun facts!!
Thanks for giving us the history of this building and making us love it like you do. I hope someone can save it; but the $ always seems to win.
Sad to see people just graffiti all over that historic property. Such a great video.
Hi interesting video as always.
As always Thanks Steve
I see Steve has now graduated to "Historian" from his previous "Amateur Historian."
In a year or wo, you can do video of the Gordon's Fireplace Shop crater!
I bought my current fireplace screen from that shop. Ultimately, I hope they level it. It's not going to be economical to bring it up to current seismic codes.
Great work, Steve!💯
14:01 the freight elevator is really cool!!
In the 2016 video you can see the cell site on the top of the roof
The Blind Onion pizza place puts out fresh pizzas on top of their trash/recycling cans across from this place for the poor/homeless. It's terrible pizza, but I've eaten it a a few times if it's still been warm. The Sizzle Pie on Burnside does the same thing after 12 AM.
Blind onion millplain Vancouver is the best
I think that many people who say that they want to save the building and maintain the character of the old masonry structures probably really do desire to do just that. Unfortunately what they probably do not understand is the structural requirements for a structure like this pertaining to current building codes. Once they find out what will be required structurally to renovate the building and meet the current codes, they soon discover that it's not economically practical. It's most often discovered that it's much cheaper to tear down and build new. Masonry buildings, especially old brick ones do not perform well during seismic events. The work required to reinforce these old brick buildings is extensive and expensive. So, you might want to go a bit easier on the lying scum bag developers. I think most probably mean what they say originally but after starting into the project a bit further, soon find out what it's going to cost them. Unless money doesn't matter, most developers are forced to realize the economics of the renovation and are forced to change direction.
Good timing as it is set to be auctioned off for a second time.
I don't spend enough time in portland. love the city though. i live about an hour away.
i love that the taggers seem to specifically not be hitting the old phonograph signage.
So curious to see what comes of this building...hope it's something good. We could really use a win in the turning portland into a lame personality-less gentrified armpit battle.
I installed cabinets in the dentist office across from Burger King and ate lunch there in 2017
One of your best videos. To talk to ken schlifer. If anyone local knows who migtwant thst building its him.
I loved that building.
It would be a great location for McMinimins! Brewery action! Yeah baby yeah!
We share the same fascination, as a young man I can only dream of buying that brown shop like building along the road there I pass it here and again for work purpose
I have family that still lives in the U.K. Many of the old buildings lay in ruin that were once gems.
It sad to see it in its current state, but that's going on everywhere around the country.
You want people to care about things, you have to give them a reason too.
I'm usually for preservation but not sure the bones are worth keeping this one. On the fence about it....the wire hurricane construction fence!😜
Keep up updated
Also home of the Hibachi grill!
I always wonder...who sells the taggers all that paint??
I like the tag MAYHEM the best.
There should be a policy to make spray paint buyers to show ID and sign for it.
I urinated in the tall blackberry bushes behind this place in the summer during a drunken weekend walkabout. I'd go to a gas station, grab a beer, market grab a beer, another market, another gas station. At some point you have to pee. Great walk TBH. They didn't have the fence up on the east side of the building.
Back in the late 1990's/early 2000's my dad would drive me into Portland from Vancouver Washington to go record (CD) shopping at Everyday Music on Sandy BLVD. I remember this place on my right ride out of the car window driving into the Hollywood exit. I learned about Everyday Music because they showed one (1!) commercial once in 1996 during the Rosie O'Donnell show on ABC (KATU-2) Portland. Makes sense as the buildings are/were basically next to each other during that time.
Later on, recently, one of my siblings lived at the Grant Park multi-apartment near Gordon's.
From 1988 to 1994 I used to drive by that building every day on the way to work, I used
to think it was a beautiful building, sad to see what it is now!
Gordon's reminds of the Olympia brewery building in Tumwater. A relic of pre Neoliberalism, when small businesses wanted to be a cornerstone of urban development.
Thanks Dems!
Mcmenamins should purchase it!!!! That'd be so cool! They could have a cool hotel there
This does sound cool, but I would never go here. The lack of parking would be the issue. They could use the Burger king space, but the amount of security they would need to have on site as the area is now would be the issue.
Sounds good. I just don't see it with the current city leadership.
It is sad about Gordon's, but you say the same thing about Lloyd Center and most of Portland in general. With a landscape of apartment buildings, Portland has to turned into one big housing project.
Out of state buyers ruined Lloyd Center.
Because of the location this building is doomed. Why? Access to the property is limited to the east of the property. A developer may not have access of a driveway on the south side or the west side and only many feet away from the intersection heading east.. The city has doomed the building due to building use constraints.. I wouldn't be surprised if it does not sell as developers will find it to tough to do anything profitable with the building.. Tearing the building down will be expensive and may be hampered by toxic materials use in the original construction and subsequent remodels.. The cost to remove the building will exceed a million dollars and a replacement building with usable parking will be hampered by current city codes which will preclude profitable usage..
I always thirst to go inside and explore when i drive by
RIP KRAZE (Just passed last Wed)😢
What does the 'U' mean?
That BK was open in 2021 or so maybe even later. I know for a fact I ate there after 2017. Well shit could have sworn I was there in the pandemic but hell am old so.............
Will say just sad to see all the closed down businesses now.
Apartments would be nice
Yeah because that’s totally what Portland needs is more overpriced condos.
Agreed. Apartments Would Be Great!!
Most likely, will be torn down, the bricks will be sold in bulk,
And the developer will put up a parking structure. Very
Scenic, no?
looks better now, imho
i have pics !
Took me 2 seconds to figure out that read " Parlor " 😅
Interesting that the origins of this building are rooted in a booming population and the need for housing development, and here in the comments we find the usual bitching about housing development and blaming of newcomers for all the city's problems. The more things change..
Steve if you would like to speak with someone who hung out quite a bit with Gordon in the 1980’s on reach out to me.
An aunt of mine a d Gordo n were dating I haven't heard from them so nit sure if they ever married
i wonder how much the city spent to put that solar powered trash can in front of this abandoned building? it p¡sses me off every time i pass it to go to fred meyer’s.
19:45 that is definitely not the Hollywood Theater dude
6:13, The project cost $30,000 to build in 1917, what's that in today's money? Include that figure for comparison. 19:11, Mobil gas, 27.9 cents per gallon (1956).
29:02, I had a few burgers at Boc's from '67 thru '70 while attending Grant High. If it wasn't for the city's excessive, expensive, and time-consuming permitting process, this building wouldn't be the mess it's in now, thanks, "progressives". City Hall needs to establish tougher penalties for taggers: Jail time, a fine, and community service (graffiti removal). 41:05 You love blight but hate the circumstances that brought it about? That makes no sense. Cheaper to raze Gordon's and start over with something new, historical value is gone. Out of state developers are usually worse than local ones, Lloyd Center is a good example.
Disgusting what they did to this.
"they" who? The city or the owners/developers?
It's entirely the owners' fault. This is valuable real estate that they've let fall to ruin.
Everything in Portland is an eyesore.
PARLOR! Oh... you got it. Kinda funny how some things are easier for some people than for others... but i love ya. Next time you need help, reach out!!