Square People
“Square People” covers Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland, Oregon. It’s known as “the city's living room.” Over two hundred light rail trains stop at the square each day. They come from east, west, north and south, bringing thousands of people to the square. Hundreds of events are held there each year. This photoblog profiles the people and events on the square.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Event preparations
Tommorow is the Cinco de Mayo Run and Walk. Today the Square has to be setup to prepare for the runners and walkers who start arriving at 6:30am on Sunday. The setup crew has to put up the tents and tables for registration, vendors and comfort stations. It’s a job that requires a lot of planning and hard work. I thought my readers would like see the preparations that go into preparing the Square for the big event. Thanks for all the hard work guys. Umbrella Man got into the action along with everyone else. There is no limit to his dedication to the success of the events held on the Square.
Friday, May 3, 2013
What's this?
What's this? That’s the question I heard people
asking while I was taking photos of this exhibit. The answer: It’s a replica of a
newly remodeled guestroom at the River Place Hotel in Portland. My question is
who cares? Maybe a blurry-eyed business traveler who just got off MAX from the
airport might be interested. I would guess 99% of the people crossing the
Square could care less. After taking the photos, I grabbed a cup of Starbucks
coffee and watched people approach the exhibit. Most people took a look inside
and wandered away. My favorite was a guy in jogging gear, who ran up to the
window, took a quick look inside and continued running. River Place Hotel had a webcam setup, so people could watch someone sleeping in the room overnight. I've always wanted to get up in the middle of the night and watch someone sleeping in a Yurt on Pioneer Courthouse Square. For me the trip to the Square wasn’t a
total loss, I enjoyed a great cup of coffee in 77 degree sunshine.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Elvis Presley?
While wandering aimlessly around to square the other
day, shooting random photographs, I discovered this Elvis Presley brick. I
think it’s great we have a brick on the Square dedicated to the “King of Rock
and Roll.” Unless, someone else named Elvis Presley bought the brick? It
doesn’t seem likely, so I’m going with the dedication thing. Here’s to the
“King” and the person who bought the brick.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Famous Squares: Times Square
America’s
most famous square is Times Square in the heart of New York City. It’s
technically not a square; it’s the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
Leisure Magazine say’s its the world’s most visited tourist attraction. An estimated 300,000 people a day visit the square. I think
almost everyone has watched the New Year's Eve celebration from Times Square.
Thousands upon thousands of people have been photographed kissing on Times
Square. The most famous kiss ever photographed was the sailor kissing the nurse
on V-J Day, August 14, 1945, taken for Life Magazine by Alfred Eisenstaedt. The photo that appears on this post is the same couple, taken at the same time from a different angle by Victor Jorgensen, a navy photographer. This photo was taken for the U.S. Navy and is not copyrighted. It appeared the following day in the New York Times.
Photo credits: Victor Jorgensen, Times Square.org, Stamford Advocate
Photo credits: Victor Jorgensen, Times Square.org, Stamford Advocate
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
64 degrees
That’s right, it was 64 degrees on Pioneer Courthouse
Square today at 4:00 p.m. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, and started to
worry about heat stroke. Everyone on the Square was enjoying the hot weather.
Although, I did hear a couple of people saying it was too warm. The trees are
getting ready to bloom and the signs of spring are everywhere. Seriously, it
was great to sit in the sunshine and enjoy a cup of Starbucks coffee. We wait a
really long time for a day like today.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Square pets
Many people who visit Pioneer Courthouse Square bring their
pets along. Since I’ve been doing this blog, I’ve photographed a lot of pets. I’ve
never featured them before, because most of them don’t have Facebook pages, and
no one will ever see them. However, some may be on Instagram and this post will
get more traction. We’ll soon find out!
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