DB: Where Does Portland Ave Lead?
This morning I woke up in Tacoma again. I’m back to the question of whether or not I should leave and seek my fortunes elsewhere in the world. What is this strange loyalty I have for this place? As if I am obligated to watch it progress and regress endlessly. Tacoma sometimes feels like the an ever deepening tide. Yes … the water line is higher this year than it was last year at high tide, but watching it come and go, fill and empty, rush and flush …. sigh.
Yesterday I was in Portland.
I woke up and made three tuna sandwiches with spelt bread and Gorgonzola cheese I bought at the Trader Joe’s around the corner. My friend had to leave her apartment at 8:30 so I pretty much had the morning kitchen to myself. I packed my sammies in my knapsack and walked out into NorthWest Portland, in a neighborhood pushed up against the well forested Nob Hill by the hard roar of the city.
I asked my iPhone where there was coffee near me … it splayed a pattern of red pins out in the general neighborhood. The nearest not-Starbucks was called Bartini which I mistook for a cute Italian girls name. It was actually a not so cleverly named martini bar and not a coffee shop and therefor not open at 9 in the morning, although I would be willing to bet they serve a mean cup of coffee. Blast iPhone, can you not tell me the future as well?
Time for an analog approach. I asked the next passing hipster fellow, “Do you know where I can get a decent cup of coffee?” (emphasis on the “decent”). He was holding a book with a white bookmark lazily hanging out of its pages like a snake’s tongue tasting the air. If this half shaven philosophite did not drink coffee then I would eat my iPhone. It was coming near time for me to face the delirium tremens inducing headache called caffeine withdrawal.
He said, “Well there’s one around the corner but the best one is left on Burnside and five or so blocks to Trinity. Coffeehouse Northwest.” Once there, I by chance ran into a ex-Tacoman named James who was curious as to news about the city of destiny. I told him that the Elephants, our most promising local band, had changed their name to the Nightgowns. This did not seem to be the kind of news he was looking for but I didn’t feel like getting into the L.I.D. or our plans to erect a golden statue of Brigham Young in Tollefson’s Plaza.
Sitting outside staring up at a new high-rise apartment complex and wondering why these people couldn’t afford curtains, my brunch date called and told me that I was drinking the best coffee in town, (Thank you, snake-book) and invited me to his place for french toast and a Martin Luther King Jr. mimosa. Good thing I still have a half-loaf of spelt bread, seeing as I cannot refuse french-anything and the wheat flour of regular people french toast would put me in a coma till well after my train had left for the Coma I needed to return to (Tah-Coma, duh).
Not that I really wanted to come home. When I left on Sunday morning the fog was so think outside of the train windows that the narrows bridges were only a strange quadrant of pylons disappearing into the nothing that surrounded it.
Portland was sunny all day Sunday and Monday. I felt like I hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. Drinking coffee later in the Ace Hotel lobby that also doubled as a sitting room for Stumptown next door, I mused with another ex-Tacoman friend about the nature of our gritty destiny. Our conversation wound its way into many avenues and eventually caused me to miss my train, but the gist of it was concerned with the identity and purpose of Tacoma from a young artists perspective.
Tacoma is an excellent place to become. The people here are friendly and concerned with the networks required to survive in a small economy. There’s tons of encouragement and criticism, people are more than willing to let their opinions fly, which I think is crucial for an experimental young and creative mind. There aren’t so many people here that you forget who is who, and one learns accountability quickly based on the fact that you will inevitably run into the people you piss off, be it in person or in a preceding reputation. But once one has matured to a certain point here as an artist or a creative … can Tacoma sustain them?
I feel as if perhaps Tacoma should change her name to The City of Finding Your Destiny. We talk so much smack about the bands or artists that come from here and then go on to places that they can actually be successful. What if we were just proud about who we are as an incubational chamber for creatives, instead of jealously trying to be what we are not big enough to sustain? What if we sent our matured beloved off with a blessing instead of an angry rant about misplaced loyalty?
When I finally did come home the fog wasn’t much better. Buried at the bottom of a sock drawer in a dark bedroom, I stepped off the train oddly enough onto Portland Avenue. I don’t know if I’m supposed to go, or stay and help people go … but I’m tired of pretending that Tacoma is going to suddenly transform into the big city she dreams of. Maybe we need to do what the young people who come here do, and get a handle on who we are before we start trying to become what we think we want to be.
Filed under: DB
38 comments
I intacoma January 21, 2009
damn baller, staying at the Ace hotel, that place is classic
J jamie from thriceallamerican January 21, 2009
Not to nitpick, because this was a great read, but isn’t the Amtrak station on Puyallup Ave? I can pretty much guarantee that Puyallup is the wrong direction to head for bigger and better things…
C crenshaw sepulveda January 21, 2009
The time spent in Portland is not deducted from your lifespan.
D Derek staff January 21, 2009
Amtrak station on Puyallup Ave?
Yes. I’m just following the creative mind on this one …
M Mofo from the Hood January 21, 2009
Around these parts, Portland Avenue is the jumping off point for folks who travel by boxcar.
D daniel blue January 21, 2009
rats!
well, i parked my car at the park and ride…and that exits on to portland ave right?
poop.
D Derek staff January 21, 2009
well, i parked my car at the park and ride…and that exits on to portland ave right?
Uhhh … not really. But changing the title to Where Does Puyallup Ave. Lead didn’t seem as meaningful.
J jamie from thriceallamerican January 21, 2009
Portland Ave isn’t too far away, at least… How about we pretend that for whatever reason (side trip to the Pick Quick?) that Daniel saw Portland Ave at some point shortly after his return.
J Jesse January 21, 2009
“Tacoma is an excellent place to become.” That’s a fantastic line. In fact, maybe it should be the city’s moto.
Being an ex-Portlander (well, Vancouver-ite)myself, I can say that Tacoma is about where Portland was in the 70’s. Vacant lots, crime, slow business, but Portland made sure it succeeded on it’s “urban utopia” plans and became the best city in the west. If Tacoma stays the course, and steals successful ideas from places like Portland, we could cut our journey time to that urban utopia in half.
B beerandhotdogs January 21, 2009
If Tacoma turns into Portland, someone please just shoot me in the damn face and toss me into a ditch.
C@TRH
R RR Anderson January 22, 2009
in the future the world wide communist gangster computer god will force us all to ride boxcars.
whatismore I have a vintage sausage grinder if anybody is interested.
C crenshaw sepulveda January 22, 2009
I suspect that C@TRH might be interested in the sausage grinder.
R RR Anderson January 22, 2009
I think it would be bad for hot dog sales if people got to watch what goes into them literally.
D Douglas Tooley January 22, 2009
Beer and Hot Dogs in the 705 Gulch, followed by a dip in the Thea Foss?
Anyone?
J Jesse January 22, 2009
beerandhotdogs: You’re right. Tacoma has no need for anything at all and it surely is already an urban utopia. I mean, isn’t exit 133 all about how Tacoma should never change a thing??? Oh, wait…
M morgan January 23, 2009
When I saw the title of this post, I thought it was going to be on taking Portland Ave to wherever it ends. I don’t think it ends in Portland, but I haven’t taken it all the way down so I can’t be sure. I liked the post though.
T Thorax O'Tool January 23, 2009
Fascinating.
Funny this should come up. About 3 weeks ago my sister and I were discussing some of the local cities.
We determined that Seattle wants to be NYC, Bellevue wants to be Seattle, Portland seems to want to be Portland and Tacoma wants to be Portland.
Strange conversation to be having, no doubt… just don’t forget that my sisters are a lot like me.
…scary
B beerandhotdogs January 23, 2009
I didn’t say it was an urban utopia. I didn’t say this town didn’t need anything.
I merely alluded to the fact that I do not want this city to be just like Portland. Then I made sarcastic remarks outlining my wishes for my demise if it became so, which was a metaphor for my dislike of Portland, OR, USA.
Isn’t Tacoma all about sarcasm and metaphors??? Oh, wait…
E Erik B. January 23, 2009
Tacoma is an excellent place to become. The people here are friendly and concerned with the networks required to survive in a small economy. There’s tons of encouragement and criticism, people are more than willing to let their opinions fly, which I think is crucial for an experimental young and creative mind.
Yep. And Tacoma has almost an unlimited supply of angst which useful raw material.
There aren’t so many people here that you forget who is who, and one learns accountability quickly based on the fact that you will inevitably run into the people you piss off, be it in person or in a preceding reputation.
I swear that it feels like there are only about 200 or so of us in this very small villiage downtown.
J jamie from thriceallamerican January 23, 2009
@morgan: When I saw the title of this post, I thought it was going to be on taking Portland Ave to wherever it ends. I don’t think it ends in Portland, but I haven’t taken it all the way down so I can’t be sure.
If I’m not mistaken, Portland Ave ends at 112th in Midland. Which gets you close to the DOL, and within a short distance of Parkland (which has many letters in common with Portland), but you’re still barely out of Tacoma… :-)
C crenshaw sepulveda January 23, 2009
Tacoma is basically a failed regime. It exists but it is in a state of failure. It could be that for a city like Portland or Seattle to be successful there needs to be failed cities like Tacoma. It might be that if Tacoma were to be successful it would mean that Portland and Seattle would have to be failing.
Tacoma needs to be rebooted, maybe even have a new OS installed. We will never be a great city unless we overthrow the regime that has kept Tacoma in a failed state for so many decades.
T Thorax O'Tool January 23, 2009
@ 21…. buck the trend.
FDISK T-Town and install Linux.
T Thorax O'Tool January 23, 2009
Oooh! I have #121 for their list… which also happens to accurately include Seattle/Portland and even Bellevue: Gentrification!
As a person of artistic nature and intent, this is one thing alone that T Town holds above all other cities around: potential.
Seattle and Portland are too developed, too established. Wanna get somewhere in the art field here? You have hundreds to compete against. Go 30 miles north and you have tens of thousands.
I like the odds here better.
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 24, 2009
At least where there are thousands, the art is taken a bit more seriously, though not much.
Potential doesn’t get you shit and it certainly doesn’t pay the bills.
I am so sick of hearing about Tacoma’s potential – as I watch the potential float on by to somewhere where someone will actually do something instead of talk it to death.
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 24, 2009
Multiple choice question:
Potential’s just another word for?
A) not admitting you made the wrong choice
B) not being able to focus long enough to make a commitment and stick to it
C) fear of success
D) nothin’ left to lose
E) love of mediocrity
F) drinking the Kool-Aid
G) accepting that you’re not as good as you thought you were
H) preferring to compete rather than collaborate
I) being secretly irritated at the success of your contemporaries
J) all of the above
Answer
J
C crenshaw sepulveda January 24, 2009
I, for one, agree with T!T!L!. Until we realize Tacoma is a failed city nothing will change. I am wondering how many in Tacoma go to Seattle or Portland to appreciate their art scene. I know how few people in Tacoma avail themselves of the various art events down here. I am gratified to see some of the things that go on down here. Still, it is not enough. I know some are starting to prepare the tar and feathers for me, hey that might be a splendid art event. Next year at First Night, the Tarring and Feathering of Crenshaw Sepulveda.
T Thorax O'Tool January 24, 2009
No, not “potential” for the city. I meant “potential” for yours truly. I don’t have the avant garde appeal or chronic drug/alcohol use that it takes to make any headway in Seattle.
My nefarious Plan A, which has finally gone into operational mode, unfortunately would be far harder to pull of in Seattle… although admittedly I might actually find some folks who share the vision and want to join in.
But here in T-Town, Plan A should make a much larger splash… I hope. We’ll see.
And after the tar and feather Crenshaw, we’ll get my public execution for rampant illegal posting…
J Jesse January 24, 2009
If you’re out to change Tacoma from it’s NW mediocre-ness, just:
1. Copy successful business/urban growth models from other nearby cities and one-up them.
Done. Why re-invent the wheel?
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 24, 2009
Jesse:
Re your question “Why reinvent the wheel,”
See C, E, H, and I of my last post.
To sum it up:
Tacoma is a blessed convergence of squandered opportunities.
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 24, 2009
Actually this could be the genesis of a new collaborative art project:
Tacoma, the Game
The game would be sort of a reverse version of Monopoly:
You win by losing all your money, having your property foreclosed on, and being the first of the players to be a homeless person.
The game could be visually stunning with the board representations of the museums, UW Tacoma, etc. Players would be challenged by the lure of “potential” but the smart ones would be guided by the multiple choice list.
[ [email removed] January 24, 2009
Strong mixed messages everyone. Although it seems you are torn as I about Tacoma and our world I lean (as you I think) towards half-full pints at Doyles. Potential, vision, involvement, and ideals along with our collective efforts and consciousness create Tacoma’s destined future of greatness. (Whether you believe this or not has no effect on other’s actions.) However, the most difficult part for me is maintaining this optomism in the face of such global concerns. If Tacoma is all that I want to see it for, then how, with the relatively good times (also ignorant) of the last decade will Tacoma come alive? Arts and Music, young people, vision, light, night life, community awareness and mindfullness, and the spirited tight 200 people of Tacoma can and will make Tacoma intrinsically right…Right?
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 24, 2009
@32….“Potential, vision, involvement, and ideals along with our collective efforts and consciousness create Tacoma’s destined future of greatness. Whether you believe this or not has no effect on other’s actions.”
Platitudes…
“Other’s (non)-action” solidifies unrealized “potential, vision, involvement, and ideals along with our collective efforts and consciousness”
K kuco January 24, 2009
Ah well, the grass is always greener on the other side I suppose. Perhaps the real problem lies in us always thinking about what life could be without ever stopping to consider what it is.
C crenshaw sepulveda January 25, 2009
I welcome the fine people in Tacoma to check out the Arts Walk in Olympia. The community response there is great. Olympia is a fraction of the size of Tacoma but they always get an incredible turnout. I know I’ll get a double dipping of tar for saying this but I really have to wonder why it works so well in a smaller town and not as well up here.
M morgan January 25, 2009
crenshaw@35 – It’s about community. Olympia has it and Tacoma’s is underdeveloped.
Also, a community person I respect shared a thought with me about Tacoma’s Artwalk: why not make it a special event and have it only a couple times per year until there’s enough critical mass to make it monthly. Made sense, I thought.
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 25, 2009
Good idea, Morgan.
I don’t open my gallery anymore for Artwalk or otherwise unless I have new work (mine) to show or unless someone calls and makes an appointment to see my work. I can’t justify hanging out in the hope that one or two people will pass through.
I used to represent at least ten artists and have new shows at least every two months – I enjoyed it but it was a lot of work and was disappointing to have so few people show up – I felt it wasn’t fair to the artists and artists can be high maintenance individuals with little business sense and poor follow-through.
There is also a certain level of city-backed favoritism that I think is really unfortunate – it really shoud be about the work, not who has appropriately kissed ass enough to garner attention and respect.
My best sales have primarily been to people that aren’t from this area.
Some Seattle galleries closed because there really isn’t much cutting edge art in Washington state – unless you consider art depicting fish, Mt. Rainier, or a bear chain-saw carved out of a tree stump.
T Thorax O'Tool January 25, 2009
T!T!L!… gallery, eh? Have I heard of said gallery?
Anyway, I’d like to pick your brain on something. Click on my name below and send me an email…
J juliann January 28, 2009
Well I grew up in Vancouver, in the shadow of Portland, lived in Seattle briefly, and now – again in the shadow of a larger metropolis — live in Tacoma. I saw what Tacoma was thirty years ago, and it’s completely changed. Change is slow, growth is slow. Portland didn’t get where it is now overnight. I like what Tacoma is evolving into, I like 6th avenue, I like that places that used to be very scary are now full of art, music, people and good food. And that is progress.