Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 8)

Disciplined exercise, and something else.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 7)

Beauty aids.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 6)

Old businesses.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 5)

Nothing grabs the attention like a human face, but a catchy headline helps. The first photo was above the fold in a free neighborhood newspaper rack.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 4)

View north up NW13th Avenue. About a dozen-block stretch of this street is on the National Historic Register, to preserve its external character as a warehouse district with raised loading docks. However, new stores and condo buildings are over-riding that historic character.

The Pearl may have more coffee shops per square foot than any other place in the country.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 3)

Two mascots:

A much loved cow in front of a Pearl District realty office.

The black fish over the door of the Blackfish Gallery, a cooperative founded in part by two artists named Black and Fish.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 2)

Two Pearl District artists: a woman who paints photorealist portraits from photographs, and a man who folds paper napkins into flowers in the coffee shop of Powell's City of Books.

Portland Pearl Photos: Art and Commerce (Part 1)

Back to my series of black and white photos depicting various aspects of life in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon. This time, it's Art and Commerce (broadly defined). As before, I'll post pictures corresponding to the spreads in my Blurb-published book "Portland Pearl Photographs."

Students waiting before class on the ledge outside the Pacific Northwest College of Art (formerly the main Post Office).

Last Meal in Porto

We had a late lunch in a stylish restaurant in Porto,  before catching the train back to Lisbon and the airport.

Nearby was the Imperial McDonald's, supposedly the fanciest in the world. We couldn't resist taking a look, and a picture.

Clérigos Church

One of the most prominent monuments in Porto is the Clérigos Church, 

a tall tower built on a tall hill. 

The chapel, on the lower level, is handsomely decorated and has a magnificent organ. 

We were treated to a virtuoso performance of Bach. 

(A Lutheran's music performed in a Catholic church, a pleasant surprise.)

One can hike up 200 steps to the top viewing platform, 

and get some splendid views of the city below.

Last Day in Porto

Sunday, December 11 was our last day in Porto. As was our custom, we spent a lot of time wandering the streets of this picturesque and pleasant city.

   

Amarante

Driving back from the Douro Valley to Porto, we stopped for a break in the pretty town of Amarante. The river and a bridge across it yielded some nice scenes.

Douro River Scenes

The Douro Valley, with its terraced vines and olive trees, and reflecting waters, was quite beautiful in this fall season.

Douro Valley Quintas

We drove with a guide to the Douro Valley, where many of the vineyards and wineries (quintas) that produce Portugal's famous port wine (and many other wines as well) are located. We visited, and were given a nice tour of, the Quinta do Tedo.

The walls of the railway station had fine tiles celebrating the wine making

and also commemorating the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was born nearby.

Porto Stock Exchange, Sao Francisco Church, and Fado

Strangely, one of Porto's main attractions is its Borsa, or Stock Exchange, whose interior is spectacularly decorated.

The Sao Francisco Church, with its large and rather spooky crypt,

 and elaborately carved Tree of Jesse

In the early evening, a fado performance sponsored by a guitar shop