The Auto Graveyard of Glisan St

3881

The address appears to be 9025 NE Glisan St. It seems to be something of a boneyard, though a very small one.

I'm not any sort of authority on cars this old. They look like they are from the 1940s, or maybe 1930s. They look like gangster cars. Al Capone would be riding in one of these sweet rides, when he was alive and they were new.

What the owner of the property does with them, or how they're acquired and why they stay here or so very long (these old cars come and go from this lot and have, according to my memory, for years, a decade and longer) is a complete mystery to me. 

That they have done so for so long, in constant state, is a delight just as quirky and mysterious.

Anyone wanting to pass by themselves? This is just west of the I-205 offramp to NE Glisan, on the north side of the street, at the top of the slope. The appropriately-named Top Of The Hill Tavern is across the street from there.

[pdx] Address Nerd™ Mystery Theatre: The Case of the Henry Thiele Waffle Club

2822.Got sent something that was a real stumper, folks, in a good way … but still inscrutable.

Got an email a couple of days ago from one David Buettner, who had stumbled upon this chronicle in aid of trying to untangle a mystery.

Everyone with a smattering of Portland history (especially of the culinary kind) has probably heard of Henry Thiele. Henry's was a restaurant that was lodged in the point at the five-cornered intersection that was where NW Westover Road met up with West Burnside Street, NW 23rd Avenue, and SW Vista Avenue. It was a landmark in architecture (see this picture) as well as in food (the German-style pancakes were reportedly legend). But the history of Portland has it writ large that Henry's was at NW Westover and West Burnside.

But then David throws me a curveball, looking like this:

photo courtesy David Buettner

This, I'm told by David, is the back of a small mirror, advertising (rather scrumptiously) the Henry Thiele Waffle Club of all things. The history of Henry Thiele is, sadly, something not much written, if at all; the part that says he had a location on SW 10th Avenue or SW 11th Avenue is pretty much invisible.

My particular task was to help David figure out where those address might have been. Remember the old Portland address pattern, on which I've commented oft perforce &c &c, and you'll remember that any numbered street without a directional is south of Ankeny/Burnside/Washington; this would therefore put this in what we would say is the downtown core today; SW 10th Avenue was '10th Street' and SW 11th Avenue was '11th Street' prior to the Great Renaming of 1930.

Moreover, the building numbers amounted to 20-to-the-block, instead of today's 100-to-the-block. So 107 - 10th Street actually winds up, most likely, being between Alder and Washington or between Stark and Washington. So, we have an idea of where that address might lie, down to about a 1-block possibility.

But again, the real thing that's making us grind our teeth here is that we simply cannot find any trace, so far, of the existence of anything called the Henry Thiele Waffle Club. Particularly intriguing is the dual address on adjacent streets which could suggest a business which fronted on two downtown streets.

Anyhow, this is a call for any history-addicted Portlander or Address Nerd to come to the aid of his … country … or something. Does anyone who might stop by here know anything about Henry Thiele Waffle Club? Any information would be gratitudinous, and is meant to be shared. Here's a chance for us to explore a corner of Portland history heretofore unexplored.

Into Henry Thiele With Gun and Camera, as 'twere.

Leave your exploratory notes in the comments, bitte sehr.

New and Improved Portland Downtown Street Mnemonics: Now Three To Choose From!

1912.Some time ago, I wrote about the need that Portland has for some sort of mnemonic device for keeping the downtown streets straight. In this entry I published a rather brilliant solution by a commenter identifying himself as JD. I thought he hit it out of the park (and still do), but a commenter over on my Wordpress mirror of this blog has proven that there is, indeed, more than one way to skin a cat.

There, in this entry, commenter Dave DiNucci points out the following cogent fact:

That mnemonic may help you to remember the first letter of the streets in order, but even if you're familiar with the street names, it doesn't tell you whether (say) Morrison is N or S of Madison, whether Clay is N or S of Columbia, etc.

Quite true. JD's mnemonic is designed around an initial string of letters which reflect the order of the streets from north (at Burnside) to south (at Jackson). To review, it looked like this:

AAPOSWAMYTSMMJCCMMMHHCJ

Where the initials stand for, in this order:

Ankeny, Ash, Pine, Oak, Stark, Washington, Alder, Morrison, Yamhill, Taylor, Salmon, Main, Madison, Jefferson, Columbia, Clay, Market, Mill, Montgomery, Harrison, Hall, College, Jackson.

Finding words to match the first letter gave this:

All Across Portland Our Streets Wind Around Mossy Yards. Traffic Snarls May Mean Jammed Cars, Cranky Motorists Making Minimal Headway. Harried Commuters Just Love Going Slow.

Which is, I think, rather charming, and for those with more than basic geographical awareness, will fit the bill quite well. But Dave's solution drills down a little deeper, addressing the aforementioned problem (which, it just occurred to me, New York Alkaseltzer's famous "Kurt Cobain Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest" shares: Do you, without consulting a map know offhand if University is north or south of Union? Me, neither) by including enough letters in each streets name to clear up the ambiguity:

AN.keny, AS.h, P.ine, O.ak, ST.ark, W.ashington, AL.der, MOR.rison, Y.amhill, T.aylor, SA.lmon, MAI.n, MAD.ison, JE.fferson, COLU.mbia, CL.ay, MAR.ket, MI.ll, MON.tgomery, HAR.rison, HAL.l, COLL.ege, JA.ckson, L.incoln, G.rant, and SH.erman

Nifty! But he's set himself out a hard row to hoe, as he himself admitted in the comment:

Inventing a paragraph with words starting the same way is a challenge.  How many "good" words start with "JE"?  With "COLU"?  Not many.  And in a row?

We couldn't have said it better. But Dave did it, twice. Here's what he came up with. I'll let his words speak for him.

Attempt 1:  This one plays off the way the streets N of Burnside are named alphabetically for Portland's founders, and those S of Burnside are more traditional names you'd find elsewhere, and in no particular order, with the N and S joining at an angle.

"ANcestors ASsociated Portland Oregon STreets With ALphabetic MORtals, Yet Toward SAlem, MAInly MADe JEjune, COLUmnar, CLiche MARked MIxtures. MONotones HARmonize HALfway, COLLiding JAuntily.  Lines Gently SHim.

(Editor's Note: Anyone how knows enough to work jejune into the same sentence with Salem is aces in my book. Anyhow ... )

Attempt 2:  This one might be easier to remember and more poetic, even if not quite so close to home. Referring to the gorge rather than downtown allows the use of "Columbia" (it's real name!) for the "COLU" street... not to mention, "JAcob's Ladders" for JAckson and Lincoln.

"AN AScending Path Of STone
Wends ALong MORning Yellow Trilliums.
SAnity MAIntenance.
MADe JEalous,
COLUmbia CLeaves MARvelous MIsty MONuments,
HARsh HALcyon COLLages.
JAcob's Ladders Gorge-ously SHine."

(Workable options include "SAge MAIden MADe JEalous," for the third and fourth lines, "HARshly HALoed COLLages" for the 5th, and "...Gently SHimmer" ending the 6th.)

I've never met Dave DiNucci in person, but I've just got to say ... this guy is wicked clever.

So there you have it my people: Three ways you can keep straight which street comes after which street in downtown Portland, tailored to your individual taste. I like them all: JD's for its simplcity, and Dave DiNucci's for the whimsy and smartness involved.

With the brain inherent in your average Portland blogger/blog reader, you just can't lose.

Thanks, Dave!

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