Earth, Water, Fire, and Air

If you're driving on Exchange Avenue (on our right), this is just a quirky curve in an otherwise-straight street. But like everywhere else in Astoria, it also expresses a lot of history. In the center of the photo, you can see the entire block that comprises 13th Street. The street is about one or one and a half lots long. This is where the notorious early land owners and town planners John Shively and John McClure butted heads. They could not agree on the size of a standard lot, and the mismatched halves of the town can be seen fitting together here at 13th (you can read more about it in this post).

Here you can see what the downtown area is built on (pilings over what used to be water and mud). There's another photo of it here, and there are several more places in town where you can see the concrete-and-air underpinnings. I found a very interesting web page that describes the big fire of December 8, 1922. What allowed it to cause so much destruction (10 hours, 30 blocks, 15 million dollars) is that the downtown was built on wood pilings, and the air-space under the buildings and streets was not filled in. They could hardly have designed a better barbecue pit if they'd tried, but they must have learned the lesson, because the spaces are now baffled with concrete walls. Occasionally you'll see a car or two parked in the low area, but mostly it's empty.

Exchange Avenue marked the line between burned and spared buildings, at least here at 13th Street. Across Exchange Avenue on the right is the YMCA building built in 1914 and mentioned in the linked article. It "was opened as the headquarters of all welfare agencies," and I took photos of it which I'll post another day.

For those who want to see how many previous posts are contained in this photo, here's a list:

. Yesterday's blue post (out of sight on the corner behind the tree)
. Writing on the wall
. The pink building on the left
. Drain cover made in Oregon (about the center of the photo)
. The imposing Astor Hotel from the river side and from the landward side
. Behind where I'm standing to take the photo is a small hospice building. The railing you see in the photo continues alongside the building and is the site of this plaque commemorating Clark Gable's early acting career in the Astoria Theatre that burned down in the fire of 1922.

A curious blue post

This old concrete post was wearing body metal long before it became popular. I love the colors in this photo, especially the part of the blue paint that's still wet from the rain. This post, along with another almost like it, stands at the corner of 13th Street and Duane Avenue. I don't know if the ring was originally intended for hitching horses, or what. Someone has added a padlock, probably later than the ring, but long enough ago that it's completely rusted. The white reflection to the right is of this wall towering above.

It looks like a new business is moving in and brightening the shop behind the post. There have been several in this location in the short time I've been here. I remember when there were used cars parked in this lot, the office being (I think) to the right of the colorful store.

Does anyone remember more about this corner and the businesses that were here?

Cieldequimper: This would be another nice object d'art for your home, oui?

Nice horse, where did you come from?

I wish I knew the story behind this hitching post, but I don't. I believe Astoria has at least two old hitching posts, but I couldn't find one of them even with the address (I'll have to go looking again) and I don't know where the other is supposed to be. There are some posts with rings in them on Duane Avenue near 14th that could be old hitching posts, but I'm not sure if they are. The wood on this post looks pretty new, and for all I know, the nice horse may be old or it may have come from a garden center, although it's implanted in front of a picturesque old Italianate Victorian house at 14th and Franklin, one house over from "the oldest dwelling in Astoria." If you know, please leave a comment, otherwise I'll probably knock on the door someday and ask. In any event, the horse munching on the metal ring brought a smile to my face. He/she looks rather friendly.