Theme Day: Red

Astoria, Oregon ~ March 31, 2010

Two Red Doors

Today is City Daily Photo Theme Day.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Screaming scarlet bushes

This is what I meant in the last post about "screaming scarlet" fall leaves. I've noticed these bushes a lot around this area and in Portland. It's not like you can miss them. I'm sure they're chosen exactly for the color they turn in fall. I took this photo at the edge of the Safeway parking lot not far from this old shed. The river looks white on this drizzly day. The hills in the distance are on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Of course, that's the River Walk beyond the tracks.

One of the rail lines you see in both photos is for the much-used Astoria Riverfront Trolley. The other line hasn't been used for awhile. They resurrected it a couple of years ago for several Amtrak passenger cars that ran between Astoria and Portland (2 hours by car). It was a great idea if you wanted to come from Portland to Astoria for the day or a couple of days, but the sceduling and logistics were a mess if you wanted to go from Astoria and spend the day in Portland. The timing was all wrong, and it made for an expensive proposition since you would almost have to stay overnight in Portland if you lived in Astoria. Daytripping was virtually ruled out unless you wanted to ride the train, turn around and come right back. Maybe they'll plan it better next time. We all loved the idea.

Red spring and evolution in a small town

I took this photo in front of the Bank of Astoria on April 10, 2009. The bank (at 11th and Duane) was recently bought by Columbia National Bank and changed its name (the statements still say B of A and so does the building), and it will take most of us years to think of it as anything other than the Bank of Astoria. The old names and features become so ingrained that when I first moved here in 2001, people were constantly giving me directions based on things that were no longer around, and may have been gone for 20 years! I had no idea what they were talking about. The right side of the photo is now a parking lot, but anyone who has been here for a few years (including me) will tell you. "It's by the old Safeway." The white building in the middle of the photo is a charming building that has been the Columbia River Day Spa for maybe six or seven years, but it, too, is a former bank. A lot of the old buildings keep the signage for historical or aesthetic reasons, and that would be a fun topic to explore sometime. Anyway, as Spring comes to Astoria with its rejuvenating ways, we give more than a slight nod to the old and comfortable, too. We love Spring here - it brings a few patches of blue in the sky and some rays of much-wanted sun.

Today is Ruby Tuesday. Click on the link to enjoy other photos featuring red!

If you're interested, you can see more pix of Astoria today on my other blog.

Theme Day: Shadows

This is a reconstruction of the original Fort Astoria. The blockhouse and palisade are made of wood, while the additional fort walls and the building with the flag are painted on the flat wall behind by local artists Roger McKay and Sally Lackaff. I took the photo on March 6, 2009. Theme Day at City Daily Photo takes place on the first day of each month. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants