Glowing against Dark Sky

Astoria, Oregon ~ June 4, 2009

On the last day of the year, I'm putting up a photo I've always liked but have never got around to posting. I am attracted to glowing or bright foregrounds against a dark sky. I took this one on June 4, 2009, when the city was replacing the stairs in the Astoria Column by taking off the cap and dropping the stairs in from the top using huge cranes. Of course they fenced off the area at the top of the hill that includes the column. 

Tomorrow's post will be fun. City Daily Photo's January 1 Theme Day will be "Photo of the year 2010." Some cities are ahead of us time-wise and are already posting, so it might be fun to follow the link, search for your favorite city, state, or country, or just click on the Theme Day link and see what each City Daily Photo blogger thought was their best or favorite for the New Year's Theme Day.

On a personal note, I apologize for posting sporadically lately. I'm not tired of the blog and am looking forward to 2011. After a long season of work, I got run down, caught a bad bug, and have been lazing around reading for the past week, trying to get better.

I want to thank all of Astoria Daily Photo's readers and commenters. We've reached 1,000 Fans on our Facebook page - woohoo!!! - and some of you have also written privately to tell me you enjoy the daily posts. It's been fun and gratifying, and I wish all of us a safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2011!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Orange Pansies in December

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 20, 2010

I was charmed the other day to find these orange pansies blooming in the red planter outside Clemente's Restaurant on 12th Street. I also hadn't noticed its neighbor before, the rock garden. I wonder what will be growing here in spring? I love all of the planters that have sprung up outside the city's businesses. I've thought of putting some outside of my place, but haven't done it yet. Maybe this will be the year.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

The Windsor House of Tea

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 23, 2010

Thanks for bearing with the same photo for a few days. I decided to take a break. I'm back, and will be pulling random photos out of the archives this week. The business is not more, but the building remains. Would anyone like to share their fond memories either in the comments or by e-mail? I visited once, treated by my friend Lisa. The baked treats were spectacularly flavorful and decadent. I'm sorry to say that because of that and the engaging conversation, I don't even remember the tea. (It was a few years ago.) It was also one of my not-too-many forays into the basement of Astoria. I love these Art Deco buildings along Marine Drive between 9th and 10th.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Christmas at Old Town Framing Co.

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 21, 2010

Over the years, I've enjoyed finding unusual and beautiful frames here that really set off whatever it is I wanted to frame, and also unique and artistic greeting cards that fit my style. Old Town Framing is not only about putting frames on art, it's about art. It's one of the homegrown not-a-chain businesses that, for me, makes Astoria what it is. Today it's dressed up for Christmas.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Season for Logs

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 20, 2010

This is the season when heavy rains (which we've had plenty of) send logs and debris downriver.

I like the logs, they add an element of interest and sense of place, but they don't do much for the buildings. This log, as they often do, has drifted toward shore. The only problem is, because of the buildings and the damage caused when the waves get high, the logs have to make their way back out to the river.

This is the bay between the buildings that the log has to traverse to get back out into the Columbia River. Sometimes they go with the tide, and sometimes they need help. If they are heavy enough, it's not that easy to help them. Depending on the tide and current, I've seen them get all the way out to where you'd think they would drift away (only to give someone else a possible headache), and then they drift back in to await the next tide. Sometimes they won't leave, and they have to be sawed up when the water is low. Anyway, it's something different to break the routine. I like hearing them clank and bang against the building's pilings.

As someone pointed out, this is very bad for the pilings under the buildings. I do help the owner keep the logs away, but when they are banging I still enjoy it. Can't help it  :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Shining Silver

Astoria, Oregon ~ February 7, 2010

I've had this one in my "to post" file for awhile. I like it because it shows something I mentioned in my "Downtown Astoria" post the other day. I've never seen anyplace that is as shimmery and shiny as Astoria is when the rain stops for awhile and the sun comes out.

I took this photo from the River Walk looking up 15th Street. The street in the immediate foreground is Marine Drive. On the other side of the big intersection Commercial Avenue is about ready to merge with Marine on the left. Area Properties is in the downstairs portion of the building on the right. Beyond the empty space on the right is The Blue Scorcher along with Fort George, a very popular and growing brewpub.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Christmas Lights, 1885

Astoria, Oregon ~ March 22, 2010

This plaque surprised me, sitting "in the middle of nowhere" along Marine Drive by the parking lot that used to be a car wash. (It's on a vacant block on the south side of the street just east of the TLC Credit Union and the Mini Mart. It's very easy to drive by and not even see it.) As it turned out, it was interesting reading. Thanks to Clatsop County Historical Society for reminding us of these things!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Azaleas in November

Astoria, Oregon ~ November 10, 2010

I thought I'd post something pretty after yesterday's disaster and the big hole on Tuesday. I noticed these azaleas compellingly in bloom just as I was leaving town. I didn't get a chance to poke around and see how many other plants were in bloom around Astoria, although I saw a mint plant with a couple of small purple flowers, and I noticed that some nearby twigs had bright green buds on them. I didn't know azaleas had two seasons, so I looked it up onilne.

Apparently, if it's first been cold and then warms up, the buds that have already formed in anticipation of spring will sometimes open. It was unseasonably cold for days and days on end at the beginning of November. I can't remember, but it may have started in October. Then, yes, it warmed up for awhile.

My question is, what happens to next year? Does the plant form a second set of buds? I certainly hope so, because I'll be unhappy if spring comes and the azaleas are all bloomed out from November.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Astoria Fire: A Sad Day

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 17, 2010

It all looks fairly placid, but last night and into the morning, two much-frequented and well-loved iconic Astoria buildings were completely gutted by fire. (I've also shared a very clear and telling video by Chris Patenaude on this blog's Facebook Page.) No one "on the ground" was injured; one of the approximately 80 firefighters on the scene had some damage to one shoulder, according to accounts I've read this morning. Several people took videos of the conflagration in the night. Not only are as many as 10 businesses homeless this morning, but this location was a favorite of locals and tourists alike.

Gunderson's Cannery Cafe (a favorite of mine since I arrived in Astoria and a place I've especially enjoyed lately), on the left, is the most talked-about casualty, but there was also a restaurant inside of Number 10 Sixth Street (on the right) that many of us enjoyed at lunch time. The prominent red roof in the middle of the picture is the 6th Street Viewing Platform, another place I cherished. I couldn't tell if it had sustained any damage.

You can look on Google for Astoria fire and see what comes up. At the moment, I'm sad, tired for other reasons, and need to get to work.

Number 10 Sixth Street this morning. At the moment, I don't have time to go into my thoughts or list the businesses that were inside. Suffice it to say, it's a sad day for a lot of people, and not only the owners of the property and businesses.

How many times have I gone in the door on the far right? I used to walk though the building as I was strolling the River Walk in order to look at the paintings by local artists, and I've enjoyed lunch at the Lazy Spoon Cafe just to the right of that doorway. Clatsop Behavioral Center helped many, many people with their counseling and groups, and upstairs was a remarkable refurbished Victorian suite (quite big, maybe 4 bedrooms and an incredible view) where I attended two events, and it could be rented for weekend getaways. I have a number of photos of these two buildings "in life," but they're filed by date, so I'll post them as I find them. Two of my all-time favorite pictures on this blog are of the 6th Street Pier and its buildings:

. Festive banners on the 6th Steet Pier with the now-burned buildings on either side of the walk

. The lighter colored building on the right is Number 10 6th Street

I got a comment and an e-mail about Number 10 having been the Bumblebee Cannery. I should have mentioned it before, but it was before my time here. Check out the comments linked below, and also the following e-mail:

----------

I didn't see any mention that 10 6th st. used to be Bumblebee Tuna's main offices. And it set vacant till Chester Trubuco took it over and made something of it. The fire is just many that dotted the waterfront of Astoria. I've watched many buildings burn down on the waterfront over the years. It is sad to see Chester's Dream go up in smoke. But the old facility had seen its better days and it was sad to see it go. One of the landmark was the big radio tower and antenna which used to be on the top of the building for many years. It was given to Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club many years ago and was taken down piece by piece.

The city looses another major landmark.

When people visit the East Basin they forget or don't know about the building of George and Barker that was turned into a fish buying station and burned down in the 80's. It had a long pier and a building at the end which they stored some personal belongings. And it burned down this community has seen its share of spectacular fires over the years since the big fire since Dec. 8th 1922 every few years we have had a big fire. Which one is going to be next?

The way this city is constructed a fire in a basement could cause a good part of the city to go again!

What happened to our fire boat? Did they think we would have no more fires next to the water so they had to get rid of it?

----------

Good question. I was also wondering about the fireboat. Don't we have them at some of the demos during Regatta?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

BIG Rig at the Post Office

December 13, 2010

At the end of each day, one of us stops by the back dock at the post office to deliver the bags of orders we've packed up that day. It must be due to the heavy volume of Christmas mail, but today the truck picking up looked enormous. I asked the driver how he could possibly make the turn onto 8th Street, because I really couldn't imagine it. He said it was tight, but it wasn't all that bad. (I really can't imagine how it's done.) The truck collects from a number of local-area post offices before heading pack to Portland. He said the bad stop was Seaside, where if there are any cars parked on either side of the street, it simply can't be done. I've forgotten what the Seaside post office dock looks like, but I believe him.

In 2009, I showed a photo of a truck hauling logs making the turn at the corner of 8th and Commercial. The truck you see here will have to turn right onto two-lane 8th Street, and immediately make the insane left turn onto two-lane Commercial. Before I knew the drill, I was once or twice one of those cars that had to back up so the truck could turn.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.