See the model of the preferred design

Visit Umpqua Bank to view a model of the future park. The preferred design includes three main areas: an Urban Garden (with Community Gathering, Environmental Play, and Garden Retreat areas), an Open Lawn with raised slope, and a Naturalized Area with denser plantings. Stop in for a closer look while Umpqua has the model on display at 3606 SW Bond Avenue.

Find project materials and information like meeting summaries, design presentations, and event details online at http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=45404

The next Project Advisory Committee Meeting will be Tuesday, May 13, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. in the Portland Building, 1120 SW Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor, Room B

This is the first of a series of interviews of the artists, designers, architects, and musicians that live in the South Waterfront neighborhood. The interviews are conducted by Zara Logue - a Portland-based designer, John Ross resident, and member of the Art, Culture, and Science committee.

The first interview is with Jerry Inscoe, an artist, designer and competitive cyclist who lives in The John Ross.

(Zara Logue) Give me a brief history of your background - birthplace, upbringing, when you started making work, what you do for a living.

(Jerry Inscoe) I was born in Washington DC where I was raised till I was in my early twenties. As a kid I lived with my Mom and my Auntiemame (Grandmother) on Wisconsin Ave just across the street from the National Cathedral. My Auntiemame (named so because she was kind of eclectic like the character Roslyn Russell played in the movie Auntiemame) was very much into art and the social lifestyle of a city woman. She collected modern art and modern furniture and encouraged me to be artistic at a young age. Honestly, I don’t even recall having that many toys to play with as much as I did have colored pencils and sketchbooks. So I always drew as a kid to pass time. As time moved on my Mother and I moved around a lot, always in the DC / Virginia area but I always ended up in a different school district. Making new friends became a bit of a chore so as usual I kept my nose in my sketchbooks. Those early years were spent drawing Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons as much as possible. When Battlestar Galactica aired everything switched over to drawing vipers and cylons. And it went on like that for years. Just drawing what I saw.

I don’t think I really concentrated on making “work” till high school art classes. Most of what I did was modern or abstract…probably inspired by what I saw in my Auntimame’s house as a kid. In 1985 I started doing graffiti so I could have something to do since my Mom worked two jobs. With no parent at home during the night…I had full reign of the streets. In the early ’90s I moved to San Francisco and met up with some old school graffiti writers out there. A few of them were in to doing this really abstract and organic style of graffiti, and I found myself really attracted to the idea. I’ve been in that genre of the subculture ever since. In 2001 I had my first solo gallery show at The Compound which is located above Just Be Toys in Old Town Portland. I had made a few canvas pieces for group shows in previous years but I had never had to create a whole bunch of work for a solo show. The show was a huge success for me. I sold everything on the walls and was even commissioned by Mark Parker (of Nike) to create some artwork for his office. The success of that show led to many other shows and helped me realize just how lucky I really am as an artist.

I currently work full time for a major Northwest retailer as a Visual Merchandiser, which includes a lot more than just fussing with mannequins all day long. There’s not a whole lot of artistic ability needed to do my job but when I first started doing it sixteen years ago it was all different. The ‘display crew’ (as it was called back then) designed, built and installed all the window displays. Over time that creative outlet was taken away and now we’re basically a carbon copy of companies like Gap, Inc.

To compensate for the change I’ve tried to take up graphic design a little bit. I’ve learned that it’s a profession that isn’t as easy as it looks and totally takes a visually creative person of a different sort. I’m more of the kind of artist who is good at doing his own thing and not trying to think up something clever for someone else. I’m not sure what kind of artist that makes me. I’ve been lucky enough to do some stuff for companies like Burton, Nike and Nordstrom as well as a bunch of little things for friends and others. I enjoy working on the computer and teaching myself the programs but I don’t have the time to really buckle down and make a living from it.

(ZL) Do you consider yourself an artist or a designer? How do you connect to or deny those categories in your work? Do you think those kinds of categorizations even matter?

(JI) I would consider myself an artist before I would consider myself a designer. However, I draw a lot of inspiration from graphic design, web design, industrial design and architecture. I’ve found that I really connect with clean and simple images, very color-blocked images. There’s just something about design that I find very inspiring.

Categorizing art is a way for people who aren’t artists to put artists in their place. I think an artist is an artist, no matter what genre they fall in to. I’ve recently become really interested in typeface design…mostly cursive script. A new font called Burgues was just released and it’s amazingly beautiful. The time and energy that must have went into the design of that font has to be immense. I designed a font myself of just my regular handwriting and the work that went into it took a while…and it’s as simple as it gets. I can’t imagine doing something complicated.

(ZL) Graffiti seems to be where you got your start in terms of making your work public. Do you still consider yourself a graffiti writer? What role do you think graffiti plays in culture now that it’s been mainstreamed?

(JI) I still identify as a graffiti writer but I no longer partake in the actions that would label me as one. When you spend 22 years of your life connected to a subculture - even when you leave that subculture behind - you’re still going to be involved somehow. For me, it’s to be aware of my environment around me. The writing on the wall, the stencils and wheat pastes. And within the last ten years the mainstream has latched itself on to graffiti writing as a way to connect with folks. Even when an ad has a subtle hint of graffiti, it stands out to me. I haven’t yet decided if it’s a good thing or a bad thing for the subculture of street artists but I do know it’s opened doors for (graffiti) writers to become graphic designers and web designers. This has helped lead the way to amazing publications of books and magazines related to street art and of street art/graffiti. These books aren’t just images on a page bound together, the books themselves are pieces of art.

(ZL) How did you end up in the South Waterfront?

(JI) I’ve always lived in a city environment since I was a kid. I’ve learned to be very comfortable that way. My wife Rachel and I saved up to buy our first home by moving out the suburbs to save on rent. When we had enough for a down payment on a home we realized we couldn’t afford a modern home like we wanted or something close in to the downtown Portland area so we bought where we could. We got lucky and bought in an upcoming area and the value of our home rose over a five year period. When we saw what was happening in the South Waterfront we really liked the idea of a modern development that we could be a part of from the ground up. The more information we got on the buildings planned for the area the more we wanted to be a part of it. We looked into the Meriwether buildings but all in our price range were sold out. So we put our name in for any info on new buildings being developed. We got some mail about the John Ross building and the opening day sales and we were one of the first in line to buy. It’s great to see the area grow slowly and to be a part of that.

(ZL) What’s the best/worst thing about living here? Has the neighborhood influenced your work in any way?

(JI) For me the best thing about living here is its location. I feel like I live downtown without the hassles of living downtown - the traffic and the noise. I have easy access to most points in the city by hopping on the streetcar and if I feel like a jog on Council Crest I can take the tram uphill! There are some things that bother me but they’re mostly personal. There’s not much the community can do about them - the community has no control over the kinds of vehicles people drive or the laziness behind some folks’ recycling habits. I just hope that living in a green community will start to rub off on people and the efforts of a few will pay off.

I haven’t created any work since moving here but I have played around on the computer with design using elements from the neighborhood. Nothing I’ve saved or anything…just playing with the tools that come with the software.

(ZL) How can people find out more about your work? Are you represented by a gallery, have any upcoming shows, a website?

(JI) Currently I have no representation or website. About a year ago I decided to take a break from creating work due to a stagnant rut I was in. I hope to get back to creating pieces again soon as art is one of my biggest passions. I constantly doodle and sketch ideas so thankfully I have a stash of ideas tucked away so when it comes time to work…I’ll have a good head start.

This was recently posted on the City’s Bureau of Planning website, to view the original post please click here.

Project Overview:

In December 2004, the Portland City Council accepted the South Waterfront Greenway Development Plan (GDP) schematic and directed the Portland Development Commission (PDC), Portland Parks & Recreation (Parks), and the Bureau of Planning (Planning) to create an implementation strategy for the GDP.

Hello Neighbors - here is the latest update from March Wellness - we just received this email yesterday:

Dear March Wellness members,

We are writing to update you on the future of March Wellness. As you recall, the center was recently placed in jeopardy by a recent Oregon Supreme Court Ruling which created a large budget shortfall for OHSU. This shortfall resulted in our announcement early this year that March would likely be restructured or sold.

We are pleased to tell you that a decision has been reached about our future. March Wellness will remain open, but some of our space and functions will be consolidated. Here is a summary of the changes you will witness:

>The center will be consolidated and occupy the second floor of the Center for Health and Healing. In the future, March Wellness will occupy 32,000 square feet of space. Currently the center occupies 47,000 square feet of space.

> The gymnasium will be renovated and exercise equipment will now reside in this space. The gymnasium was previously under-utilized by members, which is the reason for this decision.
The first floor of March will be converted into clinical space.

> The next phase of the decision is to determine whether OHSU will remain the operator of March Wellness or whether an outside fitness operator will run the center. This decision will take greater analysis and will likely occur in a matter of months. We will of course inform you of this decision when it is made.

> As part of the consolidation, some of the spa services provided by March will likely be discontinued. However many of these decisions have yet to be made.

An extensive cost analysis study and input from several parties – including the public - informed the decision about March Wellness. The cost analysis reviewed several specific issues including monthly revenues, the square footage occupied by March Wellness and the costs associated with renting this space. Because March Wellness will remain open, we will continue promotions for the center aimed at obtaining new members and keeping old members.

We want to thank you for your patience during this difficult time and we hope that you are relieved and pleased with the decision that has been made. As always, if you have questions, we invite you to contact our Executive Director Amber Webster at websteam@ohsu.edu or 503 494-8198.

Thank You,

The March Wellness Management Team

I noticed on Friday that PDOT had finally installed parking signs and meters along Bond Ave. in the South Waterfront. Most importantly, unlike Moody Ave., these metered spots are between 2 and 3 hrs:

I’ve been living and working in the South Waterfront for around 6 months now and every morning this stretch of Bond is packed with cars. I know it’s not construction workers, they have a lot, a big one. I know it’s not the retailers of South Waterfront - they are the ones who have been so supportive of abolishing the 11 hr parking in the neighborhood. Basically, all those OHSU employees have to find somewhere else to park now. Although I can’t blame them, I probably would have done the same thing in their shoes. This is a great thing for the neighborhood, now our guests won’t have to search for hours to find parking and more people can come frequent the retail shops, like Le Hana and the new Bambuza Vietnam Bistro opening next week, without getting too frustrated.

Now the city just needs to change the 11 hr parking on Moody and we’ll be all set.

Hello all,

A new restaurant is moving into the John Ross, on the corner of SW Bond and Gaines.  Daniel and Katherine Nguyen are inviting local residents to a welcome event next Saturday, the 5th of April, from 6-9pm.  He has asked that anyone interested please RSVP by Thursday, April 3rd by calling 503.206.6330.

“Taste of the Mekong along the banks of the Willamette”

Sip on a Mekong Mojito and munch on Coconut Summer Rolls by the Willamette River. The delightful culinary flavors of Vietnam await at Bambuza Vietnam Bistro, opening in April. Owners Daniel and Katherine Nguyen have been busy traveling and preparing since last summer to open Bambuza at the John Ross Condominium Tower in Portland’s South Waterfront District.

“It’s great to be home,” says Katherine who grew up in Portland and will manage the South Waterfront location. “I’m up for the challenge,” says Daniel, a Camas native. “It’s truly a unique place and an opportunity that I could not let pass by,” said Daniel after being introduced to the location by college classmate.

To kick off Bambuza’s Grand Opening, Daniel and his wife, Katherine will host a private sneak-preview event in early April to offer a tase of what’s been cooking since last summer down at the South Waterfront. Bambuza will open to the public on Tuesday, April 8th.

Bambuza Vietnam Bistro in the South Waterfront will be the second in the family’s line of casual, upscale Vietnamese restaurants. Bambuza will feature distinctive Vietnamese dishes that focus on fresh and healthy ingredients. The restaurant will offer casual, take-out service at lunch and full-service meals at dinner with a full bar and wine list.