Another neighborhood success story. The Tribune reports the Port of
Portland is taking off the table planning for a third runway for the next 30
years. Congrats to CNN, NECN and EPNO.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

This is something CNN, NECN, and EPNO neighborhood groups have been
organizing. While the article is clear the economy and gas prices are
fundamentally changing demand for airflight, Bill Wyatt still acknowledges
neighborhood opposition was a factor. A Cully neighborhood leader is quoted
too.

By Andrew Longeteig

Six months of sweat equity finally paid off for Eric Rose and Matthew Busetto. Their much-anticipated southern and central Italian-inspired restaurant, Firehouse, opened June 27 at 711 NE Dekum.

Rose and Busetto’s quest to find the optimal space didn’t take long – less than two weeks.

“We saw it and it made perfect sense,” Rose says. “We were looking at having a neighborhood, family-friendly restaurant. The triangular streets make it a very unique piece of property.”

Woodlawn Triangle’s signature building, constructed in 1913, served as fire station No. 29, which housed firefighters on the top floor and a horse stable on the lower level.

Rose lives in Lake Oswego, but intends to relocate to Portland. No doubt, he is impressed by Woodlawn.

“It’s very unpretentious, very warm and welcoming,” says Rose, who grew up in Chicago. “There is a lot of diversity in this neighborhood. It reminds me of neighborhoods in bigger cities. It has lots of potential and seemed, to us, to be underserved in the way of good places to eat.”

Rose, Busetto, friends and contractors began renovation in January and helped transform the former artists residence to an inviting destination. Demolition work revealed exposed beam ceilings and original brick walls. Firehouse also has a wood-fired oven, rotisserie and grill.

Justin Rideout, owner of the two-story building at 820 NE Dekum, constructed Firehouse’s tables and banquettes from reclaimed rough-sawn fir. The City of Portland Archives gave Rose and Busetto vintage digital images, which they enlarged and hung throughout Firehouse. A framed print of the Firehouse logo, designed by Rose’s son David, hangs in the main dining area.

Outside, a semi-circular stone patio on the building’s south side provides additional seating.

The landscape is a garden oasis in training. There are small orchards of apples, pears, cherries, blueberries, huckleberries, currants, persimmon, crabapple, quince and grapevines, among others. Raised garden beds include arugula, tomatoes and various herbs.

“We will use them here,” Rose says. “We intend to use everything we can, although it can’t fulfill all our needs.”

Firehouse values simple preparations with quality local and seasonal ingredients. Rose and Matthew buy ingredients in small quantities and use them at their peak freshness.

“Buying large quantities and compromising the freshness of the ingredient just doesn’t make sense to us,” Rose says. “We’re using as much produce from small local farms as we can.”

Rose has worked in the Portland and Seattle restaurant scene for 24 years. Before owning Firehouse, he was the food services director for New Seasons Market for almost nine years, overseeing the delis and specialty-cheese program. There he met Busetto, who served as store chef for two years.

“We want to start off in a manageable fashion to give the kitchen the opportunity to give justice to the food without overwhelming them,” says Rose, who employs a staff of six. “As the neighborhood starts to request more days, we will certainly try to do that. It’s nice to start out small and get big, as opposed to start big and get small.”

Read the rest of this entry »

There is so much happening in our neighborhood and this is a great place to talk about it!

We’re seeking contributors to help write for this website. Do you have a special area of interest? A trick, tip or skill to share with neighbors? A concern, idea or reflection to publish? We’d love to hear from you! Writers are needed for one time articles or to contribute on an on-going basis. No computer skills are needed beyond being able to type and e-mail your article.

If you are interested in participating, see the Write an Article link or contact Ayleen //at// GoWoodlawn.com.

We look forward to reading what you have to say!

These classes are FREE, but you must register in advance. These garden dinners are sure to delight you with fresh produce and yummy treats.

Pedalpalooza is a 2-week bicycle with over 200 mostly free events happening all over Portland and Vancouver. You don’t need to be a hardcore rider to enjoy these welcoming, fun events. In fact, one of the events is a leisurely ride is honoring the history of Woodlawn! This ride is organized by Gregg Lavender, who also coordinated our Friends of Trees planting.

June 23rd - 5:30pm - 7:30pm - Ladd Circle
Why are the Woodlawn neighborhood and the Ladd’s neighborhood strees crooked? Why is Couch Street not pronounced “Couch Street”? Where were the streetcar tracks before they were torn out? How did the parks get named?

Come ride on an historic tour of Portland with a local historian leaving from one crooked neighborhood (Ladd’s Addition) headed to another (Woodlawn). We will make little stops for discussion several times along the way. The trip will end at Woodlawn Park which is very near Good Neighbor Pizzaria on NE Dekum and 8th.

For more info, contact WoodlawnTrees //at// gmail.com
// Pedalpalooza website

Woodlawn Historian Anjala Ehelebe has been unearthing Woodlawn stories and photos for years and her efforts have finally been compiled into a beautiful book, Portland’s Woodlawn Neighborhood, showcasing our neighborhood’s unique history. Woodlawn was the first settled area of Portland and our history is rich. You may notice it in the diagonal streets (oriented to the street car line), the majestic red brick firehouse and the historic Village Ballroom and there is even more chronicled in Anjala’s book.

Portland’s Woodlawn Neighborhood is available for perusal at the general meetings and for purchase at major book stores. In the near future, Anjala will have a book signing at Reflections book store and we will put an announcement up when the details are finalized.

// Portland Tribune Article on Anjala’s book

In these times of rising gas prices, so many of our daily costs have gone up. I’m seeing more neighbors with veggie gardens, which is great and will allow them to save on their grocery bills this summer. But did you know you can also save around $120 a year on your garbage service? If you’re like me and you don’t put a full can out every week and you’re prone to skip weeks for lack of garbage, you can opt for once a month service. If you use your own 32 gallon can, the cost is around $11.50/month, as opposed to around $21/month if you use your own 32 gallon can. If you are extremely good about reducing your waste, you can also opt to call in when you need service.

Technically these reduced-service options are only available to home owners, not renters, but if you’re dedicated to waste reduction, talk to your landlord about your options.

And here’s the best part… Read the rest of this entry »

Six miles, six hours, zero traffic….Imagine enjoying a leisurely stroll or bike ride with friends, family and little tykes without having to worry about cars. Thanks to the City of Portland, this will be possible during Sunday Parkways, a six-mile “temporary park” connecting North Portland neighborhoods and residents.

The festival is patterned after Ciclovias, an event that first became successful in South America. Every Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. the city of Bogota, Colombia closes 70 miles of major roads so that people can bike, roller blade, run and stroll without traffic. The Ciclovia has become a major community activity and on an average weekend 1.5 million people enjoy the traffic-free boulevards. Another term for this concept is “Sunday Parkways”, and they’re coming to North Portland, close to Woodlawn, this summer.

Each park along the way will feature a line-up of music, entertainment and activities, including yoga for seniors, food, tango lessons, a kids’ choir, pickup games of kickball and baseball, Tai-Chi, acupuncture, pedi cab rides, kids activities and plenty more.

// Schedule of activities

 Want to get out and walk through the neighborhood with your neighbors? The neighborhood door knocker program, coordinated by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, (NECN) will be in Woodlawn on Saturday. It’s a rare opportunity for us to meet our neighbors and share information about the service and programs available, as well as cool emerging Woodlawn projects. The visited houses will receive a packet of information - stored inside a reusable grocery bag!

Lunch is provided!

If you’re interested, join them at the Woodlawn Community Resource Center, located upstairs in the Woodlawn Methodist Church at NE 15th and Dekum. Arrive by 10am and the work will be completed at 11am. Use the door on the west side of the building and head up the stairs.

For more info, please contact Sylvia at NECN:  503.823.4575.