Saturday was so beautiful, even when I got off work very early in the morning. I had to walk around town and take pictures. The temperature was GREAT. In the morning in was high 60's and later got up to 80. It was refreshing and much needed for morale. this post is mostly going to be pictures, I walked all over town yesterday. One of the thing I wanted to do in Portland is walk across all the bridges (that you can) in the city. It was a perfect day to start this.
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| Right after work, getting ready to start my exploring |
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| the walkway to Lovejoy Bakers |
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| Random sculptures |
The area we call the Pearl District use to be a wetland. Tanner Spring Park was created to honor what once was wetlands.
Then I ventured across the Broadway Bridge, which is a bascule bridge. It was the first bascule bridge built in Portland and the longest in the world at the time of its completion. It is the longest Rall-type bascule bridge still in existence. It opened in April of 1913 it is 1,742 (531 m) in length, 70 ft wide, and longest span is 304 ft.
Once I got the other side I decided to walk across the Steel Bridge. The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic (on the Pacific Highway West No. 1W and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge. I plan to go across the Hawthrone bridge soon. The Steel Bridge opened in 1912 (replaced 1888 bridge), longest span 211 ft, and 71 ft wide.
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upper deck
The SIGN! |
It was a really awesome day yesterday and I had the best time just walking and enjoying the city for all its beauty.
