31 March 2010

Goodbye to the corner of Burnside, Sandy, and 12th ave


Since my first days in Portland, this intersection has been an unavoidable part of life. Three two-way streets and another one way street all come together in a glorious mess, and have done so in one configuration or another since East Portland was a wee city. I'm kinda sad to see it become so safe and uninteresting, but seriously, this is one nasty intersection that needed fixing 70 years ago. I drive my big ol' box truck through here nearly every day and always stress a little as I squeeze through those narrow lanes.
Soon I'll reminisce about this intersection just like I reminisce about 20th, Hawthorne, & Elliot, and how you used to have to swerve around a utility pole to continue south through this intersection. I will miss the old signage, there's quite a few old-school signs from the '60's that will be going away.
I haven't had a moment to get out and take the photos I want to lately, luckily there's this photographic evidence of the last days of the intersection collected over at the ZehnKatzen Times.