Wonderful news for the Pearl! I'll have a few new businesses to submit for inclusion in the map as I have new tenants moving into the historic Ecotrust building soon. Very excited for the Malarkey's steakhouse revitalzing the Oba space. I remember when Oba was the catalsyt that put the Pearl on the map as a destination, and I'm hopeful we'll see a similar spark.
Very glad to hear of new businesses taking a chance on the Pearl, and grateful for people that actually care about the health and prosperity of the city. It’s unfortunate that virtually all of the government “leaders” here not only cannot be counted on to support efforts, their policies diametrically oppose progress.
We opened our first Pearl District business, Form and Function, in the early 90’s right across the street from Oba (I think just below Al Solheim’s current apartment), which at the time was a paint supplier. The neighborhood then was pretty crusty…..even a train ran down 13th twice a day, servicing mostly the Blitz brewery. If you think there are vacant buildings now, go back in time and walk NW Glisan between 8th and 15th. It was truly a bohemian neighborhood populated mostly by art galleries and small shops. and vacant buildings. The local coffee shop was Giant Steps and the “go to” restaurant was Shakers (previously George Paris). It was gritty., but it was also full of youthful enthusiasm. The DNA of enterprise here in Portland.
Eventually we moved around the corner to a larger space that at the time seemed pretty daunting. It was, after all, about 4,000 square feet, and we were unsure if we had the money to buy enough merchandise to fill it. KABOOM ! was born, and yes, we did fill it. Some of you may remember….boy, did we fill it. When the space next door became available we leased it as well, which ended up being Lux Lighting, which we sold in 2004 (it is now Blix Art Supply).
It was a fantastic time to exist and have a business venture in the upstart Pearl. First Thursday was initiated there, which brought people from all over the city to gallery walk and end the night at the bars. This is where we cut our retail teeth. This is where we got our start, as did many others. This was the beginning of Portland being “cool”, and none of it would have happened if visionaries and people like Al Solheim and Debbie Thomas didn’t roll the dice and go, as we did, “all in”. The Pearl will come back. I’m just hoping it’s reinvention mimics some of the gritty, gutsy flair of the past. If it does, it will draw those young entrepreneurs that disregard all the conventional advice, break most of the rules, and plant their flag. It’s a great place to plant a flag.
This is the kind of positive news we need as we bring our City back! Thank you Al for your vision and persistence in the Pearl.
Wonderful news for the Pearl! I'll have a few new businesses to submit for inclusion in the map as I have new tenants moving into the historic Ecotrust building soon. Very excited for the Malarkey's steakhouse revitalzing the Oba space. I remember when Oba was the catalsyt that put the Pearl on the map as a destination, and I'm hopeful we'll see a similar spark.
Very glad to hear of new businesses taking a chance on the Pearl, and grateful for people that actually care about the health and prosperity of the city. It’s unfortunate that virtually all of the government “leaders” here not only cannot be counted on to support efforts, their policies diametrically oppose progress.
We opened our first Pearl District business, Form and Function, in the early 90’s right across the street from Oba (I think just below Al Solheim’s current apartment), which at the time was a paint supplier. The neighborhood then was pretty crusty…..even a train ran down 13th twice a day, servicing mostly the Blitz brewery. If you think there are vacant buildings now, go back in time and walk NW Glisan between 8th and 15th. It was truly a bohemian neighborhood populated mostly by art galleries and small shops. and vacant buildings. The local coffee shop was Giant Steps and the “go to” restaurant was Shakers (previously George Paris). It was gritty., but it was also full of youthful enthusiasm. The DNA of enterprise here in Portland.
Eventually we moved around the corner to a larger space that at the time seemed pretty daunting. It was, after all, about 4,000 square feet, and we were unsure if we had the money to buy enough merchandise to fill it. KABOOM ! was born, and yes, we did fill it. Some of you may remember….boy, did we fill it. When the space next door became available we leased it as well, which ended up being Lux Lighting, which we sold in 2004 (it is now Blix Art Supply).
It was a fantastic time to exist and have a business venture in the upstart Pearl. First Thursday was initiated there, which brought people from all over the city to gallery walk and end the night at the bars. This is where we cut our retail teeth. This is where we got our start, as did many others. This was the beginning of Portland being “cool”, and none of it would have happened if visionaries and people like Al Solheim and Debbie Thomas didn’t roll the dice and go, as we did, “all in”. The Pearl will come back. I’m just hoping it’s reinvention mimics some of the gritty, gutsy flair of the past. If it does, it will draw those young entrepreneurs that disregard all the conventional advice, break most of the rules, and plant their flag. It’s a great place to plant a flag.