Portland Real Estate, Lake Oswego Homes, Vancouver Investment Property

Area Links
http://www.artinthepearl.com
http://www.explorethepearl.com
http://www.pearldistrict.org/
http://www.shopthepearl.com/tour.htm
http://www.firstthursday.org/

The name of Portland's best known art district, The Pearl, suggests urban legend. Perhaps an oyster canning factory once sat amidst the aging warehouses, or Chinese seafarers hid pearls beneath cobble stoned Twelfth Street. Whatever the origion, there's the suggestion of both beauty and ugliness in the name?an elegant gem nestled in a drab, rough shell.

The story goes like this: Thomas Augustine, a local gallery owner, coined the phrase more than 10 years ago to suggest that the buildings in the warehouse district were like crusty oysters, and that the galleries and artists' lofts were like pearls. "There were very few visible changes in the area," says Al Solheim, a developer who has been involved in many projects in the district. "People would drive by and not have a clue as to what was inside". As local business people were looking to label the growing area?"the warehouse district or the "brewery district" were two suggestions?an Alaskin Airlines writer borrowed Augustine's phrase, according to Solheim. The name stuck.

"Everyone hated it" says Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery owner Rod Pulliam, who opened his gallery three years ago. Few other galleries, such as Quartershaw and Blackfish, have histories that go back that far. But many artists lived or worked in the area in loft buildings such as the Maddox on Hoyt Street. Back then, says Pulliam, light industry, vacant buildings, and blue collar cafes outcumbering the galleries and lofts.

Despite initial cynicism about the name, few deny it's catchy. The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)'s inventive announcement for its 1998 annual Daba Ball included a tuna can with a fake pearl.

The Pearl District hosts events such as First Thursday, a monthly gallery walk (see "Works in Progress" section), and Art in the Pearl, an annual arts and crafts festival held over Labor Day weekend. The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Paciﬁc Northwest College of Art and the Portland Art Institute are all located in the Pearl District, adding to the importance of the neighborhood's arts scene. Portland Center Stage makes its home in the beautifully restored Portland Armory, an 1891 structure now housing two theaters (see "Exit Stage Left" section).

For a sensory sampling of the Pearl District try the trés chic Bluehour restaurant; award-winning Pearl Bakery; the city's best jazz at Jimmy Mak's, or ﬁne French cuisine at Fenouil, overlooking Jamison Square. BridgePort BrewPub & Bakery, Oregon's oldest craft brewery, also calls the Pearl District home. Housed in what that was originally a rope factory BridgePort is a favorite among local beer enthusiasts.