This 1890s photo of Portland keeps showing up and people keep arguing about where it was taken from, despite some very obvious clues in the photo. So I did what any sane and reasonable person would do and triangulated landmarks to prove things once and for all.

Happy to say that the Milwaukie City Hall National Register of Historic Places nomination I've been working on for the past year or so, is up for review in June! If you want to read it, here's the pdf: www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Docu...

Oregon authorities have identified the remains found in a car in the Columbia River as those of an Oregon family missing since 1958.

The downtown Milwaukie revival keeps on rolling! The Perry’s Pharmacy Building is getting new life as a restored downtown Milwaukie destination for retail businesses. Read more on le blog: lostoregon.org/2026/04/10/o...

I'm on TV! FOX 12 Oregon asked me to contribute to a story on Portland's streetcar history a while back and it finally aired this morning. They did a great job with their old/new transitions! www.kptv.com/2026/03/24/p...

Golden hour at Gino’s. Found a seat at the bar. It will always be my favorite spot in Portland to sip on an Old Fashioned.

TIL: @colindickey.com (author of one of my fave books, Ghostland) has a newsletter, Glacial Errata: A weekly list of 5 strange, forgotten, or oddball things. It's already led me down many rabbit holes. glacialerrata.beehiiv.com (Bonus, it's on beehiiv, not that other one.)

A new (used) bookshop and art gallery has opened its doors in a ground-floor retail space across from Portland Public Library. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...

Everyone gets a postcard!

Secret Portland - take a trip back to 2001! www.google.com/books/editio...

One of the last remaining cast-iron Victorian Italianate buildings in Portland. New life as grocery store with low-cost affordable produce, large event space + incubator and co-working space entrepreneurs can rent out.👍 www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...

"...when crews were tearing down the ceilings and walls of the Rite Aid store, they found massive wooden beams that revealed a surprisingly well-preserved timber interior..." Wha?! www.kptv.com/2026/01/19/a...

Mummy’s in downtown Portland closed in 2022. Sadly, I never went but it sounded like a great place to get food and a drink, listen to some jazz (says the 1980s Oregonian ad) and the owner’s stories. The building itself is unusual and intriguing for sure. lostoregon.org/2026/01/13/t...

The Acrop is for sale?! "...Allowable uses include: retail sales and services, office space, quick vehicle servicing, vehicle repair, self-service storage, household living, institutional uses, and limited manufacturing and other low-impact industrial uses..." www.loopnet.com/Listing/8325...

I wrote this a million years (OK 15) ago, but it still works. Support your local movie theaters! (Looking at you Netflix/WB merger...) lostoregon.org/2023/12/18/e...

The oldest homebrew shop in America is closing. FH Steinbart was not just a small business, though—it was a critical part of the connective tissue that helped make Portland Beervana.

"... many storefronts are in 'extreme need of renovation,' and landlords expected incoming tenants to cover nearly all the work, which is a lot of upfront money for something they were only renting and not owning..." eastoregonian.com/2025/11/26/p...

Very cool! And while you're at it, their wonderful magazine (published three times a year) is free of charge to Oregon residents.

I love a good lede! A shift in demographics. Affordable apartments transformed into luxury condos. A coffee shop called something like “Brew Slut.” www.latimes.com/business/rea...

Building Portland’s Memorial Coliseum: a Mid-Century Political Firestorm will be published by @arcadiapublishing.bsky.social April 14, 2026! Can’t wait to have this out in the world. I’ve been working on it since January 2014!

Hey holiday shoppers! Extra-soft knit crew-neck sweater celebrating the iconic Portland Building by Michael Graves, Portland, Oregon, 1982 architectural-icons.com/collections/...

From Reddit: A 3D map of downtown Portland. 😎 www.reddit.com/r/Portland/c...

Not Oregon related at all (unless Graves is mentioned I guess) but wanna see this one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVdp...

The Gordon's Fireplace building has sold for $575k, and I'd be fascinated to know who'd want it even at that price. The building is in terrible condition and the site is extremely constrained. www.kgw.com/article/news...

Some Saturday morning coffee viewing - explains how it all went down in the clearest, entertaining way possible. (Found this while researching the history of 99W and 99E.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2_y...

Next Portland is Relaunching, With Your Help www.nextportland.com/2025/09/25/n...

A building permit has been issued for the McMenamins Taft Hotel, adjacent to the Crystal Ballroom. Work includes renovations for accessibility on the upper floors. www.portlandmaps.com/detail/permi... The former Taft Home was bought by McMenamins last year. www.wweek.com/news/2024/08...

Starting bid: $225,000! www.loopnet.com/Listing/3300...

Portland, 1970s, vampires? I’m in! www.opb.org/article/2025...

friends, I wrote a book about the site selection process for Portland’s Memorial Coliseum in the 1950s. it’ll be out next year via The History Press. this is my second book, and I’ve been working on it since early 2014 (yes, really). I’m really pumped to finally have it out in the world.

Plans to redevelop the Centennial Mills site appear to be moving forward with a design review hearing scheduled for mid-September. Redevelopment of the site would include three mixed-use buildings and an extension of the riverfront greenway trail. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...

My latest for @newschoolbeer.bsky.social - The demolished site of a former funeral home in downtown Milwaukie is getting new life as the 1847 Food Park, helmed by Portland's Migration Brewing. newschoolbeer.com/home/2025/8/...

THERE ARE TOURS! bullrunpowerhouse.org/powerhouse-t...

Built in 1894, and another great example of an (what's now called) Accessory Commercial Unit (ACU), or a "small, detached or attached commercial space on a residential property, designed to support small, local businesses." A++ for the signage too! 📷 = Google.

Hard to tell from website but are the Mobile Workshops for the Mpact Transit + Community Conference standalone events? Anyone out there know? www.mpactmobility.org/event/mw11-s...

My favorite house in Milwaukie is for sale. Henry Failing's home originally stood between 5th & 6th Streets on Taylor Street in downtown Portland. In 1890 it was shipped to Milwaukie by barge. www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/...

Built in 1893 (or 1900, depending on the source); a rare Victorian in SE Portland. Now a triplex. #missingmiddle

What a great read on everyone's (OK, mine) favorite lighthouse. www.ohs.org/blog/saga-of...

Popped in to pFriem Brewery's new location in downtown Milwaukie over the weekend. What a fantastic transformation of the former city hall into a place for the community. It's only been open for a few days but it's already having an impact on the energy level on Main Street.

Hey bridge nerds (looks in mirror), a great resource for all things...bridges. Here's Oregon's: www.bridgehunter.com/states/OR And a pic of the shiny, new Springwater Trail Bridge from 2007:

New on Lost Oregon: The owners of the retrofitted Phoenix Pharmacy have purchased the Busy Corner in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood. Bring back corner stores! (PS: They're looking for a tenant.) lostoregon.org/2025/04/03/o...

Two Central City Portland office buildings set to be converted to housing units The first project will convert the Oregon Casket Building at 403 N.W. Fifth Ave. into a 34-housing-unit structure. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...

The folks behind the Phoenix Pharmacy building retro have purchased this cool space in Woodstock. 👏 @maccoinnich.bsky.social www.instagram.com/p/DHM6jxIPDjF/

My latest for @newschoolbeer.bsky.social on pfriembeer.bsky.social new brewery coming to downtown Milwaukie, Oregon. Big changes coming to Milwaukie. newschoolbeer.com/home/2025/3/...

A new bar is going into the former Apex space on Division, from the nothing if not prolific team behind Two Wrongs, Jackie’s, Sugar Hill, QD’s, Side Eye and Panther Club. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...

It’s a bit later this year, true. But it’s been a busy winter so far, and I’m not going to miss out on the 20th anniversary of my longest-running ride! And maybe you can join me? urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/2025/01/16/p...

The Busy Corner has been written up in many articles - Google it and you’ll find a good one from the Oregonian from 2010. The current situation? It’s for sale. Sending good vibes for this cool piece of property. www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/...

Former fire station (built in the 30s) then city hall & now the new @pfriembeer.bsky.social coming soon to downtown Milwaukie. #adaptivereuse for the win.

In the coming legislative session, the Willamette Falls Locks Authority plans to ask the Oregon Legislature for over $11 million to make further repairs and eventually reopen the century-and-a-half-old locks. www.milwaukiereview.com/news/new-bil...