Just in case you are wondering what is going on in the north park blocks this morning, it's a peace march and rally to voice opposition to the war/occupation in Iraq, the potential war on Iran, and the war on the working people of America.Thanks to Lisa at cupcake jones for the tip! more...

Tanner Springs has quietly won over critics and the affection of its Pearl neighbors. It is listed as a "Great City Park" in the September 2007 issue of Via Magazine.Read it here.Thanks again to Larry for the tip! more...

I love a great window display. It's a detail, but it speaks volumes to me about the shop in question, creativity of the owner and their desire to communicate with their customers (and potential customers). The Pearl has some really great window displays and we want to give everyone a peek. We'll bring you an engaging window display at least once per month. We call it "giving good window".This is the window at Physical Element. What's more...

Olea, the restaurant Food & Wine called one of the “hottest new restaurants in the world” in 2005 now lays claim to having one of the hottest chefs to grace the Portland area: Executive Chef Aaron Barnett.The Cordon Bleu-accredited Barnett arrived in Portland with a resume that includes working at Canada’s lauded Lumiere Restaurant and a stint as an assistant on Chef Rob Feenie’s Food Network Canada show, “New Classics with Rob more...

The suggested locations for the Portland Public Market keep getting closer to the Pearl. This latest idea is the building across Glisan from the Post Office. This is the same building where the back parking lot is going to be converted to a park, to extend the north park blocks.From the Portland Tribune...The proposal to house a year-round public market at the historic Union Station building appears to be dead in the water, since the more...

When developer Bob Ball decided to downgrade the condominiums in his high-profile, 15-story tower, The Wyatt, to apartments, he believed the market was trying to tell him something simple: There are too many condo units in the Pearl District. The market is too slow.“It’s always prudent to respond to the market accordingly,” Ball said. “And our goals are to make the place livable and improve the neighborhood.”Located at 1001 N.W. 14th more...

News from the Pearl District Business Association:CRANE BUILDING RECEIVES AN AWARDThe developer of the Crane Building, Guardian Management LLC, were highlighted in the Portland Daily Journal of Commerce last week. Read the story below...Developer wins award for Crane BuildingBy: DJC StaffPortland real estate developer Guardian Management LLC won the 2007 Project of the Year Award from Multifamily Executive in its Adaptive Reuse more...

Thanks to Larry for sending in the tip on this article... enjoy!THEY come but they don’t go.In the way New York drew artists in the ’50s, this city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers seems to exert a magnetic lure on talented chefs who come from almost anywhere else and decide to stay right here. About the hardest thing to find in Portland these days is a homegrown chef.Portland may seem an unlikely place for such more...

As Pearlgirl noted yesterday, my favorite store Furnish/inside has closed, for real! John actually kept his word and closed up shop. The space formally occupied by Furnish/inside is now as empty as John's ethics (ouch). The pictures that follow show the space, and a nice space it is. Its on a great corner, good street visibility, and in a beautiful old building.The realtors sign is still outside, so I assume its still for sale. more...

Robin Hood is alive and well in Portland—although a self-interested sheriff is in hot pursuit.On Sept. 25, City Commissioner Erik Sten unveiled a plan that would divert $20 million to $30 million in property taxes from ritzy Pearl District condos to build a new, badly needed elementary school in the David Douglas district—the city’s poorest, most-crowded school district.“This is an idea we should have thought of a long time ago,” says more...