Portland's Conscious Evolution
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TRAVEL Bloomberg Pursuits August 6, 2018 designed by Los Angeles artist James Jean on one of the most visible cor- ners in the city. He then filled it with homegrown businesses and risk-taking creative companies and called it the Fair-Haired Dumbbell. The building’s ground-floor vendors include an outpost of beloved local cafe Crema and a modern office sup- ply shop, 11:11 Supply, where you can buy goal- tracking notebooks and pen- cils emblazoned with mantras such as “Empathy rules.” There are also work- shops on the neurology of inclusion. (OK, so it’s still Portland.) “For being the whitest city in the country, you can have an experience here that is very diverse,” says WeWork Portland’s community director and local startup booster Stephen Green. GO HERE NOW “That’s a happy surprise.” Green is also the founder of PitchBlack, a crowd- funding platform for black entrepre- neurs; he steers visitors to black-owned Portland’s businesses such as Olive or Twist, an 64 elegant martini bar in the Pearl District, and Deadstock Coffee, a shop owned Conscious Evolution by former Nike Inc. shoe designer Ian Williams, where the walls are adorned Now that Portlandia has aired its final with never-worn sneakers. Sometimes the rapid-fire appear- episode, Oregon’s culture capital is ready for ance of sleek new hotels and restau- a new narrative. By Hannah Wallace rants can be alienating to long-term residents. In a welcoming gesture, Portlander Aaron Hall is planning Every year in late June, 10,000 naked apartments, opulent spas, and ambi- neighborhood discounts and events for cyclists bike through my neighborhood. tious high-end hotels from brands like community nonprofits at Hey Love, A man who lives nearby regularly walks the U.K.-based Hoxton. Satellite offices the restaurant he co-owns inside the his goat down Hawthorne Boulevard, of tech companies such as Airbnb, new Jupiter Next hotel. stopping at the waffle window to order Amazon.com, Google, New Relic, and One new venue has even rallied the breakfast. My friend Laura runs a library SurveyMonkey have been inspired to natives through organized chorusing: for the homeless, powered by a trike. move here thanks, in part, to the city’s OK Chorale PDX, a bimonthly singalong Yes, I live in Portland. relatively cheap real estate and dynamic founded by prominent Portland com- Although Portlandia put my home restaurant scene. poser Ben Landsverk and producer city on the map—and held up its off- In the midst of rapid gentrifica- Kate Sokoloff. Held at a bar at a former beat DIY, locavore, cycling- and coffee- tion and a serious citywide hous- high school turned obsessed culture for all the world to ing crisis, longtime locals are trying concert space, Above: The Fair- Haired Dumbbell see—some of the city’s inhabitants their damnedest to preserve commu- Revolution Hall, building. are eager to move beyond the hipster nity, affordability, and the quirky vibe it draws hundreds Opposite, clockwise from top left: caricature and forge a more cosmopol- that makes Portland unique. Last year of amateur sing- Wildfang, a local itan identity. developer Kevin Cavenaugh, whose ers as well as local “tomboy” clothing shop; the on-site Portland, population 639,000, is Zipper and Ocean food halls are pop- guest perform- restaurant Jackrab- Oregon’s biggest city and getting bigger ular in the tree-lined Inner Southeast ers. The choir’s bit at the Duniway Hotel; a dish of every day, with 1,000 new arrivals each neighborhood, built an angular repertoire ranges oeufs en mayon- month. Coming with them are high-rise structure with a psychedelic facade from Jesus Christ naise at Canard. PHOTOGRAPHY KUDA COURTESY PHOTOGRAPH TRAVEL Bloomberg Pursuits August 6, 2018 Superstar to David Bowie and Lady fava greens, and pistachios. Prefer clas- Gaga. “Group singing is something sic French? Greg and Gabrielle Denton’s LOCAL INTEL we don’t have enough of in America, restaurant Bistro Agnes will trans- Three Portlanders share their favorite spots though it’s prevalent in other cultures,” port you to Paris. For seasonal Middle Landsverk says. The cost for two joyful Eastern, Sam Smith’s restaurant, The urban hike On the east side, head to hours that make you feel part of some- Tusk, offers addictive salads, meat dormant volcano Mount thing bigger than yourself? A mere $10. kebabs, and silky smooth hummus. Tabor for a one-of-a- kind climb: “On trails that pass each of the THE WINE Where to Eat Where to Stay park’s reservoirs, you WEEKEND can wind your way to the Highlights in Oregon’s summit and get a great answer to Napa Despite all the changes, the city Over the past year, 1,300 rooms have view looking westward remains a place where ostentation is been added to the city’s hotel inven- across the city.” On the One of the fastest- west side, Forest Park growing winemaking shunned and informality reigns. On the tory, with an additional 1,700 on the has more than 80 miles regions in the U.S. is other side of the river from downtown, way—which means hungry travelers of trails, including the the Willamette Valley, 5-mile Pittock Mansion a 45-mile drive west of in southeast Portland, three of the who want to sleep off their food comas hike, which culminates Portland. Drop your things city’s most established high-end restau- have more luxurious choices than ever. at a 1914 French-style at the 36-room Atticus château. —Cheryl Hotel in McMinnville, rants have opened more casual places Downtown, the Duniway is a unique Strayed, author of Wild where rooms come with adjacent to their original locations, Hilton property with 65-inch HDTVs, and Dear Sugar French presses and Pendleton robes. Then each with a focus on natural wines. The Tivoli Audio Bluetooth radios, and The whiskey bar head 10 miles down to city’s longtime Italian standard-bearer, Waldorf Astoria mattresses in each of Downtown, the Stoller Family Estate Multnomah Whiskey for a glass of the 2017 Nostrana, has the sexy Enoteca next its 327 rooms. Its nearby sister prop- Library has one of Dundee Hills chardonnay, door, with a quartz bar and a two- erty, the just-opened 297-room Porter, the most incredible best enjoyed from one collections, housed in of the Adirondack chairs story, 3,000-bottle cellar. The team combines Frette linens, Stickley fur- a dimly lit, leather-sofa on the sprawling lawn. behind Le Pigeon now serves all-day nishings, and a 16th-floor bar with ambiance. —Emma White Rose Estate, which Mcilroy, chief executive oysters and rillettes at its Canard out- views of Mount Hood. Across the river has lush pinot noirs and officer of Wildfang unobstructed views of post. And the modern venue Castagna, on the east side of the city is Jupiter the Cascade Range, is The rooftop deck (If the 65 in Hawthorne, has debuted a playful Next, a new hotel in a once- derelict also nearby. But don’t weather’s nice) miss out on some of bistro called OK Omens. part of east Burnside. (It’s also just one Steer toward the smaller, off-the- Chinatown’s Society In the Pearl, newcomers include block from Canard.) The 67 rooms are beaten-path wineries Hotel, which has Oregon such as winemaker Brian Arden Wine Bar & Kitchen, where chef stocked with chocolates—of the non- wines by the glass, O’Donnell’s Belle Pente including those made Sara Hauman, most recently of San medicated kind—from local edibles (tastings by appointment by black winemaker only). Elevée (open only Francisco’s Michelin-starred Octavia, company Grön and have enormous Bertony Faustin at on weekends), offers Abbey Creek Vineyard. turns out giddy dishes such as seared windows with views of the city’s ever- tastings of an unusual, —Stephen Green, but delicious, wine: a crisp duck breast with gilfeather turnips, morphing skyline. <BW> founder of PitchBlack white pinot noir. PHOTOGRAPHS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY WILDFANG, WILL PRYCE, COURTESY CANARD COURTESY PRYCE, WILL WILDFANG, COURTESY LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE PHOTOGRAPHS.