Trip Report

Promptly at 8 a.m. Baxter Shaw's comfortable motor-coach left S.E.H.S. parking lot with 14 Obsidians and 7 nonmembers. With one coffee and doughnut rest stop near Portland, we arrived in Pioneer Square at 10:30. The City, and especially the Square, greeted us in all its beauty - with trees, flowers, balloons and indeed a festive mood - winding down its Rose Festival celebrations. The Square includes 12 monumental terra cotta faced columns with rose capitals - a gesture to the surrounding buildings. We were personally met by James Hamrick, architectural historian for the walking tour which started and ended at the Square. We were amazed at the number of buildings faced or decorated with glazed terra cotta, almost all of which are located in the present downtown commercial core. The structures were built between 1905-30 and reflect a visual unity of materials and scale and detail. The glazed terra cotta was often used in conjunction with brick, which was used as a "skin" to enclose steel or concrete frames. Following this fascinating 2-hour walking tour, we boarded the new and beautiful Tri-Met-Light-Rail-Express to Gresham vicinity for our sack lunches. As the literature stated, the "MAX" was fast, smooth, noiseless with comfortable padded seats and has proven very popular. Baxter met us at Pioneer Square at 3, getting us home by about 5:45. A very warm beautiful day enjoyed by all. Non-members were Carlene Beck, Tommy Carmichael, Ruth Hawksley, Melva and Rolton Jefferis, Jeane Rhoda, and Della Twite. Obsidians were Glenn and Verna Aplin, Kay Anderson, Bernice Ballaine, Ingrid Carmichael, Minnie Foskett, Bette Hack, Frances Newsom, Daisie Niccolls, Janice Pattison, Mary Sheehan, Mildred Weatherby and leaders Val Thoenig and Jane Hilt.