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Years ago when buying a home was only $25,000, my grandpa bought a condo, or townhouse, on Southeast Gladstone Street in Portland, Oregon.
Around the age of 7 I moved from Alaska back to Portland. My mom and I needed a place to live, and my mom's dad came to the rescue!
A few years ago I decided to document this portion of the street—the corner of 39th and Gladstone. I wanted to remember the shops that have lined this street for as long as I can remember, because I knew it wouldn't be long before they would disappear.
The purpose of this venture was to remember and document. This first hand documentation offers a closer look at where I grew up and how it's evolving into a beautiful place to buy plants, food, coffee or to grab a drink.
I wonder if the kids who are now growing up on Gladstone will have the same nostalgic feeling as I do and will the new shops stand the test of time like the ones before?
Wise Buy Market was owned by a Korean family, but now a new family has moved in just this year (2011). My mom has been buying the Oregonian newspaper from this market my whole life.
This is Tony, a really great person. He owned Tony's Antiques & Collectibles, but this year Tony moved on. He now focuses his energy on antique road shows. During his last days I came in to buy old paintings, vintage photographs, and other odds and ends.
The signage on the side of the building is beautiful!
This barber shop is still thriving and cute as can be. I've never been in, but from what I can tell, really tough guys work here and get their hair cut. I love the sign!
Great sign and typography. This shop closed down this year as well (2011). A record store now occupies this space.
From afar you can see the beauty of age, time and typography. You don't see spaces like this very often. I love seeing what time has done to a place; there's a lot of beauty that builds up to add meaning to an otherwise old building.
The Gladstone Coffee actually used to be a furniture refinishing business, but not too many years ago it became this now popular place to get coffee and pizza. I think this is a great addition to Gladstone, because before we had nothing like this near by.