Old Town Block Party

Just a few blocks east of the Pearl District is our next-door-historic-neighborhood, Old Town/Chinatown. While it's only 6 blocks away from us, it's a part of town we don't seem to spend much time in. So, we decided to make a night of it.

It's an older neighborhood (obviously), a little rundown in places but starting to reemerge with newer hipster hangouts and restaurants. For over 60 years, Old Town was also the home of the iconic Hung Far Low sign, hanging outside the now defunct Hung Far Low restaurant (get your giggles out here).

Since I never got a photo of the sign, this pic is borrowed from www.oldtownblockparty.com, who borrowed from Portland Ground. And yes, it used to say "cocktails."

Recently, local business owners opened a new restaurant called Ping in the old Hung Far Low space. While doing some necessary roof repairs, they discovered that the sign supports were rusted through in several spots... so much so that the cherished icon needed to be removed. The horror!! It will take an estimated $25K-40K to repair and replace the sign, so the neighborhood got to work on raising that money by selling "Re-erect Hung Far Low" t-shirts, and by hosting one rockin' block party this past Saturday.


Beer, food, and performances by several artists including Portland (well, half-Portland) band YACHT drew us to the free, all-ages event. We headed over there early, so while we waited for the bands to start we headed across the street to Davis Street Tavern for happy hour. I'll go ahead and say it, I had one of the best burgers I've had in all of Portland here (second to Slow Bar). Their Strip Loin Burger is topped with Tillamook cheddar, tomato jam, and a slab of braised pork belly. For serious.

Tastes every bit as good as it looks, especially for $6 on the happy hour menu

After polishing off every morsel of that burger, we headed around the corner to kill a little more time at Ground Kontrol, an old-school arcade packed with classic video games and pinball machines... but NOT packed with kids, as it's 21+ at night. Even better.

All the pinball you can handle

Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Pacman, you name it... it's here.

After several dismal games of pinball (how do I still suck so bad??), it was time to head back to the party. We caught the end of May Ling's set... I can't say it's music that I'm super into, but they did bring in a local dance troupe that specializes in... chinese dragon dancing? I'm not sure what it's called, but it was pretty cool.

The dragons make their way through the crowd

I think it's watching me

YACHT came on around 9pm. They put on a great show, the crowd was buzzing, and it was a great time.

Clinging to the fence... at a free, all-ages event? Come on in, folks!

YACHT

I never ceased to be amazed at the things that happen right in our own neighborhood. A fun, cheap night just a few blocks away. Love it!

Cardboard versions of the sign adorned the fence

This was just cool... one of the Chinatown lamp posts in front of Big Pink

Portland was also celebrating the opening of the MAX Green line that day. Joining the Blue, Red, and Yellow lines, the Green line is another route on our light rail system that spans from PSU to Clackamas Town Center. This heavily-anticipated line has been a long time coming. The rails were actually down already by the time we moved here last year, and it was in planning long before that. The line just happens to run alongside where the block party was, so here's a shot of one of the inaugural trains. :)


Here's to a hustling, bustling city where things are actually happening! WHOO!

Love from Portland,
Jenny