Photojournalism Project:

“Offer a sense of surprise to others in what they often overlook in everyday life.”

Our group found that the moving in of big business into the Burnside area had made drastic deviations in the culture of this site. Many people are unaware of these changes, and we felt that it would be important to document these changes. The normalization of these changes are important to the people and businesses of this area, and is affecting them in a drastic way.

We chose the area on Burnside between 14th and 9th, an area full of older businesses and entertainment venues that are currently experiencing a major redevelopment of their surroundings. What is known to be the “Brewery Blocks”, home of the old Henry Weinhardts brewery, is the site of construction of up-scale lofts and businesses. Larger corporations have been making their new homes in this Old-Town area of which include Whole Foods which is a major natural grocery chain and other new commercial businesses, new residential development, and the new building for The Art Institute of Portland. Following the trend of other neighborhoods such as the Pearl District, the new buildings of the Brewery Blocks take shape partially out of outer buildings and new buildings that have been modernized for the time.

Though bringing new business to Portland is good for the economy, surrounding businesses have felt the effects. Road improvements that include the Portland Streetcar, make property values rise, forcing many smaller businesses to relocate, close their doors, or make improvements to keep up with the area “standards”. Improvements like these have been gradual, with construction and the relocation of businesses going unnoticed. Even the physical presence of older businesses gets lost in the wake of newly erected high-rises and office buildings. The smaller shops stand in the shadows of the newer, more modern buildings being constructed.
 The purpose of these pictures is to show that though the rise of big business is important and exciting, but the loss of character to smaller businesses has disappears, henceforth making the culture and the history of the area of Burnside different.

Georgia’s store front, located just off of Burnside, is one of the many old town independent shops that is feeling pressure to evolve. Burnsides new popularity has brought many chain stores to the area. This change is evolving the once lower class brewery mill area into an extension of 23rd.  Though many people see and celebrate the change to Burnside, many people don’t see the loss in character occurring due to independent shops going out of business.  Independent shops are dying because they can not pay the rise in their rent.  And also because their old town looks do not bring in the customers that the flashy modernizer chain stores do.
 Georgia’s Grocers sees the changes to the area, and is making improvements to the store to evolve with the neighborhood. Duo to the stores long term lease, Georgia’s has not screened a raise in their rent. However, they do plan on repainting the inside as well as the outside, and also putting in an ATM machine.  They hope that the stores face lift will bring new notice to the store, and bring in more customers.

 Georgia’s Grocers will probably not disappear like many of the other small stores in the neighborhood. But unfortunately the character of the store will. The pressure to evolve with the times is unfortunately leaving no room for character of the past.