PLEASE
NOTE: THIS IS THE OLD WEBSITE
FOR THE BUILDING PROJECT AT THE CORNER OF SE 72ND AND WOODSTOCK BLVD
IN PORTLAND, OREGON. PLEASE CLICK
HERE TO CONTINUE TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. EMAIL NEIGHBORHOODREPAIR@GMAIL.COM
OR PHONE 503.774.3062 WITH COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
---------------------------------
UPDATE
1.18.6 IMPORTANT DESIGN MEETING SCHEDULED
There
will be an important project design meeting on Wednesday, January
18, 6:30-8:30 at the Mt. Scott Community Center. Neighborhood
attendance is crucial to the success of this event. If you are interested
in contributing to the project or curious about what's going on at
the corner of SE 72nd and Woodstock, please join us. No prior experience
is necessary and no further committment is required. Just show up,
listen in, and speak up to help shape the future of our place.
UPDATE
7.30.5 Movin' Right Along
As
the summer moves right along, so does our building project at the
corner of SE 72nd and Woodstock. We've still got a lot of work left
to do, so check out the following schedule of building dates:
-
SHORT
NOTICE: SUNDAY, JULY 31st, 9-1 on the Triangle. (Katie
and Jen will be working on one of the benches.)
-
Giant
Block Party and Cob Building, August 6th, Mt.
Scott Park and on the Triangle
-
Cob
Building on the Triangle, August 21st, 9-3 (Potluck
Social Time from 12-1)
-
Cob
Building on the Triangle, September 3, 9-3 (Potluck
Social Time from 12-1)
-
Landscaping
Weekend, September 17&18, 9-3 both days
-
Phase
One Opening Celebration and Ceremony, September 24th,
5-8 pm, with music, food, dancing and general happiness on the
Triangle to celebrate our accomplishments!
If
you and your friends and neighbors would like to schedule a time to
work on the site that is not on the calendar, contact us at 503.774.3062
or neighborhoodrepair@gmail.com
to schedule a building party of your own.
Here
are some images from our last building day, July 23rd:
Jenni
C. sure is proud of her newly honed cob-making skills
Tisha,
Peter, Karen and Katie working on the wall (clockwise from left)
Amanda
is concentrating on getting that urbanite covered in cob.
UPDATE
6.12.5: COBALICIOUS!
Here's a little teaser from today's building party. We have COB! It's
beautiful, really beautiful, to see people working as hard as ever
to make this site happen. A special thanks to Bernhard Masterson,
the cob expert who taught us to build with this fine, ancient material.
We look forward to seeing you out on the site (in bare feet) on our
next building day, Sunday, June 26th at noon! If you weren't there
today, check out what you missed:
With
cob, the fun never stops! Katie, Bernhard and Paul hard at play!
Putting
the field stone and basalt in place between the earth and the wall
that will be.
We
started building at the entrance and are working our cob outward from
the center. There's a metaphor about community building in there somewhere...
As
this gentleman demonstrates, everyone bathes in the mudbucket when
finished!
See
you at the site in a couple of weeks!
UPDATE
5.28.5: Things Are Really Shaping Up!
The
following photos demonstrate the large amount of work accomplished
at the building site by over 50 volunteers in a two week period. My
congratulations to all those who participated for their physical labor,
their dedication to maintaining a safe workplace and their commitment
to the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood. I'll try to get the rest of
the photos together and posted to the web in the next few weeks, so
check the "photos" link above for updates.
Week
1: Breaking Ground
Week
1: Jen and Dave really breaking ground!
Week 1: The
Children's Parade and celebration of our recently trimmed Linden tree.
Week 1: We
managed to move a lot of Earth this week, excavating 2500 sq.ft. of
dirt, sod and miscellaneous debris. Time to start building.
Week 2: We
began mixing mortar early in the day and didn't stop except for an
hour or so when we ran out and had to get more. Fortunately, the shortage
coincided with lunch time and we enjoyed hotdogs provided by The Shop
and pizza from Vincente's.
Week 2: This
crew worked all day building the children's chair so we had something
to work on later in the day when an expert paid us a visit and taught
us the fine art of cob building.
Week 2: The
fine art of cob building!
Week 2: Next-door
neighbor Big Mike and artist Brian Borello assess the day's progress.
We went from
this, week one: a trench three feet deep and two feet wide, to this...
Week 2: The
day's progress. Scott Vala and crew framed and poured the piers during
the week. Then the rest of the volunteers fiinished building the foundation
on Saturday. From what experts are saying, this is the cob wall to
beat all cob walls!
Week 2: Those
who were left standing at the end of the VBC! Great job everyone!
UPDATE
5.22.5: Look What We've Done!
Here's what
a group of like-minded citizens can accomplish when they show up with
their shovels, good attitudes and a dedication to their neighborhood.
We went from this:
To this, yesterday:
We made a
lot of progress, but we've got a long way to go. Thanks go out to
all of the site volunteers, from childcare providers to dirt movers
to parade leaders.
Our next block
party is next Saturday, May 28th, from 9-5.
UPDATE
5.10.5: Waiting for PDOT
We
are waiting for word from the department of transportation that our
plans for the site have been approved. Once we have our permit(s),
we will begin an intensive outreach program in the neighborhood immediately
surrounding the site.
A
special thenks goes out to Jesse Jones from the City Repair Project,
who led our outreach seminar on Monday, for sharing her ideas about
the tact and tactics we should use as we approach our neighbors in
the coming weeks. If you missed the seminar, check the discussion
boards for an update in the section labelled OUTREACH.
UPDATE
4.27.5: Things Are Moving Right Along
It's sure
been a while since I updated the website, but it was never said that
invention is the mother of necessity. Anyhow, as the VBC nears and
our circle of volunteers continues to grow, it is becoming more and
more difficult to communicate effectively via email.
As such, I
encourage you to create an account on the message boards and begin
communicating with your neighbors there. It may be intimidating, but
it will save you from having to read through every email that comes
you way from this project, although I encourage you to read them all
anyway!
I would really
like to thank all of you for all the hard work you've been doing on
this project. Special thanks go out to those assisting us from outside
the n'hood, including Howard Thurston (our site coordinator from City
Repair), Brian Borrello (an artist who's helping us with the finer--and
some not so fine) design aspects of the project, and Jesse Jones (an
outreach specialist from City Repair). Thanks for helping us improve
our neighborhood!
I'm am going
to the boards to post some important info NOW! You can find out what's
happening by clicking the DISCUSSIONS
link above.
UPDATE 3.12.05:
PDOT Meeting and Family Night Outreach
Several core
team members will be attending a meeting to pitch our idea to PDOT
at City Hall on Tuesday (3.15.5) morning. If you find yourself with
some extra time on your hands and would like to stop by to lend your
support, please do so.
The Jens and
Sarah will be getting together Sunday morning at 10 a.m. to work on
our presentation materials for PDOT and the Family Night outreach
on the 18th. Stop by Sarah's house if you feel like helping out or
contributing feedback to the process.
Don't forget
to tell your friends and neighbors to stop by our booth at family
night so they can learn about the project.
If you plan
to meet Wednesday at Space Money (I'll be out of town), please let
the owners know so they can keep the space open for you.
Have a fabulous
Spring Break!
_____________________________________________________________
UPDATE.3.9.05:
THE DISCUSSION BOARDS ARE READY TO USE
The link is
is on the right-hand side of the navigation bar at the top of the
page. You can read the boards without logging in, but you'll have
to register to post. I'll see you there! There's also a nice calendar
built into the boards, so I'll use that instead of the one on this
site.
