Ice Cream, Water, Beer, and Fall Hints: More Summer Newsbits

While it's certainly not the most lucrative bike business, it has seemed like the summeriest bike business might be ice cream bikes.  What's a more quintessential expression of summer delights than bicycling and ice cream?

Ice Cream Bike!

Have you bought ice cream from an Ice Cream Bike?

Lots of bikes at the waterfront this weekend.

Underneath the Union Street Railroad Bridge there many bikes scattered on the gravel beach. Some had clearly been brought by car on the bike rack, others had been obviously ridden there, and a number of others didn't speak clearly to the question.

Bikes and People under Union St Railroad Bridge

It was a remarkably lively scene.  Maybe it didn't exactly spring up only after bridge was opened, but the bridge, and its easy connections at least to the parking lots on both sides, has certainly nurtured and grown the recreational possibilities here.  (People on the gravel beach stretch a ways upstream and downstream from the photo's edges!  One group had tents on the inner bar for shade and were clearly making a long afternoon of it.  Another had beached kayaks.)

Don't let the nay-sayers suggest the Minto Bridge won't also be loved and used!

Beer

Beer's pretty summery, too, and Salem Ale Works opened up this weekend. It is interesting that code apparently doesn't require bike parking when you open a brewery or a tasting room attached to a brewery.

McGilchrist at the SSA Office:
40mph - and oh, by the way, watch out for pedestrians!

The breweries are in industrial areas that aren't friendly at all for biking, sure, and right now biking may not yet send significant numbers of customers here in Salem, but it's very strange that a quasi-pub environment like a tasting room isn't required to have bike parking.

Santiam Brewing:  19th and McGilchrist
No bike rack...but one biking customer

Salem Ale Works off 25th and Electric
Also, no bike racks

(There's a question into City staff on this, and I'll update in a comment with any news.)

Updated!  Apparently the yellow bollards under #7 are intended as racks
See comments below

Trees and History - Fall is Coming

The farmers have been talking about harvest running a couple of weeks early this year, and doesn't it seem like the trees are starting to turn early as well?  Where's the first tree you saw turn?

Early turning leaves, August 6th at Fairgrounds

More turning leaves, State Street, August 18th

The first hints of fall seemed like a good time to revisit the bank.  I do like being able to see more of its facade (most others, it seems, do not), but also I do wish a couple of trees had been retained there.  A compromise solution.  Others have also noticed that trees have always been planted beside it, but they perhaps haven't given sufficient weight to the fact that the later 19th century was in the heyday of cast iron architecture, when the building's style was commonplace. Little cast iron remains today. About the Ladd & Tilton and Ladd & Bush banks, the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland says,

The Ladd & Tilton Bank Building was celebrated as Portland’s finest commercial building, when bank President William S. Ladd built it in 1868. Architect John Nestor, who had come from the east in 1864, patterned it after Venice’s 16th century Library Vecchia, painting the elaborate two-story cast iron façade to imitate white marble....

In 1954, the once-lauded Ladd & Tilton Bank building was demolished. The cast iron façade was salvaged by Portland preservationist Eric Ladd. Elements of the building were later incorporated into Salem’s rebuilt Ladd & Bush Bank. It remains the largest cast iron building on the West Coast. [italics added]

This is a special, special building, even rebuilt as it was, and it shouldn't be hiding behind trees! At the same time, with all the trees removed the street is unbalanced and the building's aspect all too denuded.  Critics are right, it looks a little barren at the moment; it's still not in harmony.

The decision process seems to have been especially flawed, and it will be interesting to learn what folks who are investigating learn. 

Meanwhile, at the State Hospital, apparently the Cremains Memorial also required the removal of a tree.

Before:  Building 60 with wall to be modified in shadow

The prospect of a contemplative grove was an interesting one, but now it seems like it will just be a plaza.

Building 60 with new paint, new viewing aperture - and stump

Vancouver Sunday Streets Smashing Success

Often Salem shares more with Vancouver than with Portland, so it was great to see Vancouver's version of Sunday Parkways a success: 

The Columbian has the report:

Thousands turned out for Sunday Streets Alive in Vancouver, where there was fun and positive messages at seven stations on a 4.2-mile route.

It was a first effort at a five-hour giant street fair with the emphasis on getting out, exercising and learning more about your neighbors and community....

Jennifer Campos, a senior planner for the city of Vancouver, she heard lots of good about the event with its nearly 70 vendors at the seven locales....

"It was just amazing to see how many people were out in the streets. "I think the best part was seeing all of the families and all the different modes they were using to get around. Bikes, skateboards, longboards, roller blades, strollers."