Gulch Guides

Worshiping at the Electric Castles of Fantastic Fun Machines

Let’s face it, sometimes a person just needs to drive way too fast, blast some aliens, and then get jiggy with it - all in the same room. Whether you prefer Pole Position, Dance Dance Revolution, or Ms. Pacman, visits to arcades are one of life’s necessities.

Wunderland at the Avalon (3451 SE Belmont / 503-238-1617) offers modern, hip games rigged to take nickels. There is a $2.50 cover charge but the games only range from 5 to 15 cents. Watch young kids cut a sweaty groove on the Dance Dance Revolutions machines or puzzle at non-English directions on games imported directly from Japan.

For a walk, blast, or flight down memory lane, try Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch / 503-796-9364). Less arcade than "retrocade", this place is stocked with the best from the golden era of video games. From Ms. Pacman to Mr. Do, Frogger to Donkey Kong, Joust to Gorf, and Missile Command to Centipede this place has it all from the 1980’s – except inflation. The games are still only a quarter.

Nature Nearby

Portland is blessed with one of the largest park systems in the U.S. Two of the best to check out are Washington Park and Forest Park .

In Washington Park - a well developed, planned place - you can stroll through the famous Portland Rose Garden (free), find inner bliss at the Japanese Gardens, be a monkey at the zoo, learn about the trees at Hoyt Arboretum, visit a mansion, and bask near the many fountains, statues, and playgrounds. The park also includes a Childrens Museum, a Lewis and Clark memorial (one of my favorite places), a great Vietnam memorial, and a Holocaust memorial. Throughout the park are amazing vistas of downtown Portland and Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens.

Forest Park is an undeveloped natural park that has over 74 miles of trails for bikers, hikers and horseback riders. It has the distinct honor of being the largest forested park within city limits in the U.S. Explore the Wildwood Trail for a long, enjoyable hike. Trail maps are available here. Check out the Friends of Forest Park for fun activities and volunteer oportunities.

Along the River

One of the most enjoyable places to walk, bike, or rollerblade in downtown Portland is along the Willamette River. Both the Eastbank Esplande and Waterfront Park on the west bank bank offer smooth, wide trails with great views of downtown and of Portland's Bridges.

For a great three mile loop, start anywhere and cross The Hawthorne Bridge at one end and and the Steele Bridge at the other. For something a bit longer, the Eastbank now connects to the Springwater Corridor, a 16.5 mile, paved, and mostly off street trail that follows the Willamette to Oaksbottom Park and then heads east towards Boring, Oregon.

The Public Living Room

Pioneer Courthouse Square is a large brick square in the middle of downtown that serves as a focal point for this part of town. There's often something going on in this "living room" of Portland. If not, it's the best place in town hang out and people watch. Grab a honkin' huge burrito from the nearby food cart, find a place to sit on the square's steps, and enjoy the diverse crowd that hangs out there. Be sure to also check out the forecast from the automated weather machine art thing. It's the large pole with light bulbs and a wind vane at the top which predicts the weather for the next 24 hours. A dragon at the top means rain, a sun means, well, sunshine, and a blue heron means the default Portland day - gray drizzle. It comes to life and makes it's prediction most days at noon with some music, a display of the different symbols, and a mist.

Backspace Cafe

Backspace (115 NW 5th / 503.248.2900) is the place to go to get your game on while getting your daily fix of caffine. With over 4,000 square feet of space, Backspace features an art gallery, pool tables, board games, chess tables, and vintage video games. It is also home to a modernized arcade – a large array of networked computers that create an ideal place for competitive and Internet gaming. There are even digital projector rooms where you can be immersed in console games projected on giant, wall-sized screens. It is open late, serves pizza, and offers free wireless Internet access. With the exposed brick, high ceiling, and massive amounts of technology on display, Backspace makes it easy to believe that you're the cyberpunk you thought back in high school you’d eventually become.

Great Views from the Portland Aerial Tram

The Portland Aerial Tram is gleaming silver pod that rises like a spaceship from the new south waterfront district to the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU), located on a hill above town. The tram travels 3,300 linear feet, climbs 500 vertical feet, and takes three minutes to ride.

The tram is a fun activity that provides the best view and most futuristic ride in town for four dollars. The bottom of the tram can be easily reached from downtown via the Portland Streetcar. Get off at the SW Moody and Gibbs stop. The tram is open until 10pm during, 5pm on Saturdays, and it is closed on Sundays.

Once you arrive at the top of the tram, be sure to wind your way through the hospital to the glass and steel VA Sky Bridge. The 660 foot long skybridge, which spans a 150 foot deep gulch and connects OHSU with the nearby VA hospital, is a great place to check out beautiful views of Mt. Hood on clear days. To get there from the top of the tram, follow the well marked signs for the VA Hospital.

The Palace of Books

Looking for free movies, free music, free books, and free Internet? Look no farther than the Multnomah County Library. The Central Branch ( 801 S.W. 10th / 503.988.5123) of this amazing library opened in 1913 and is a true palace of books. Pillars, marble stairs, an art gallery, and fresh flowers make the Central Branch worth visiting alone. The library is also home to cool events and concerts; don't be surprised to hear live jazz or classical music floating down from the third floor. If you only want to read or surf, there's over 17 miles worth of books and 130 computers. Take a coffee (as it is no longer sold on the premises) and get to work.

Tips:

• If you don't have a library card and need to do Internet, ask at the info desk for a guest account.
  
• To browse the catalog for movies, using the Text Option: Enter option #12 (Call Number Browse) and then type DVD. You can skip categories by browsing by DVD Action, DVD Foreign, DVD Comedy (etc.) To browse all 7200+ movies enter option #5 (subject headings) and search for "Feature Films". Sorting the list (SL) by publication date will allow you to browse the most recent movies.

Drowning in a Sea of Cheap Words

Title Wave Used Books (216 NE Knott / 503.988.5021) is one of the best and most secret used book stores in Portland. Housed in a cool Spanish Renaissance building from 1912, this is where the Multnomah County Library sells the books they no longer want. Staffed by volunteers and home to 20,000 books, there are always deals to be found here.

The McMenamins Kingdom

With over fifty different pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, microbreweries, and movie theaters, it is not always a joke to refer to the McMenamins empire as a Kingdom of Fun. Founded by brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin, the company has created some of the most unique and fun drinking spots in Portland and the greater Pacific Northwest.

Sometimes called the saviors of lost buildings, the McMenamins often find unique, rundown buildings and renovate them into creative watering holes. Thus they have movie theaters in old missions, hotels in elementary schools, pubs in sheds. Each property, instead of being a cookie cutter corporate mold, is unique and rich in it’s own history and architecture. The McMenamins have actual artists on staff to create wonderful works of art based on each properties history and it is always worth walking around when you are at one. They also make their own beer, hard alcohol, wine, and roast their own coffee.

Here then is a quick list of some of our favorite Portland spots and stuff in the Kingdom of Fun:

The Little Red Shed at the Edgefield - More like a hobbit hole than a bar, go on a rainy day after a hike in the Gorge and grab a seat next to the fireplace.

Brew n' Movies at the Baghdad, Mission, Kennedy, St. Johns – Grab a beer, a slice of pizza, and enjoy a $3 dollar movie.

Disc Golf (or Folf if you prefer) and the Soaking Pool at the Grand Lodge – The 10-hole fully mapped (and free) frisbee golf course is a great way to spend an afternoon. Afterward a hard game the soaking pool (open to guests only) is a little pond of zen in back of an old Mason Lodge

Rooftop Bar at Hotel Oregon in McMinnville – Enjoy great views with good brews on the way to or from the coast.

Wine Tasting at the Edgefield – Go around back at the Edgefield and visit the tasting room where every McMenamin’s wine can be sampled and bought.

Crystal Ball Room - the best dance floor in town and a nice venue to hear live music

Black Rabbit Red – A favorite Portland wine that is a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, and Grenache.

Rubinator – Not on any menu but ask for a Rubinator and you’ll get a pint that is half Terminator Stout and half Ruby Raspberry Ale.

Good Music at the White Eagle Saloon – With live music every night, this is the place to go for to hear an unpretentious band play unpretentious music.

The City of Books

Powells City of Books (W. Burnside & 10th St) is both the largest independent bookstore in North America and a tourist attraction in its own right. It sells new and used books - endless shelves of them in many color coded rooms.

Almost every writer who is out promoting a book will pass through Powells to give a reading and do a book signing. Make sure to check out their event calender to see what literary genius is in town this month.

The Floating Market - Portland's Farmer's Market

Portland has a wonderful Farmer’s Market. The biggest one is downtown on Saturday mornings from 8:30 until 2pm (PSU, Park Blocks between SW Montgomery & Harrison). There are other markets around town on different days and times as well. On First Thursday nights, the Pearl District market usually has live music.

You can wander around, sampling berries, fresh bread, various types of lettuces etc. Buy something you have never seen before, and then try to figure out what to do with it. How cool is to get your lettuce from the lettuce guy who can tell you the differences between his 10 or so different types. The arugala is amazing! There’s often some mellow live music, chef demonstrations, or some special event going on. Go early to make sure you get the best selection.

Back to School

The Kennedy School (5735 NE 33rd Ave / 249-3983) is a McMenamins complex built in an old elementary school. There's a movie theater (generally $3) in the auditorium, an honors bar, a detention bar, a restaurant, a hotel, and ton of character. Worth just walking around to look. Much of the artwork captures the history of the school.