Comments on: Forecourt Fountain, 1970

By: John S.

John S. — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:31:42 +0000

Here is a clip from a 1974 TV pilot that has shots of Forecourt Fountain and other spots around Portland. http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/08/the-karen-valentine-program-opening-closing-credits/

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:14:24 +0000

@ Ian: The photo is looking southwest at the intersection of SW 4th and Market. Yes, there is a parking lot there (and a new smaller stone wall surrounding the lot meant, I presume, to be evocative of the original).

By: Ian Fraley

Ian Fraley — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 01:33:50 +0000

I’m a little disoriented by the angle of this photo. Are we looking northwest? If so, was the wall surrounding what is now an elevated parking lot?

By: kerry sirois

kerry sirois — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:42:09 +0000

There was a stairwell hidden beneath the Ivy, we used to drink and smoke wacky tabacky in their in the old days, people would walk by, totally oblivious to this hidden cavern.

By: Jim Kahn

Jim Kahn — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:40:02 +0000

Dave Johnson…my gut tells me it’s a ’53 Mercury because of the chrome housing around the taillights…but I won’t split hairs here…I’d take it in an instant!

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:34:09 +0000

@Bud: Here's a photo of the Spatenhaus from an earlier VP post, along with an Oregonian article from the time of its demise.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:52:21 +0000

Borked the a href tag. Try the long-hand version:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9807122@N08/2303287062/in/photostream/

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:50:48 +0000

A flickr user who goes by the name of Thrift Store Cowboy documented the destruction of the retaiing wall. The photostream starts here

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:41:10 +0000

I heard the wall was unstable. I remember big cracks. I think they they had to tear it out for safety concerns.

By: David Johnson

David Johnson — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:24:05 +0000

54 Merc Monterey 2 door hard top.

By: Bud

Bud — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:57:19 +0000

This was the site of Bud Clark’s original tavern ” The Spatenhaus ” . It consisted of two storefronts in an old brick building and the two were ” connected ” by a ” doorway ” broken through the brick wall separating the two stores . A great place for food, drink and deep intellectual conversation, of a sort !! The ” Last Night ” of business was a social affair to remember as the party extended into 3rd Street and ran up to and beyond when the ” beverage ” supply was exhausted ; no fights, no riots nor a PPD officer in sight all with the looming hulk of the gutted Civic Auditorium as a backdrop.
The motto then became ” On to the Goose Hollow ” for the old “Spatenhaus ” denizens.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:54:50 +0000

…Lasted until 2010 when the contractor who was revamping the parking lot tore into it, not realizing it was tagged as historic. At least that’s the story I heard. They put a lot of work into restoring it into something not as nice looking.