Photo Essay: A Century of Pedestrianism

Great cities are made up of great neighborhoods, and in Portland the best neighborhoods are those that are the most walkable. Sellwood, where (full disclosure) a few SERA employees reside, is one such neighborhood – a rational grid of Craftsman homes, great parks, a library, an historic outdoor pool, and a Main Street stocked with well-loved local businesses. Knitting all of this together is a series of comfortable, well-built sidewalks, most of which are now a century old. We know their age because the sidewalks tell us; they are indelibly stamped with the names of long-defunct firms who, despite the weather-beaten monikers and logos, have been lost to history.

Here, then, is a quick photo essay, digitally memorializing those who helped make some of Portland’s most livable streets.

And, because we couldn’t resist, here’s a quick photo-reminder that sidewalks are not just for walking. Livable streets are those on which your (then-)three-year-old can sit down and demand both a snack and a story, and you are happy to oblige.