Journalist By Nature: Soggy St. Johns Stroll

Umbrella gathering for a history lesson

The odds of a dry Thursday finally fell against us. Despite a weather prediction of light showers tapering off by noon, the skies kept a steady downpour upon us. Undaunted Oregonians that we are, we donned rain gear and handed out umbrellas like free sample day at Starbucks. A reading of the history of St. Johns preceded our city walk of the day. Clustered under our umbrellas, we learned that the town was established around 1850 on a peninsula of land at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Railways, saw mills and river traffic were an integral part of the town's early culture and history.

St. Johns Bridge

Over the years, St. Johns has declined and resurged, retaining some of its oldest residences and in-filling lots with more modern structures in recent times. As our paper copy of a map and narrative absorbed rain drops, we followed the soggy route from downtown towards the University of Portland campus. We stopped short of that destination to view the Gothic arched steel suspension St. Johns Bridge, which has prompted many local businesses to incorporate the term cathedral into their names. The public park beneath the high-reaching supports is Cathedral Park, loved by many photographers for the sequence of forms viewed from below.

Our walking route wound through old neighborhoods along the cliff's edge of the Willamette River. One destination, an enormous estate, was blocked by a wire fence and as we stood in a driveway, the owners came out to advise us that there was no way through their property. The author of the book we use had made an error and thus every walking tour comes to this point and is turned away by the property owner. They were friendly enough about our innocent intrusion and invited us to view the river from their deck before we moved on.

Standing under a storefront porch in our soaking raincoats we made a collective decision to end our wet journey and find a suitable eatery that was warm, dry and offered good lunch options. We chatted and strolled along Willamette Boulevard towards the center of town and chose the local McMenamins named St. Johns Pub. It was originally part of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland. The structure was moved by barge downriver and "planted" in its current location. Having gone through a number of different iterations it is now a pub and theater. Its dome-topped theatre is a marvel of wood structuring on the inside. The ceiling in the pub is a feast of chandeliers of every imaginable type. The stained glass window panels bathe the pub in colorful shifting shadows of light. There is the usual McMenamins random collection of interesting objects, but the best item was a working wood stove, around which we hung our wet coats. Greek gyros, chowder and wraps graced our table as we discussed a group member's travels in Thailand and heard of other members' plans to migrate temporarily to warmer climes. Those who aren't traveling considered visions of homey comforts to soothe them through the final days of winter. This soggy stroll had its benefits in good food and friendship as well as warm, dry raincoats as we once again planned to meet for another Dryday adventure. Get out your umbrella and don't let the weather limit your fun!