Portland Then/Now: Southwest 11th Ave. and Morrison St.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Morrison St.

Southwest Morrison Street, 1976. City of Portland Archives, A2011-018.72.

Southwest Morrison St. 2014. Photo by Byron Beck.

Portland Then/Now: Southwest 11th Ave. and Morrison St.

THEN: This image, from 1976, is from Southwest Morrison Street near Eleventh Avenue looking northwest. Old Portland favorites, Gregory's Tavern, Leo's Coiffures, Diamond Head Restaurant, are visible in this image but are now long gone.

Also gone is Music On Records, a longtime downtown Portland shop that housed rare records and plenty of classical music sheets.

One spot that is still around to this day is the Lincoln Hotel which is located on the upper floors of this stretch of Southwest Morrison.

NOW: Businesses have come and gone on this street, including Big Town Hero that, was for several years, in the space where the Diamond Head Restaurant once stood. Trees now line the street, and the MAX Light Rail line makes it way up and down this busy part of Portland.

Now this side of Southwest Morrison Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenue, is home to Morrison Nail Studio, womens clothing stores including Gypsy Chic Boutique and Fat Fancy, Stylab Hair Salon, Mel's Frame Shop and Ray's Ragtime where you just might see celebs—everyone from Paris Hilton to David Byrne—shopping the racks of this legendary vintage boutique.

For the last few months, this street has also been home to a very unusual store/estate sale that features some of the most unusual items available in downtown Portland. Anyone need an old Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor sticker or a menu from Yaw's or the cover of a magazine from the mid-1970's? This is the place to find it, even though the place doesn't have a name. How much more Portland can you get?