Charlottetown, PEI, Downtown

In its early days, Charlottetown benefited from a clear town planning framework.

This (unfortunately sketchy) plan shows the essence of the approach – a street grid running perpendicular and parallel to the harbor, anchored by five parks, four green residential squares ( Rochford, Connaught, Kings, and Hillsborough ) and one central, civic super-block (Queen Square – the open green rectangle). Our B and B (red dot) looked out over Hillsborough Square and was within easy walking distance of all the downtown sights. The residential squares all have a modest, easy-to-live-with character.

I personally think they would benefit from some more formal elements and circulation, but I also realized from spending time in the city that this wouldn’t fit with how most everything else is handled.

The transition from residential to more public and commercial space began right around the corner from Hillsborough Square – a glance down the street made that clear.

We were only three blocks from the cruise ship terminal; and when the ships were docked the architecture of the neighborhood shifted gears. The other obvious pattern involved the renovation of residential buildings into commercial uses. The Water Prince restaurant (surprisingly at the corner of Water and Prince streets) is a good example.

Water Prince Corner Shop

We had dinner there one night. They handle the tourist flow well.

In the picture above you’ll notice one or two wires draped across the intersection. I really try to avoid them when taking the pictures; but I have to say that they like their overhead wires in Canada, and it was hard to work around them.

Farther in towards the center of town we passed an old warehouse that had been renovated into a variety of office and commercial spaces.

It was apparently the center of liquor distribution at one point in time, as well as part of the various controversies related to prohibition. Here’s the story.

While not every structure in these couple of blocks was remarkable, once we turned the corner on to Queen Street, it became obvious that people were paying attention to their historic buildings as well as adding attractive contemporary enhancements – well maybe not the Electronic Arts sign at the top of the building.

We tried Kettle Black for coffee one morning – felt like Seattle

Another, more decorative, brick and stone building caught my eye as well. There were some periods, like this one, in which architects and stone masons used the natural colors of available stone to create and enhance the normal patterns of windows and doors.

We didn’t try the Churchill Arms but we did have lunch out on the sidewalk nearby. Charlottetown has invented an intriguing new way of building and using its sidewalks. As you can see above, both the normal sidewalk near the building and the angled parking spaces are paved with brick, raised above the street, and joined to it with a beveled stone curb. This means that with very little effort the parking zone can also be used as an attractive people zone, complete with tables and chairs and even a sofa.

Because the dining space uses the full depth of the parking zone, the table (and sofa) arrangements have a lot more flexibility than in the typical sidewalk cafe.

We tried the Bistro Marche. It made use of just two parking zones.

I liked the way in which the sidewalk remained open as a through path. Apparently, having an area, where liquor is being served, detached from the restaurant, is not an anxiety-producing situation in Charlottetown as it is in Seattle.

The added couple of steps for the server were not a big deal,

though they did charge slightly more for sitting outside because of the overall distance.

A block or so up the street we turned the corner into another attractive feature, a pedestrian street. Once again this feature has been set up flexibly so that it can be turned over to people in tourist season and used by automobiles otherwise.

The businesses are mostly restaurants; and they have taken over the normal sidewalk area with tables and chairs.

The relative continuity of this arrangement creates enough definition of the walking area as to establish the character of nearly the entire block.

There is some variety in the layouts which keeps things interesting.

And the relative narrowness of the walking space creates a kind of public but intimate outdoor experience that is fun for walkers and diners alike. It was clearly a popular and congenial place to have a meal on a nice day.

Next time – we range a little farther.

Road Trip – Boise to Seattle – Bend

A couple of hours west of the John Day Fossil Beds we arrived in Bend, Oregon, Central Oregon’s largest city (owing to the low population density of the region in general), the 5th largest metropolitan area in Oregon. We stayed at the Mill Inn B&B.

Mill Inn Bed and Breakfast

This very comfortable B&B sits about 10 blocks south of the historic center of town and on the edge of a rapidly developing and urbanizing district, with all that that means in terms of variety and consistency of approach. Here’s what’s across the street.

Strictly Organic Coffee Co

This is a series of neo-manufacturing style buildings, probably building on a few actual manufacturing structures previously there. As a result it’s a little difficult to tell which parts are historic and which are not.

John L. Scott Real Estate

In the John L. Scott case, I’m guessing that it’s an old, original building dressed up with new windows and facade on the exterior and new office space inside. I just doubt that someone would go to that level of form-making in a new building.

Just a block away was an historic interpretation – from London ! – Mews Housing.

mews style housing

We saw housing somewhat like this (but smaller in scale) in London. Attached townhouses surround a courtyard used for vehicles and service. The main residences are up a half level, and a small courtyard gives access to office and/or residential space a half level below the sidewalk. The rear courtyard is lined with garages.

It also looks as if there are roof decks on the top but I wasn’t sure about that.

Just a half block away, there was a different approach to city living.

For those who like modern lines, these were pretty attractive. I personally thought they needed more of the ‘carved-out’ balcony spaces to be really livable; but I liked the way the street level entrances were handled. These kinds of forms would also lend themselves to skylights and green roofs but I couldn’t see if any of those were provided.

And then, just a couple blocks away, another mews but in a different style.

mews housing 2

I’m assuming the chimney forms serve fireplaces in the corners of living rooms.

One feature I appreciate is that the front porch is large enough for a table and chairs. Another is that the two story space and windows add a lot inside and out.

After breakfast we spent some time walking in the older part of downtown before getting on the road again. Bend is located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range along the Deschutes River. Here the Ponderosa Pine forest transitions into the high desert, characterized by arid land, junipers, sagebrush, and bitter-brush. Originally a crossing point on the river, settlement began in the early 1900s. Bend was incorporated as a city in 1905. Economically, it started as a logging town but is now identified as a gateway for many outdoor sports, including mountain biking, fishing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, white-water rafting, skiing, paragliding, helicopter tours and golf. In 2015, Men’s Journal ranked Bend as one of The 10 Best Places to Live Now. The city has made real investments in a walkable and genuinely pedestrian-friendly downtown.

The sidewalks are wide and brick-paved with generous curb extensions and ADA crosswalks at all the intersections. Many apartments with retail at the street level are stepped back at upper levels (above) to provide more light to the street – and at the same time add balcony outdoor space to the apartments.

The general impact along the street then is of a two story facade that works well with the older two story buildings (background above). Styles are a bit of this and that, though there is a fair amount of brick to hold everything together.

Main Street continues this general approach but with a bit more variety;

and here we discovered a passage that was intriguing.

The city of Bend has learned to take advantage of its natural setting, to link to it, and to treat the backs of its buildings with some sensitivities. These two views below are of what was undoubtedly an ‘alley’ running behind the buildings that has now been developed into a shared car/pedestrian space. Well done !

When we re-visited Bend in 2019, we got to see this pedestrian street “in action” as a farmers market. It was clearly thriving.

The direct view from the passageway leads you to the river.

The name Bend was derived from “Farewell Bend”, the designation used by early pioneers to refer to the location along the Deschutes River where the town was eventually platted, one of the few fordable points along the river.

The scale of the river makes it an incredible amenity, bordered here by downtown and a large city park.

Past the ‘bend’ the area is more residential on the far side. The town side continues the park walkway behind the commercial district.

On our 2019 visit we took the time to walk around the river/lake and gather a broader sense of how it fitted into and supported the town.

A broad path follows the south side of the river/lake and is followed itself by a lovely city park with scatterings of benches and picnic areas.

In the distance (above) you can just make out a bridge across the river. This leads to some athletic fields and then to a semi-private and then private lake front area.

Pageant Park fronts both the lake and a private residence. It’s nice that there is no hard border between the two; and it appears that this is a congenial arrangement.

This is the end of the public walkway. Farther down the riverfront, private properties come out to the edge of the water.

This seems like a lost opportunity for a public amenity; but there is also an obvious desire to have some private property fronting the water. A classic public-private challenge. As a result, we jogged over a block and walked through the neighborhood to end of the lake portion of the river. At that point, there was another small park with a war memorial and access point to the water.

A man and a small boy were enjoying some paddle-boarding.

The bright daylight at the end of the passage near the Farmers Market draws you back to Main Street,

where one of the shops provided a little local humor.

This part of the street contains a few of the civic buildings, old and new.

Some are older and include retail with housing above.

Others continue to function pretty much as designed, though the Tower is more than just a movie theater these days.

Tower Movie Theater

In this day of emails and texting, post offices don’t require the space they used to.

This one has been re-purposed into office space and a home for the Chamber of Commerce, both good downtown uses. A block away the library makes a good neighbor.

It adds a more modern look; but again, the use of brick gives it continuity in its context.

In 2019 we added in a small walk through the back streets to our Bed and Breakfast and happened on Jacksons, a neighborhood restaurant. It seemed like a find; so we tried it out for dinner. It turned out to be a congenial family-oriented place with a menu to keep everyone happy and good food to boot. A find indeed.

So, you ask, where’s the real stuff ?

And here’s the answer – over on business 97, the route we’re taking out of town, heading north to Washington State.

And accidentally, the photographer at work.

Tacoma – UW Campus

The University of Washington Tacoma Campus has made a genuinely robust start in a challenging part of the city. I played a role in the initial planning, after, in 1986, the Higher Education Coordination Board suggested branch campuses for both the University of Washington and Washington State University. Tacoma and Bothell were chosen as new UW campus sites, and three locations were selected for new WSU campuses: Vancouver, the Tri-Cities and Spokane. The initial goal of the new campuses was to provide further education for the growing numbers of community college transfer students, as well as “time bound, place bound” students with limited access to educational opportunities in programs with “demonstrated regional needs.”

Entrance to the University of Washington Tacoma Campus – Academic Affairs Building

To start the planning process, the UW asked a team from TRA (my former firm) and NBBJ (with which we had previously done campus planning) to help them determine the best sites for the location of these ‘branch’ campuses. The university’s real estate consultant had identified multiple suburban sites north, east, and south of the main Seattle campus for consideration. We generated site criteria (size, access, environmental concerns, etc) and a series of planning ‘templates’ with which to test the sites. As we did this analysis it occurred to me that since the new light rail system being planned would go north to Everett, east to Redmond, and south to Tacoma, it would make sense to look at these urban areas as well. In addition, both Everett and Tacoma had underutilized warehouse districts that would provide affordable infrastructure. Long story short, the UW said it was worth a look, the analysis was positive and in Tacoma the downtown site was chosen. A compromise suburban site in Bothell was chosen in the northeast. As you can see below, the existing urban fabric presented both challenges and opportunities.

 

UW Tacoma Campus – Old and New combined

The view above shows the mix of old and new buildings that have been developed along Pacific Avenue. A station for the light rail line sits on the left. The “center” of the campus has turned a former street right of way into a pedestrian “hillclimb”.

UW Tacoma hillclimb and logo

The campus consists of a series of linear parcels that work with this hillclimb.

These long angular strips of land and buildings resulted from the challenge of building industrial buildings on a steep hillside while also serving them with railroad freight lines and sidings. Some of the historic railroad memorabilia has been retained. In the above picture you can see that some buildings are new, some have new additions, and some, like the one on the left, have been simply repurposed. An old power company transformer house – below – offered a great opportunity to create a library.

UW Tacoma – Snoqualmie Building – Library and Teaching and Learning Center

On a steep hillside, in the 21st century, accessibility becomes a major issue. The solution here provides giant steps of elevators, stairs, and bridges, done in a generally industrial aesthetic, to make it possible to move up and down from building to building when you’re not near the hillclimb (which has its own rampwalks).

In many places, the angles of streets and railroad tracks have simply been accepted and successfully enhanced as part of the campus open space.

The campus website ( http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/ ) includes a section on the public art that has been included, like this small park.

Maru by Gerard Tsutakawa, Sculptor and Kenichi Nakano, Landscape Architect

The sculpture honors the Japanese Language School that once stood at Tacoma Avenue and 19th Street and the Japanese-American community that lived nearby. In the science building, a four-panel terracotta sculpture depicts a personification of the four elements, earth, air, water and fire.

Steve Gardner – The Four Elements – 2003

Coming back down the hill to Pacific Avenue you approach a few other major buildings that share the Museum District – on the north, the former Union Station, now a Federal Court House,

Federal Court House

and then, directly across the street, Washington State Historical Museum,

Washington State Historical Museum

one of the last projects of architect Charles Moore, in which he made conscious reference to the dome shape and brick of the former Union Station, and beyond,

through the entrance arch you can see the roof of the Glass Museum’s hot shop.

Given the strong pattern of urbanization driving us to make better use of the space we have available, I think that the UW Tacoma campus both contributes to and shares in the positive growth of Tacoma as a key regional city. Very encouraging.