Most of us have driven through Fairview without even realizing it. Then again, I doubt most people even know Fairview exists, but it does. It's the kind of oblong rectangle that is bordered roughly by 201st to the west, 233rd to the east, Glisan to the south, and the Columbia River to the north. Or perhaps you've been to Blue Lake Park. Entirely in Fairview's borders, Blue lake is actually a pretty sweet spot if you go during that one sunny weekend in April we always seem to have where the temperature finally peeks up over 70 degrees for a couple hours before plunging back to the low 50s. I'm embarrassed to say this, but today was the first time I've ever ventured into "downtown" Fairview. Although Fairview was incorporated in 1908 or thereabouts, their downtown was just recently built in 2000. It's a strange otherworldly "planned" community that looks like something Norman Rockwell would paint if he were a contemporary city planner. The main street is narrow with lots of ground-level retail with living spaces up above. According to a couple "for sale" signs I saw, there are live/work spaces available should you be in the market for setting up your own shop and dread the prospect of commuting more than one flight of stairs. People were walking their dogs on the meandering sidewalks and I even saw a bunch of scampy 9-year-olds pacing out the bases for a game of stickball in the central city park. If I had seen a little boy in a puffy dress eating an ice cream cone or a little girl getting her bikini bottom chewed on by a floppy-eared dog, I swear I would have started looking behind billboards for hidden DeLoreans.
Mayor Mike Weatherby was happy to welcome me into his office so he could autograph our map. The first thing he pointed out was his portraits of Franklin Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. We talked about the establishment of the 40 hour work week and the minimum wage for a bit, and then he moved a cactus shaped pinata off of his desk so he could sign the map just north of Gresham. I've found that whenever I meet Oregon Mayors in their offices, I always feel like I just want to hang out and talk about Mayor stuff for two hours so I'm very conscious of the time when talking with them. I don't want to be a lingerer and waste their entire afternoons. But I have a weird feeling that Mayor Weatherby wouldn't have minded me bringing in a hummus plate or something while we sat down and talked about resource allocation. Maybe I'll try that one with the next mayor?
14 down, 228 to go.
Funny thing about some Oregon towns that are established without a really delineated downtown area. I was speaking with the Mayor of Boardman last month. He was inquiring about the Main Street Renovation project in Joseph, Oregon (completed in 2001). He said that Boardman doesn't really have a downtown per se and he'd like to do something about that. You'll find out about Boardman when you do your swing through Eastern Oregon!--Heather at the Bronze Antler Bed & Breakfast
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