Powell's City of Books, Portland

December 29, 2022

Powell’s City of Books is a legendary landmark for bibliophiles and a cornerstone of Portland’s cultural landscape. As the world’s largest independent new and used bookstore, it occupies an entire city block in the Pearl District, housing what is estimated to be over a million books across nine color-coded rooms.

Founded by Walter Powell in 1971, the store has grown into a beloved institution, drawing locals and tourists alike to wander its seemingly endless aisles. This photo captures the iconic facade of a place that is more than a store—it is a sprawling city of books, located at 1005 W Burnside St, Portland, OR.

Bothell – The Lodge at Saint Edward State Park

August 4, 2022

Set among 300+ forested acres above Lake Washington, the 1931 St. Edward Seminary complex became the heart of Saint Edward State Park when the Archdiocese sold the property to Washington State Parks in 1977. Designed in a restrained Romanesque/Art Deco style, the brick main building and its axial lawns are a landmark of the Kenmore/Bothell shoreline.

After decades of limited use, a public‑private partnership restored the main seminary into a boutique hotel that opened in 2021 as The Lodge at Saint Edward State Park. Trails, public art, and preserved interiors now draw visitors for both nature and architecture—where cloistered halls once trained clergy, guests wander galleries and gardens.

Capitol Hill – Coastal Kitchen Restaurant

July 3, 2017

A view along Capitol Hill’s 15th Avenue East toward Coastal Kitchen, a neighborhood staple for three decades at 429 15th Ave E. Known for rotating regional seafood menus and an easygoing diner‑meets‑coastal vibe, the restaurant became a weekend brunch ritual for locals.

Opened in the early 1990s, Coastal Kitchen weathered booms, busts, and a major interior refresh before ultimately closing in 2024–2025 as 15th Ave E continued to evolve. A longtime quirk remembered by regulars: the bathrooms played language‑learning tapes—often themed to the region featured on the rotating menu (Seattle Met). The strip remains one of Capitol Hill’s most walkable spines, lined with small restaurants, bars, and shops that keep the street lively from morning coffee to late‑night dessert.

Mural, 2nd Ave, Seattle

August 6, 2025

Second Avenue near the Pike/Pine corridor, centered on 1521 2nd Avenue, a block from Pike Place Market. Murals and rotating street art have long animated this stretch—alley cut‑throughs, service doors, and construction walls becoming informal canvases between downtown and the market.

As nearby blocks evolved from low‑rise retail to high‑rise residential and hotel projects, the ad‑hoc art scene persisted, often tied to neighborhood events and artist collectives. Pieces come and go with the seasons, leaving behind a layered record of the corridor’s changing face and its creative undercurrent.

Paris Hermès Store

April 2, 2024

Along the Left Bank at 17 Rue de Sèvres, Hermès opened its Rive Gauche flagship in 2010 inside the former swimming pool of the Art Deco Hôtel Lutetia complex. The interior, designed by RDAI, threads light wooden pavilions through the preserved volumes of the 1930s bath, creating a soaring retail hall that nods to Parisian modernism.

The site, known as the Piscine Lutetia, had been listed as a protected historic space; Hermès’ conversion balanced heritage with contemporary craft, expanding the house’s presence to the Left Bank after 170 years on the Right. The store quickly became a design destination, pairing leather goods and silk with bookshop‑style vignettes and floral displays beneath the former gallery balconies.

Pike Place Market – Bookstore

August 6, 2025

The Corner Market building along Post Alley anchors a warren of small shops, cafes, and—tucked upstairs—a tiny multi‑story bookstore. Narrow stairs and short runs of shelving make the space feel stacked rather than sprawling: crammed tables, low ceilings, and hand‑lettered signs.

Built in 1912, the Corner Market is one of several historic market buildings that survived mid‑century urban renewal pressures. Today it’s a quiet counterpoint to the main arcade, where the little shop climbs more than it spreads—cozy, multi‑level, and small enough that you can scan every shelf in a single visit.

Pixies at McMenamins Edgefield

August 30, 2025

August 30, 2025

Two views of the Pixies from the first few rows at Edgefield’s outdoor lawn stage—guitars bright under the summer lights, crowd pressed close, August 30, 2025. The photos bracket the set from slightly different angles, catching the band against the glow of the backline and the dusky sky.

Edgefield’s lawn is intimate for a touring act this size, and that proximity shapes the frames: instruments, monitors, hands in the air. It’s the kind of Northwest summer night where you remember where you stood more than the setlist.