Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me about the gentrification of Portland and how it has affected me and my photography studio. For me personally being pushed out of my old studio was a blessing. Things had gotten old, stale and parts had even become Rotten in the Towne Bldg and I was more than ready to go. Taking the leap though required a push and I got that push just about one year ago. Truth be told I had been looking around for a new place to call home for my studio for about 6 months prior to us all being evicted due to the gentrification of the building and the SE industrial dist. If I were to make a list of pros and cons about staying in the Towne bldg the cons would have won! On that list of cons you would find: The over sized man-child who rented the space below me for 10+ years and would yell “Shut the F* up” at me and pound on the walls like a two year old having a temper tantrum. He would do this almost everyday and it had gotten really really old to say the least. The homeless, the trash on the street and the smell was overwhelming at times. Not to mention the lack of parking. There are a handful of people that I miss from my time there and there are a handful of people that I do not. The kicker in the end was the rumors that would spread through the building like high school. Actually worse than high school....
