The Empty Streets of a Still City
On Friday, afternoon of April 10, between 2:15 and 3pm, I took a bike ride through the most densely-populated parts of Portland, Oregon, a city of 650,000. This was week three sheltering in place to avoid the COVID-19 pandemic burning across the planet. On the day I took these photos, there were 1,371 cases in the state and 48 deaths.
The state had its first case on Feb 29, and its first death on March 15. Governor Kate Brown shut the schools on 3/13, ordered bars and restaurants closed on 3/16, and shut the state down with the exception of necessary services on 3/23.
The numbers communicate one kind of information, but photos really bring home the magnitude of the effects.
Southwest Main downtown.
Southwest 3rd Avenue.
Southwest Broadway.
West Burnside, the most-trafficked street in downtown Portland, which separates downtown and Old Town/Pearl District.
Northwest Johnson in the Pearl District.
Northwest 13th Ave.
Northwest Davis.
Northwest Everett, the main eastbound artery through the Pearl. When the lights changed, a small clot of 3-5 cars would drive by and then the street would fall silent again.
This is northwest corner of Powell’s Books, typically the intersection with the most pedestrian traffic in the city. (It’s normally a nightmare to try to drive through.)
A panorama of the same intersection at Powell’s.
Southwest Naito Parkway, which runs next to Waterfront Park and the Willamette River.
The Morrison Bridge looking East (look closely to see Mt. Hood). I have never in my life seen it devoid of all vehicles.
The 405 freeway through downtown. By the time I took this, near 3pm, it would normally be bumper-to-bumper with people trying to get home for the weekend.
Southeast 7th Avenue.
Dusk, as we strolled across empty East Burnside. We’ve lived in this neighborhood since 2005, and I have never seen the Laurelhurst marquee unlit.
Marquee: “Closed for now. Stay healthy & warm. Support each other. Take care of yourselves.”