Anne-Christine invites us to “find fascinating structures that capture our attention, tell a story or are just beautiful.” As I combed my archives, I found a few photos I had taken just because the subject caught my fancy. I’ll start with this building from the Lloyd district in Portland, Oregon. I don’t know if it is an apartment complex or office building – maybe both – the windows are what drew me to it!


From high tech to low tech, my next subject is quite a fancy tree house. When I was a kid, my brother and I would build forts in the tall poplar trees near our home. It was a wonderful hide-away and I still love looking out over the world from a lofty vantage point.

Where there is slow moving water, it is likely you will find a community of house-boats. Portland, Oregon has several such watery neighborhoods. The photo below is of a settlement on the John Day River, just south of Astoria, Oregon.

In a previous Lens-Artists challenge (#216) I featured the town of Oysterville, Washington. It is a fine example of a community doing its very best to restore and maintain the original wood buildings built in the mid 1800’s. I especially like the house below, built in 1865 by Captain J.W. Munson, which was the site of Oysterville’s first Pacific County Courthouse.

I’ll finish with another early Long Beach Peninsula structure, the Doupé Building in Ilwaco, Washington, which has been vacant for several years. Below is a photo I featured in my Lens-Artists Challenge #45 in 2019.

*”Built around the end of the 19th century, the first tenant was the Aberdeen Packing Company. In 1919, Joseph and Harry Doupé bought the building and opened Doupé Brothers Hardware. They added a furniture store in 1967 and women’s apparel store in 1968.” Yesterday, I decided to take photos of the now being restored exterior of the Doupé building. It retains its architectural charm and looks loved again, with caulking and fresh paint.

Kudos to those who are taking on the monumental task of keeping this landmark building alive!
*By MADDIE DICKERSON Aug 16, 2010 Updated Dec 20, 2018, Chinook Observer