The park was empty, on this grim, rainy afternoon. The lone marigold in the pond was the only clue anyone had been there all day.
I was last there one month ago, almost to the day. Today there was far less water in the pond, and both the algae and goldfish have vanished. I gather the city pays close attention whenever I complain. Ok, the lilypads and spiderwebs were gone as well. So they might've overreacted somewhat. But then, I'm notoriously hard to please, and at least they're trying.
The bottom photo is a detail of the fence along the park's east edge, made of rusty rails from back when the area was a working railyard, with some bits of art glass inserted here-n-there. Through the fence you can barely see a tiny bit of the Lexis condo building. Aside from contending for the most godawful stupid name in the entire Pearl District, it's also a mildly unusual structure: While most Pearl towers are fake stucco and/or brick over concrete, the Lexis has a sleek metal (titanium?) skin over... plywood. Yes. It was originally built as an apartment building, and I distinctly recall seeing a local authority on the real estate scene say it couldn't be converted into condos because it wasn't built to the usual condo standards. Ahh, but recall that there's one born every minute, and so the place was converted almost as quickly as it was built. I wouldn't live there, not even if there was a smoke detector every six inches. But that's just me, with my weird priorities. Sure, it may be an overpriced deathtrap, but it's a super-desirable overpriced deathtrap in an excellent location. Condos here are guaranteed to keep appreciating at 20+% per year from now until Doomsday, or until someone smokes in bed (which is essentially the same thing.) Who could ask for anything more?
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