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H E A V E N.
Donna and I want to make a symbolic map of Portland, with all the things on it that make this city a fairy tale for us. One of the places that will be on the map is Heaven, which is located on 11th and Madison. We found it on an acid trip in january, with the help of our elusive companion, Sam. I went back and took pictures a week later. |
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It was 4 am and we had been wandering around for hours in such a circuitous fashion that it seemed like we were in another world. Whenever I saw a street sign, I was surprised to find that we were so close to home. We were walking down 11th when we came to this dilapidated storefront, and paused to look at it. Torn canvas is draped over the rickety metal awning frame above the window. On the glass, “The Past and Present Shop” is painted in ornate letters. “DOLL REPAIR” is written in black marker in the lower left corner of the window. White paper covers the window, obscuring the inside of the store. As we stood staring at it, Sam said, “What would you do if this were Heaven? This is Heaven. Right here. The Past and Present Shop. You’re looking at Heaven: What do you think of that?” Donna said, "I think it's pretty nice! If this is Heaven, it's fine with me.." I started to think, "Maybe this really is Heaven..." |
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Across the street was a pseudo-nostalgic building with a vertical sign on its corner that reads “Main Street Hotel.” The lower level was occupied by “Derby Deli.” On the roof were fake plastic flags pointing straight out. Sam ran across to look at the building. "They're always changing the signs on this place! I've been here before. The sign used to be for a photographer. See, none of this stuff is real. This crazy old couple invented this whole corner, and constructed these buildings, because it's the place with the best view of Heaven."
"Isn't this a real deli?" I asked. I was transfixed by this idea, and ran all around the Derby Deli trying to figure out if it was "real." There were no hours listed, and something about it seemed strange... the door was too big, the whole place seemed artificial, with the plastic flags and everything. And who's ever heard of Main Street Hotel? He was right, the view of Heaven was quite good from this corner... The day I went back to take these pictures was a Saturday afternoon around 4 pm, and there was no sign of life within the Deli. When something gets implanted in my mind on acid, I can't stop thinking about it, so I did some internet searches for the three businesses, with inconclusive results... |
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