The name of
Portland's best known art district, The Pearl, suggests urban legend.
Perhaps an oyster canning factory once sat amidst the aging warehouses,
or Chinese seafarers hid pearls beneath cobble stoned Twelfth Street.
Whatever the origin, there's the suggestion of both beauty and ugliness
in the name—an elegant gem nestled in a drab, rough shell.
The story
goes like this: Thomas Augustine, a local gallery owner, coined the
phrase more than 10 years ago to suggest that the buildings in the warehouse
district were like crusty oysters, and that the galleries and artists'
lofts within were like pearls. "There were very few visible changes
in the area," says Al Solhiem, a developer who has been involved
in many projects in the district. "People would drive by and not
have a clue as to what was inside." As local business people were
looking to label the growing area—the "warehouse district"
or the "brewery district" were two suggestions—an Alaska
Airlines writer borrowed Augustine's phrase, according to Solheim. The
name stuck.
"Everyone
hated it," says Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery owner Rod Pulliam,
who opened his gallery 10 years ago. Few other galleries, such as Quartersaw
and Blackfish, have histories that go back that far. But many artists
lived or worked in the area in loft buildings such as the Maddox on
Hoyt Street. Back then, says Pulliam, light industry, vacant buildings,
and blue collar cafes outnumbered the galleries and lofts.
Despite initial
cynicism about the name, few deny that it's catchy. The Portland Institute
for Contemporary Art (PICA)'s inventive announcement for its 1998 annual
Dada Ball included a tuna can with a fake pearl inside.
