Fremont Bridge Report . Photographs of the Fremont Bridge from out of my studio window (text below) . 2011
Fremont Bridge Report . I could see the Fremont Bridge from my studio at the Seed Building. I stared at it a lot.
One day, I began posting short text reports about the weather and bridge traffic on social media.
It was the beginning times of Facebook when that platform was still fun.
January 14, 2011 at 5:38 pm
car stopped with hood up. truck with flashing light stopped behind him otherwise, traffic moving freely in both directions though there is a thick fog and it is dusk.
January 15, 2011 at 6:31 pm
traffic moving freely all day, both directions. very low clouds and persistent rain. grey. two ambulances passed over about twenty minutes ago, heading east.
January 16, 2011 at 6:04 pm
strong, high winds. 20 – 30 seagulls circling overhead. dark, sticky clouds in the hills but clear overhead. sunday traffic moving along quickly.
January 17, 2011 at 11:42 am
giant rainbow seems to be making a second arch over bridge. traffic moving freely.
January 18, 2011 at 4:57 pm
left lanes on northeast bound level are sluggish. right lane moving along. clouds so low, they are on the ground. can’t see the hills at all.
January 19, 2011 at 6:58 pm
clear, darkening sky, lovely shades of dark blue. on top level, westbound, traffic is very slow. eastbound is fine.
January 20, 2011 at 4:32 pm
the two giant flags on top of the bridge hang straight down indicating total windlessness. traffic moves freely in both directions.
January 21, 2011 at 5:26 pm
seagulls are circling over the bridge again. there is a perfectly grey mist over everything. westbound traffic is slow but moving, slowly. eastbound is pretty fine.
January 27, 2011 at 6:21 pm
the sky just over the tree lined horizon line is turning a purple bruise color. an ambulance crossed heading east. its siren echoed on the lower level, where there is now slowing. upper level is moving fine till you hit the end of the bridge then it slows.
January 29, 2011 at 3:41 pm
traffic is moving quite rapidly in both directions. there are clouds under other clouds in the sky.
January 30, 2011 at 5:00 pm
fog has given way to rain. this reporter had to close her window. a small water plane passed over the bridge and thin line of birds passed over the plane. traffic flowing freely.
February 1, 2011 at 9:01 am
the morning sun is lighting up the bridge. it is practically glowing. the sky is bright blue and many cars and trucks speed by in both directions.
February 3, 2011 at 6:20 pm
in the last of the sunlight, 2 canadian geese rest on a log floating in the river. several more cluster leisurely around a rust colored ship called the pan bright. or was it bright pan? overhead, the human traffic is better than it usually is at this hour. pink clouds.
February 7, 2011 at 9:25 pm
it is dark now. really, really dark. except, there are pools of light on the bridge. all the way across the river. they are coming from very tall lamp posts. the lamp posts are taller than semi-trucks. traffic normal.
February 8, 2011 at 7:26 pm
alert ~ westbound traffic is stop and go, mostly stop. eastbound is fine. the sky is clear and the moon is bright and the air is cold.
February 12, 2011 at 3:36 pm
a human figure is seen walking on the bridge. he has made it quite far but hasn’t yet reached the middle. a car pulls over and another figure gets out and walks towards the first. they are on the top level. they meet and stand still for a while…
February 16, 2011 at 11:23 am
an entire house just crossed the bridge on the back of a semi truck. alongside it was a silver double semi truck, round tanks containing milk or oil. i wonder how it would look if they crashed into each other. we had rain mixed with snow down here this morning. traffic flows freely in both directions.
February 23, 2011 at 6:31 pm
there is a strange light on the bridge. kind of an orange, green light. a storm is coming. i can see it approach as it consumes the forested hills along the river. it’s coming.
February 24, 2011 at 10:51 am
giant fluffy snowflakes have given way to blue sky with lingering polar bear-like clouds. the cement factory dome below the bridge is looking rather like an igloo. traffic flows freely in both directions.
February 27, 2011 at 5:37 pm
it is a cold day and a rainy day. a grey, white light. both flags are at half mast. traffic flows in both directions.
February 28, 2011 at 3:33 pm
still cold, grey, raining. the flags are back up but i’m not sure why. seems to me, our country is experiencing multiple tragedies. traffic is fine.
March 3, 2011 at 5:09 pm
hail 5 minutes ago, now sun breaking through. slowing on the lower level, but not too terrible. upper level speeding along fine.
March 10, 2011 at 11:17 am
it’s still raining. traffic is fine. on a more exciting note, there is a peregrine falcon sitting in a tree just outside my window. only 20 feet away from me. it is the second time i have seen him/her there so i am hoping it is a new, regular perch.
March 13, 2011 at 3:28 pm
saturated with rain, rain, rain. really, too miserable to speak of.
March 16, 2011 at 4:06 pm
though the sky has been covered all day by a thick, gray blanket of clouds, the sun has broken through somewhere… so now it is a glowing, thick, gray blanket of clouds. traffic is flowing very nicely.
March 18, 2011 at 5:16 pm
i’m sorry to say that traffic is at a dead stop in the left hand lands, eastbound. if you are in the right lane you are fine, as always. i wonder what the people are thinking in their stopped cars. looking at the view, i suppose.
March 21, 2011 at 7:19 pm
traffic flowing. sun setting on a truly lovely sunny spring evening. dramatic clouds.
March 26, 2011 at 7:33 pm
soft light after the downpour today. maybe 20 seagulls circling overhead. giant pink and gray clouds. normal weekend traffic.
March 28, 2011 at 11:50 am
the bridge is lit up with dark clouds behind it. i love it when that happens. it pops out like a pop up book.
March 29, 2011 at 6:32 pm
really solid gray today. can’t see past the river. rain. bumper to bumper traffic has eased up. now is moving fine. it slows up moving in to downtown.
March 31, 2011 at 5:02 pm
for a few minutes, the cars on the other side of the bridge looked like glistening beetles, like tiny drops of mercury. traffic moving slow in both directions.
April 11, 2011 at 1:13 pm
there is a long, red ribbon fluttering around like crazy in the wind. it seems to be stuck by one end underneath the bridge. can’t tell what it is or how it is attached. quite windy and some rain.
April 13, 2011 at 1:50 pm
somehow, it is hailing.
April 14, 2011 at 6:44 pm
cold and gray and raining out here still. feels like if you fell in the mud and a big, wet bear fell on top of you. traffic moving along fine now.
April 17, 2011 at 8:57 am
finally, a blue sky. there is a policeman on a motorcycle driving against traffic on the lower level… behind him, a long line of runners. hundreds of them. they must have their own lane. (hundreds and hundreds. the people shapes stretch across the entire bridge now like a human necklace.)
April 22, 2011 at 5:41 pm
spring has dropped upon portland today as suddenly as a whale falling out of the sky. people driving north must drive very slowly. southbound moving fine.
April 24, 2011 at 5:24 pm
at this moment, it is pouring rain AND sunny. don’t be confused.
April 28, 2011 at 3:28 pm
today proves that april is, indeed, the cruelest month.
May 4, 2011 at 3:50 pm
super lovely blue sky. super sticky traffic. super slow on both levels.
May 6, 2011 at 10:27 am
big, bulky clouds fill the sky. pretty warm. traffic moves freely in both directions.
May 12, 2011 at 8:17 am
it’s a cold, white morning. knife-like. the city is shrouded in fog. traffic on the bridge is heavy but moving quickly.
May 12, 2011 at 5:37 pm
the extreme shift in weather has gone to people’s heads. the air is so warm and the sun so bright that many oregonians will bump into each other today. i am riding my bike to the hollywood theater now. signing off.
May 18, 2011 at 1:51 pm
a swarm of bees just passed by my window. it was the second time that happened in the three years I have been here. this time they did not click against the glass but passed very quickly. the sun is delicious today. a good day for moving your hive.
May 23, 2011 at 8:39 pm
traffic is flowing. striking orange sunset. blue sky, thin grey clouds, silver lining reflecting on wet pavement. “some velvet sidewalk”
May 26, 2011 at 2:13 pm
one dimly remembers the sun.
May 27, 2011 at 7:44 am
a beautiful blue sky morning with ethereal smoke grey clouds smeared in places. traffic fine. a heron passed overhead.
May 31, 2011 at 8:18 am
3 cleaning trucks crossing the lower level of the bridge. one white and two yellow. moving slowly with flashing lights as if they are in a funeral procession. it is a grey morning.
June 14, 2011 at 6:52 pm
meow meow. meow meow meow. meow. (guest reporter: lola)
July 3, 2011 at 9:58 pm
the huge sliver of a moon is hanging like a silver hook between the two levels of the bridge. the last light is on the horizon and tiny clusters of fireworks sparkle in the forested hills. traffic is sparse.
July 4, 2011 at 8:04 pm
a huge dragonfly sighted. also, a heron sitting on the ship dock, not a studio and a half away from myself. achingly blue sky. very little traffic on bridge.
July 8, 2011 at 5:40 pm
the white knight is sliding down the poker. he balances very badly.
July 23, 2011 at 9:16 am
rare blue sky. major construction on west bound level of bridge. all kinds of funny shaped and colored machines and vehicles parked up there. last night it looked like a carnival. (all the little men in bright orange and yellow vests very much enjoy looking out at the view. it is a marvelous view from the bridge. i see them through my binoculars, talking and pointing.)
July 25, 2011 at 2:35 pm
two stacks of crushed cars banded together on the back of a semi just crossed heading northeast. gravity is especially strong today.
October 3, 2011 at 8:08pm
when i left portland’s seed building, it was grey. the kind of grey that becomes glistening grey at dusk. and that bridge slithered away from me like a whisper. and portland wound up like a golden spring all around me and released.