The new Front Street Market was a failure. Compared to the magical old world atmosphere of the Yamhill Street stalls, the Front Street facility was sterile indeed—an early version of a supermarket. Within a few years, the market which so many Portlanders had protested was in serious financial trouble. The city finally sold the building to the Oregon Journal in the '40s. Some market activity continued along Yamhill for many years, but in spite of the determination of so many farmers and merchants to stay, the city's forced closure of the old central facility began a slow death for the market concept in Portland. Only with the birth of the Saturday Market under the Burnside Bridge during the '70s was some of the vitality of the old Central Market recaptured. The Front Avenue Market Building, opened December 1933 A PORTLAND VISION ... A very happy form of community wealth is a lively and beautiful neighborhood. In its physical form signs of care and signs of fun abound. Take the houses themselves. Houses have faces. What delight we have when the faces are cheery, grinning and winking. Sadly, many new houses, instead, look boastful or scream for attention. They don't seem to care whether they sit here or in Dallas. Their main interest is themselves. Their neighbors, their streets and the land around them, are of no concern. But there is that feeling a house can evoke that makes us say: "That's a real Portland house." We may not even notice the house at first. It has a calm repose and an emphasis on amenity to all around it. We notice the generous windows watching over the street, the fine crafted detail of some trim, the intriguing entryway draped with fragrant vines, and beyond, the carefully proportioned door. Tracks lead to the car's place—no overbearing garage door is visible. And there are the raised flowerbeds, the hollyhocks, the windspinner, the toys, the ladder, the bicycles, and the vibrant voices. —Dave Deppen, Portland Architect
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