Portland Air Disaster, December, 1978

16It so happens that, on 23 December 1978, United Air Lines Flight 173 was on approach into PDX from JFK and they had a problem with the landing gear.

It took them over an hour to address the problem, during which time they ran out of fuel (there are a bunch of reasons why that happened, and I'm not going to relitigate them in a little-read blog post. Wikipedia discusses it nicely for the laity)

It crashed to earth at about 157th and E. Burnside, in an area that was, at the time, in unincorporated Multnomah County. 

What you may not know, dear Reader, is that there is a little memorial to it. Go to 164th and E. Burn, get in the westbound lane, and about 500 feet west of 164th, in front of a rather ordinary-looking deep-eastside apt complex, you'll see a crescent-shaped bit of landscaping centering a rather understated plaque:

Eight passengers and two crew died that day. And cockpit-culture reform happened; when they tell you that safety regulations are written in blood, this is what they kinda mean.

What is Leach Botanical Garden?

15What is Leach Botanical Garden?

A place with a bit more history than I knew. 

It's a most lovely arboretum. This place, located on SE 122nd Avenue just south of Foster Road, is a curated collection of native plants and native trees, arrayed on an upper level which has pollinator gardens and places for people to be and a section going down into the gully of Johnson Creek where historic structures and a very restful riparian section along the creek itself.

It is Portland's hidden garden.

Wayfinding at Leach Botanical Garden, 2026.

Stretching behind that sign are the pollinators. I'll share a few of those pictures, as well as the history that I learned, in subsequent blog entries. 

A Single Trillium

14There is a flower called Trillium. This is what one looks like:

This was taken at a lovely and unique place, the Leach Botanical Garden, in deep Southeast Portland. I will elaborate a bit on this in the next entry.