NEIGHBORHOOD
NEWSLETTER
Published Quarterly
Page 3 October,
2000
NEWSLETTER
Published Quarterly
Page 3 October,
2000
Neighborhood Business Profile
By Colin
James
Each
newsletter, we will feature a different neighborhood business. Our
neighborhood businesses help create the urban setting that we prize. For
the inaugural article, we will profile the BROADWAY FLORAL. It’s located
at 1638 NE Broadway on the corner of 17th and Broadway.
The
business is now owned by Doug
and Janice Fick. Doug first worked at the store during college, when it
was owned by his father. The business has been in the family since 1970.
He and his wife bought the business from his family a couple years ago.
The
business sells, yes .. you guessed it, flowers and plants. Doug and Janice
hand pick the flowers they sell. They can deliver flowers worldwide as
they are members of Teleflora and AFS. But in addition to these, Broadway
Floral has added “interior accents,” home and garden items, and gifts.
Interior accents - I never knew what to call them –
are those neat accessories for decorating your house well enough to
make Martha Stewart jealous. I can personally attest that the interior
accents at Broadway Floral make great holiday, birthday, or anniversary
gifts.
Broadway
floral could be the oldest business on Broadway. Originally called
“Canby Floral,” the business moved to its current location in 1928,
and there is evidence of it existing even back to the early 1900’s!!!
The business (and the neighborhood) is much different now. It is
now a place to browse and shop in addition to pick up flowers and plants.
Apparently there are still just as many green plants - they are just
displayed differently than a few years ago.
Best
of all, the owners love the neighborhood and they even live the NE.
“Here there are neighborhoods, they are exciting and alive. In
the suburbs, you don’t get to interact with people.” From the time
that Doug had a car, he says that he has spent all of his time here. “It
is so fun to watch it change.. People are still realizing what a jewel of
an area this is.”
Seasonal change
is in the air as leaves start to crunch underfoot and pumpkins appear.
The late day sun seems lower than in summer as it filters through the
fall leaves. Sullivan's Gulch has beautiful fall color throughout
the neighborhood. To experience this, take a walk in Holladay Park,
which just received a year-long restoration. There are benches and
tables scattered along the park's extensive brick-lined paths. Wandering
off the paths leads to the private picnic tables in the grass. Check
out the new interactive water feature designed for children and adults
to play in. Nozzles spray at playful angles as the flow of water
changes heights. This water feature can be shut off and used as
a stage. Explore the three new bronze sculptures by Tad Savinar.
The park is full of large old deciduous trees with fall color such as
maples, oaks and elms. On the south of the park across the MAX tracks
is a mature row of American Sweet Gums (liquidambar styraciflua).
These trees have brilliant fall color. Star-shaped leaves turn purple,
red and yellow in fall. In winter, spiny balls which are the fruit
ornament the trees. See if you can find the park's Ginko trees (ginko
biloba) which turn golden in fall. Then the leaves drop quickly
and cleanly, creating a golden pool. The leaves are fan-shaped on
this prehistoric species related to conifers. In the north end of
the park and along the street east of the park are London Plane trees
(platanus acerifolia). Bumpy trunks with cream-colored bark shed
in patches to reveal smooth new bark. London Planes are classic
old street trees found through