The Portland Central library is the oldest library on the west coast - it was built in 1903 and is suitably majestic. The facade is carved with the names of famous authors, and the foyer is supported by half a dozen marble columns with a double staircase leading to the reference section. Most importantly, they have free wifi.
Downtown Portland is a mix of super trendy shops/restaurants and office buildings. There is a parking lot ringed with portable food stands, everything from korean bbq to gelato, currently packed with people in suits on their lunch breaks. The city centre square is also full of people on break. It's a big open amphitheater-style thing, the center of which is currently occupied by a man in a dress shirt with a bull terrier giving some kind of sermon. I'm not sure whether he's trying to stir the populace into action against the government, telling them about Jesus, or arguing against the ban on bulldogs. No one else knows either. The phrases "rise up", "might", "light" and "American Staffordshire people's terrier" keep getting used. A dozen others are watching him with mild interest; I'm hoping this is some kind of regular noon entertainment.
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