[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 120 (Monday, September 10, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING POWELL'S BOOKSTORE

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 10, 2012

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Powell's Bookstore, a 
Portland landmark, on the occasion of its 41st anniversary.
  One of the benefits of my job is an opportunity to become a part of a 
lot of exciting events: Groundbreakings, anniversaries, ribbon-
cuttings, commencement speeches. On August 25th, in Portland, I shared 
a truly unique moment. It's one of the reasons why people come from all 
over the world to share in the Portland experience. No tour of Portland 
is complete without a visit to Powell's City of Books. This is not just 
because this bookstore is the one attraction in Portland that's open 
365 days a year, and bad weather doesn't stop you. In fact bad weather 
makes the trip to Powell's even more fun. It's iconic but I think few 
people really understand why and how it got to be that way.
  Portland is the livability capital of the United States. And 
livability is about things like bikes and beer, about restaurants that 
are locally owned, gluten-free organic and free-range with everything 
sourced from less than four blocks from the restaurant. It's a powerful 
concept, to be local, human-scale and high quality.
  Think about Powell's. It's local in the extreme, but it's been on the 
web for almost 20 years now. The staff is amazing! It's full of Reed 
college double majors in physics and philosophy who are members of the 
longshoreman's union and speak Swahili and Gaelic.
  It's probably the best place in Portland for a first date. You really 
get to know someone wandering through the stacks at Powell's with them. 
It's a great place to ditch a kid for a long period of time, although 
that sometimes makes Michael and the staff a little nervous. It is the 
ultimate Christmas experience as all of the last-minute shoppers flock 
here. It's not just what you get, it's what you do, sharing in the 
frenzy of the wild-eyed, strange people who are wandering the aisles at 
the last moment.
  Powell's is uniquely Portland because it is a family enterprise. On 
August 25th, I was joined by Alice Powell who is Michael's partner in 
life and a professional in terms of counseling that I think often has 
helped move the institution along. There may have been a few moments in 
the history of taking risks in this enterprise where maybe another 
income made a difference.
  Michael Powell is a shy semi-curmudgeon, so it's hard to tell about 
all the contributions that Michael has made to the community. It's not 
just about his business. He's one of the people who understand that 
what's good for the community is good for his business, and what's good 
for his business is good for his community. For the better part of 
these 40 years, I've had a chance to work with him on a wide variety of 
projects, from parks and planning, to transportation and downtown 
development. Michael has helped lead the charge for business people to 
tax themselves to improve the quality of the downtown experience. For 
20 years he's been not just active, but a leader, in bringing the 
streetcar to Portland and then expanding it. Because of Michael's 
efforts, the streetcar is one of those experiences that make Portland 
unique.
  Now with their daughter Emily, it's been three generations of 
Powell's involved with this institution going head-to-head against the 
big chain establishments. With all the changes in publishing, all the 
changes in the economy, they've been a constant. Powell's has been a 
leader in ways that have made a big difference to us all.
  I was asked to share a memory of Powell's, which was kind of hard 
because I've got so many of them over the years.
  There is one experience that stands out. I love books. I'm a library 
junkie. I have my own study carrel in the Library of Congress, perhaps 
the most magnificent building in Washington, DC. I was having a tour 
for some Oregonians that were in town, going through the Library of 
Congress. We went up the staircase to look over that magnificent 
reading room, just a spectacular sight. It is hard to believe that it 
was built by the Corps of Engineers over 100 years ago.
  While we're standing there, looking down at the reading room, there 
were people from another tour crowding behind the Plexiglas, quietly 
oohing and ahhing. I turn to my right and there's someone wearing a 
Powell's City of Books t-shirt. I interrupt to say, ``That's cool, I'm 
from Portland, I represent the Powell's.'' Before you know it, the 
whole tour is disrupted because people are noticing the Powell's shirt 
and they're talking about how much they love Powell's. I thought it was 
a perfect expression of what Powell's means to Portland and to people 
around the country. Congratulations on 41 years. Thank you for 
enriching our city and our experience. We look forward to many more 
years of your success.

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