Waverleigh Blvd Historical Sidewalk Stamp
This is in Portland, OR.
Submitted 3/14/2025
45.498062, -122.633642
I tried to appeal this submission but it still got rejected for being generic.
I felt like this sidewalk stamp differs than others in that it doesn’t repeat at all throughout the city, this in the only one in the city, and it is completely unique in that way. I also felt that this particular street is interesting since it only goes for 3 blocks and has a center median, which doesn’t exist anywhere else in the city.
I did have a separate nomination get approved near this area so I don’t plan to resubmit this one but there are a few unique sidewalk stamps I have found while exploring the city and would hope I could submit them in the future.
It has been really fun for me to go on walks and keep an eye out for these more unique stamps!
Any advice on how to frame these to show that they are historically interesting?
Sidewalk stamps, ones that were done by the company that laid the sidewalk with the year it was laid, really aren’t of historic value. I know that in Portland there seems to be a good deal of these stamps that have been approved as Wayspots, but I don’t see any historical value to them. You also shouldn’t base what you nominate off of what already are Wayspots, as criteria does change from time to time, or things get approved by the community that aren’t eligible.
We have them in my city, but they are every few meters, so quite close to each other, and the companies that laid the sidewalk may not even be around anymore and may have just been a generic paving business.
Also, looking at the photo, this stamp seems to be right next to the street, which would be an unsafe location. Anything that is on the curb of a street isn’t the safest location for pedestrians. While you could interact with the Wayspot that is on a street curb from a safe area, like the sidewalk, Wayfarer expects that all approved Wayspots are safe to interact with at the exact location, not from a distance.
A sidewalk stamp that is allowable would be one that stamps some kind of art into the cement, like a poem, or has an interesting piece of knowledge. We have sidewalk poems in my area, and I even had one approved. This is something I’d want to explore, and I bet others do as well.
Lastly, this stamp is just the name of the street, which is similar to a regular street sign on the corner of an intersection, so that also doesn’t make it distinct; it’s pretty generic, IMO.
This bit is simply not true. Sidewalks are usually next to roadways, and are generally regarded as safe places for pedestrians to stand.
If there was a vertical wall immediately adjacent to the roadway, it might be unsafe to reach the curb without standing in the road, but a sidewalk intended for safe passage by pedestrians is the epitome of ‘safe and accessible’.
If Wayfarers move the goalposts this way they will eventually rule out everything as only six degrees of separation from something in the actual criteria.
Not this area of the sidewalk, right next to the street. Not all sidewalks are a bit away from the street, some are right next to them. It varies all around the world.
This also appears to be an intersection of a crosswalk area, so also not the safest.
And yes, staff has said on several occassions that we are supposed to expect to interact with a Wayspot at its exact location, not from a distance. Yes, you can be 80 m from a stop/gym in PoGo to interact with it, but Wayfarer isn’t game specific. PoGo set the 80 m rule, not Wayfarer; Wayfarer still expects one to be right at the exact location to interact, regardless of the games.
Yes, there are exceptions to this, but mainly for art on a wall, for example, something to that nature. You aren’t expected to climb the wall to interact with the artwork on the wall. However, if something is at ground level, there must be safe access at the exact location.
This is where the criteria is confusing to me.
I understand that general sidewalk stamps are just that - general and generic. Is it not interesting enough that this is the only street with this stamp?
And on your other point about historical stamps with contractor name and year: who does this HAVE to appeal to? I personally find the history of them super interesting. There is an entire website dedicated to tracking these locations and the history of the company and road. Just food for thought
Also I disagree about the fact this is a dangerous location. It’s literally on the sidewalk and is right next to a high school football stadium. I digress.
So I assume it’s somewhere around 45.498210026653496, -122.63352330229836 then? I actually see a few of these at the crosswalk entrances on this street, so it’s not the only one on S Waverleigh Blvd. Street View shows there’s some near the intersection with SE 31st Ave and SE 29th Ave. It also appears that these may be getting removed, as many of these crosswalks aren’t suitable for those with disabilities, as there was work being done last year on Street View at some of the crosswalks to make them more accessible.
This is just a street name sign in my eyes. Yes, there are other places in the world that have somewhat unique street signs, for example Spain has tiled signs, but they are just street signs, infrastructure to tell you where you are. And like noted above, sidewalks/crosswalks get replaced from time to time, as they do erode from weather and usage wear, and may need to be updated to be more accessible.
I don’t think most people find sidewalk production stamps that interesting and/or historic. I have never once wanted to look up the ones that are on the sidewalk outside of my apartment building, and most people likely don’t find them of interest either.
Just curious on your thoughts about one like this.
This stamp was put in place when there were plans to have Rhine St go through here, but ultimately Rhine St was never put in. Is this considered an interesting place to explore? Or break the news to me that I am boring my friends on walks
I think most don’t see these are being historical or very unique, not being great places to explore. They’re hard to sell and get approved by both the community and the appeals team.
Also, are you for sure that Rhine St didn’t exist here at one point? The football field and building across the way don’t seem that old, so to me it would seem the area was redeveloped at some point. SE Rhine St starts at around SE 36th Ave to SE 38th Ave just east of the football field.
