Tourist At Pittock Mansion: “Now What?”

Anticipation dissolved quickly into ennui for Maria Lopez and her fiancé Tanya Green as they began the self-guided tour of Portland’s Pittock Mansion Sunday afternoon. The couple, on vacation from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had chosen the 105-year-old home as an absolute must-see during their visit. “We were really excited about this,” said Lopez. “TripAdvisor had it near the top of their list of things to do here, but so far it just seems like a big old house on a hill. Maybe the cool stuff is still to come?”⁣
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Unfortunately, the remainder of the tour, which delved into the lives of Henry and Georgiana Pittock, was completely lost on Lopez and Green. The surrounding lawn, while pleasant, didn’t do enough to pull their overall experience out of the doldrums of mediocrity. “I’m not sure if we missed something important or if we just set our expectations too high,” wondered Green. “Well shoot – now what? I’m kinda hungry, let’s check out that quirky donut shop in Old Town. TripAdvisor can’t be wrong twice, right?”