John Jay and Old Town/Chinatown

In Sunday's Oregonian D.K. Row interviewed John Jay, who is not only executive creative director at Wieden + Kennedy (more or less the #2 guy to Dan Wieden), but also is playing an increasing role as a developer - particularly in the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood.

Jay and his wife, Janet, have teamed with Andy Ricker Richter, owner of Pok Pok (purveyor of some of the tastiest food I've ever tasted), to create a new restaurant called Ping in the old Hung Far Low lounge site at 4th and Couch. But Jay also has his hands in numerous other efforts. He hired Brad Cloepfil to renovate his Pietro Belluschi house two years ago, and then wound up collaborating with Cloepfil on the spec Macleay View House in the West Hills. Jay has also been supporting and following efforts to bring the Uwajimaya grocery store to Old Town Chinatown.

I've written about John Jay a few times in the past and find him an incredible personality. The guy never seems to sleep. If he emails you, chances are the message was sent in the middle of the night. He flies back and forth constantly between Portland, Tokyo, Shanghai, Amsterdam and New Dehli to Wieden's offices, and even at 60 has vastly more energy than I do at 36. Plus he can tell you anything about the most obscure graffiti artist, an early-80s hip hop group, high fashion trends in New York and Milan, and a vast array of contemporary art.

Here are some questions and answers between DK and Jay that I found interesting:

Row: Why should Chinatown be important?

Jay: Chinatown represents both the past and the future. It may well be potentially the most interesting and influential neighborhood in the city waiting for reinvention. It sits on the edge of Broadway, an area of creative energy with the Museum of Contemporary Craft and other galleries in the DeSoto Building. Then there's the 511 building owned by the Pacific Northwest College of Art that's poised to be the new incubator of artists and designers. From the Pearl, Chinatown leads to Old Town, which will evolve with the emergence of a rejuvenated White Stag building and its focus on architecture and design.

So, Chinatown sits in the middle of an emerging creative corridor.

What group of people will decide the fate of this area?

I wish I knew. I don't know. I hope the city will have a vision. I hope people at the Portland Development Commission understand that there are wonderful things happening in Old Town -- the White Stag building, for example, and much more. But that's not Chinatown.

What will Chinatown look like in the future? 

The growing prominence of Asian creatives in the world at large is huge right now. That's intersecting with the fact that there is this place called Old Town/Chinatown on the verge of being remade by someone -- by the city, by ground forces. And what does that future look like? The future may be a very contemporary expression of what used to be a Chinatown that is a multi-Asian ethnic neighborhood that includes a lot of creative forces. When you think about the early days of the Pearl, about TriBeCa and SoHo, it was always the arts that drove them. But this opportunity here is based on Asian culture, the importance of Asian culture and China and Tokyo. (Note: the above photo is by Michael Rubenstein.)

How do you keep this part of town distinct from the Pearl District?

This is wishful thinking but I would like to keep the area a little more affordable and younger. It's hard and difficult, of course: I can't blame developers because for them to make things work financially, they have to build luxury condos. We need the city's help. I remember talking to Sam Adams before he was elected. We were talking about the enthusiasm in Chinatown. He was very positive and supportive of the creative businesses in this town. I think he understands how important this area is.

Historically, what held the area from progress?

Well, the 900-pound gorilla is the presence of social services. I think those who live here have to embrace that because it's the authentic DNA. But whether or not the area can absorb more or not is up to the city. It's an area that's been down on its luck for a while -- businesses open, then close, and some people haven't felt entirely safe. Young people, however, don't fear that. I go back to my business and think about an encounter with Jay Chiat, who opened the advertising firm Chiat/Day. I saw him one time on Fifth Avenue in New York. He had just moved his offices there in the 1980s. I said, "Congratulations." He said, "Yeah, yeah, but we should be over on 10th and 11th avenues, where it's more shady and dangerous. This is a creative company. We shouldn't be that comfortable."

Comments

[ws]

For around here, he seems to be a big-time guy in terms of metropolitan sophistication and vibrant cultural awareness. I was interested to realize exactly which building his office/studio was located in, and that he appreciated presence in the area of little galleries like Motel (article mentions it's now closed) and the bigger gallery across the street that sells anime related stuff and limited production sneakers, but also featured exciting art upstairs. And of course, Chinatown/Old Town has a bunch more even lower overhead outlets for art in the area than these two.

Those kinds of galleries represent an important opportunity for lots of people that aren't going to have much of a shot in the Pearl.

I hope Chinatown/Old Town somehow is somehow able to expand and sustain it's grassroots arts emphasis and accessibility to low overhead, low capital investment gallery operators. I think this is essential to avoid the stale predictability that befalls some areas where infinitely rising property values are allowed to lead and define such an areas character.

John Jay sounds as though he might be the kind of guy that understands the importance of wide ranging social representation in the urban population mix. Chinatown/Old Town could become a little more savory from a social services standpoint, but it would stupid and inadvisable to support some kind of movement to displace existing social services and the people they represent from the area.

Clean up too much of these kinds of areas gritty life reality and away goes some important inspiration. Left remaining, often tends to be just another cozy place for people with a lot of money to spend in safe, familiarity.

[stan]

From what I understand a lot of the social service providers either own their buildings (central city concern) or have long term leases.

[stuart]

I think you mean Andy Ricker. Andy Richter is a comedian.

[B]

Nice piece on an interesting fellow. Funny no mention of the public spaces though that go along with the future of China Town such as the new festival streets or the CHINESE GARDENS! It's always about buildings isn't it?

[don]

I think it is fantastic that John Jay as well as others are putting new energy into Old Town/Chinatown. It is a very exciting time for a neighborhood with so much history and character.