wacky wednesday - carpet conundrum

My sweet husband and I graduated from the same high school in the seventies. Our alma mater was closed in 1983 and soon after was demolished to make room for condominiums and a hotel. I regret, now, not purchasing a brick when the town offered them to the public. It would be a nice memento to document that part of our history. But at the time, as twenty-somethings just starting a family, buying a brick seemed like a silly thing to do when there were other things we really needed.

It was with an equal mix of empathy and amusement that I read a recent article (The Wall Street Journal, 1/30/15) about Portland International Airport (PDX) and their carpet dilemma. When an internal audit revealed the carpet was beyond repair and needed to be replaced, plans were set in motion to find a replacement for the almost 30-year old carpet. The airport certainly did not expect the public dismay that ensued.

To say Portlanders love their airport carpet is a gross understatement. They compare it to the St. Louis Arch or the Seattle Space Needle. It's an icon that uniquely represents their city. It has become the background for more than 31,000 Instagram photos of feet and has more than 1,500 followers on Twitter. And yes, I am speaking about the CARPET, not the airport in general. At least one Portlander had the pattern tattooed on her back. People dress up as the carpet on Halloween. Are you getting the idea that it is a very big deal?

So what does this rug look like? It is 28,000-square feet of teal background with "large, dark blue, purple and red X's that resemble the pattern of the airport's criss-crossing runways as seen from the control tower." The designers, Jon Schleuning and Laura Hill, never dreamt it would have a cult following nearly three decades later.

So why didn't airport officials just quietly replace the old carpet with the same design? Because they never noticed the carpet mania! The new carpet had been designed and ordered before they realized
how wildly popular the old design was. Oops.

In the meantime, enterprising businesses have capitalized on its popularity and products with the iconic pattern are springing up everywhere. Everything from key chains, socks and t-shirts to an Adidas (whose North American headquarters are in Portland) PDX carpet shoe are available to remind Portlanders of their beloved carpet. The airport will give away sections of the old carpet to businesses whose proposals on what they will do with it meets airport approval. According to FaceBook (The Carpet at Portland Airport), the businesses/vendors selected will receive 1000-square yard rolls with the expectation that they will be cut into smaller blocks and sold to individuals.

After all, everyone wants their own piece of history.