Grimm Episode 15 Portland filming locations

Grimm Episode 15: "Island of Dreams"
Summary: "When the Wesen spice shop is robbed, Nick discovers that the criminals may have been after a rare and dangerous drug."
Aired: Friday, March 30


New Locations: Featuring Portland's Central Eastside Industrial District


Opening scene:
Episode 15 opens at the Portland Art Museum. Have any of you die-hard fans out there identified the painting of the woman yet?

'La Bella' on nbc.com/grimm

Many thanks to a reader for identifying the painting! (See comments below.) The painting 'La Bella (Woman in a Blue Dress)' was part of the Titian exhibit, which ran at the Portland Art Museum for several months this winter. This OregonLive article provides some good background.

Scene of the Crime:
You will recognize this episode's scene of the crime as the same Spice Shop from Episode 10 ("Organ Grinder"). These were filmed at the historic Rich Hotel building at 205 Couch.

Home Sweet Home:

We get a little glimpse inside 3 of the characters' homes this week (mainly interior shots).
1. Adalind's Kitchen - where she hexes up a batch of cookies for Hank.

Cherry Blossoms NOW

Grab a cup of coffee, gear up, and follow the trail up the waterfront to the cherry blossom extravaganza currently blooming.  I know it's raining, but now is the time; the trees are blooming.


Officially, the Japanese American Historical Plaza, 100 ornamental cherry trees were planted here amid  a group of sculptures, all dedicated to the story of the Japanese people in the Pacific Northwest.

The cherry trees are located on the west side of the Willamette, between the Burnside and Steele Bridges.

Tomorrow the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center will be celebrating "Sakura Sunday" at the plaza.

The Osprey are Back

Much has happened on the South Waterfront osprey front!

Hoffman crew helps move the platform pole.

1. The osprey platform has been relocated to its new location.

From Carol Otis:
"With the permission of Williams Dame Development Corporation and the work of Hoffman Construction Company, the osprey platform pole was moved Dec 1, from its 2011 site on Portland City property, to the adjacent land parcel privately owned by Williams Dame Development Corporation."

Moving a 40 foot, 8 ton steel platform and pole is no small task!

2. The osprey now have their own Facebook page: www.facebook.com/OspreySociety

They also have a new live osprey cam, available via this UStream channel: www.ustream.tv/channel/osprey-society

3. And last but not least, the osprey have returned from their annual Mexican vacation! I received a note today: "First ospreys seen around SWF today March 25 @ 9:30 am!" Check out the live osprey cam for to see the latest.

For more information about the South Waterfront osprey:

• Videos of the entire season: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXVCfh6l2-I&list=FLr5T-LMDIXoAqAMjTEgARbg&feature=mh_lolz
• Zidell's website about the 5 years of the osprey in the SWF: http://www.zidell.com/Osprey/osprey_01.html
• USGS fact sheet about Oregon osprey, co-authored by Dr. Robert Grove, who lectured about the osprey at SWF in October 2011: http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/fs/fs-153-02.pdf

Grimm's Portland Police Station filming location

The "Portland Police Station" in Grimm is prominentaly featured in many episodes. 

The exterior of the US Custom House was used in filming. The building is located on the North Park blocks, it covers "a full block bounded by NW Broadway, Everett and Davis Streets, and Eighth Avenue".  It was built in 1898–1901 and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. 

US Customs House on 8th Ave

US Customs House on 8th Ave

The property was auctioned off in March 2012 for $4.74M to Eastern Real Estate LLC, and is currently a co-working space.

View US Custom House on googlemaps

I'm compiling a listing of other Grimm Portland filming locations on the US National Historic Register posted here: http://www.mysouthwaterfront.com/2024/03/national-register-of-historic-places.html

The Dale Frank Jr. Barge at Zidell 2011

Photo mysouthwaterfront.com

Harley Marine orders barges at Zidell and U.S. Barge

"The first barge, to be named DALE FRANK JR., is being built at Zidell Marine in Portland, Oregon. It is a double hull petroleum barge measuring 289 ft x 78 ft x 24 ft with a carrying capacity of 52,000 barrels. The fourth in its class, it is a sister barge to the WEBB MOFFETT. and is expected to be completed and delivered to Harley Marine Services in October 2011."

If you want to delve into some ship-building history, here is a full list dating back to 1961, of ships built by Zidell in Portland: 

Zidell Ship-building history from '66 to the present:

"Zidell Marine started life in 1946 when Emery Zidell bought the former Commercial Iron Works yard just south of Portland's Ross Island Bridge and renamed it Zidell Ship Dismantling.   It quickly became the largest shipbreaker in the U.S., scrapping 336 oceangoing ships in the course of the next 30 years.  In 1960, as the scrapping business began to slow, Zidell started building barges on the same site."