This richly colored 1890 bird’s-eye view illustration of Portland showed the city from the industrial Northwest to South Portland and included Albina and East Portland. It also featured detailed views of select homes and businesses. A key at the bottom located many other properties.
(Library of Congress/City of Portland)
Tags: Historic Photo, James Wood, Map, Portland, postaday2011, Real Estate
April 15, 2011 at 6:13 am
Another great post Dan. Couple of questions and speculations. I think the Great Exposition building (upper left corner) was the precursor to the main entrance at PGE park at SW 18th & Morrison, per this Scotty Moore post: http://www.scottymoore.net/portland57.html
The Worcester Block is labeled the H.W. Corbett Building (even though the reproduced photo includes a big sign on the building that says “Worcester Block”). Did this building have more than one name? I believe the production of this lithograph predates the construction of the former Corbett building that was located at the current site of Pioneer Place.
Portland City Hall – was this the City Hall at Second and Ash that was replaced with the current city hall (per wikipedia)? Or is this the original proposed design of the current City Hall?
April 15, 2011 at 6:56 am
Jim-
Exposition Building: I think you are correct, and it appears as the large yellow building at lower left, along upper Burnside.
Worcester Block: It was apparently built for H.W. Corbett, therefore the confusion of names. See the VP post here: http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/worcester-building-1909/
City Hall: I gather (from Wikipedia) that this is the design for the current site at SW 4th and Jefferson that was started, taken apart, then built to the design we have today. An impressive and ambitious design, if nothing else!
April 15, 2011 at 9:01 am
Thanks Dan. If I’m not mistaken, it appears that the artist also took some creative license in his depiction of the original Oregonian Building at Sixth and Alder. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a picture that depicts the building with a steeple on top of the tower. Another example of redesign before construction?
BTW: What are the two buildings at the top right corner? Anyone know?
April 15, 2011 at 9:29 am
Since this is a Library of Congress image, it’s in the public domain – do you know if there’s a higher resolution image of it available someplace?
April 15, 2011 at 10:27 am
You used to be able to purchase reprints of this at the Oregon Historical Society – not sure if they still have them.
The City Hall image is what our City hall was supposed to look like. Before construction was finished, the project was halted and architect Hefty was replaced by Whidden & Lewis, who completed the project in a more modest fashion – the City Hall we know today.
April 15, 2011 at 10:27 am
Robert – You can get a PDF version from the City of Portland archives that’s 10,000 pixels wide (twice what I’ve posted here).
http://efiles.ci.portland.or.us/webdrawer/search/rec?sm_anyword=Portland%20birds%20eye%20view%20map&sort1=rs_dateCreated&count&rows=50
April 15, 2011 at 11:01 am
Cool stuff. Has anyone noticed that the Portland Savings Bank shown in lower left corner is replicated in the upper right corner, but with the top floors of the buildings removed, and some other minor changes? Or am I imagining?
April 15, 2011 at 11:17 am
In the excellent book “Classic Houses of Portland Oregon 1850-1950″ there is a mention of Architect Henry J. Hefty. Apparently the city hall pictured here was never built because of “exorbitant costs”, and the business recession of 1893.
April 15, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Jim, here is a link to an earlier Vintage Portland post concerning the Kamm building which is one of the buildings in the upper right corner of this map.
http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/kamm-block-circa-1900/
April 15, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Edmund, thanks for the link to the previous Vintage Portland post regarding the Kamm building, but I was specifically referring to the two adjoined buildings in the upper right photo square. The interior photo of First National Bank looks like it obscures the area where the building title would be. I don’t believe either building above the interior shot is Henry Failing’s First National Bank.
I could be mistaken, but I believe the original First National Bank was located in the building that currently houses the Portland Outdoor Store. I’ll have to check my copy of “Progressive Portland.”
April 15, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Interesting to note the old street numbering. In the illustration both the Curtis:
http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/the-curtis/
and from a couple days ago Temple Beth Israel: http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/temple-beth-israel-1904/
can be seen located on 12th and 10th respectively. After the re-numbering of, I believe, 1894 these would become the current 14th and 12th, respectively.
April 15, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Jim,
Compare that mystery building in the upper right corner (above the First National interior) and the Portland Savings Bank in the lower left corner. The mystery building is the PSB with top chopped off. Guess the artist needed to fill some space.
April 15, 2011 at 6:39 pm
I have this on my wall. Got it at that wonderful map store by Pike Place in Seattle. How fun to see it on this site.
I’m also pretty sure that the Timbers used this image as a huge backdrop on the side of one of their concession stands facing 18th at around Yamhill. It’s really faint and has other imagery on top of it so it’s hard to tell, but it sure looked familiar.
April 15, 2011 at 8:28 pm
TomK: It took you saying it twice, but yes, you’re absolutely correct. Good eye, thank you. The artist not only had to fill some space, he also apparently had access to a different temporal reality.*
*To be fair, this panorama includes a lot of detail that is accurate for the time period. Check out Broadway and Jefferson. The Ladd Carriage house is depicted as well as the Ladd mansion. Maybe the artist was going from the PDC plans of his day. It’s clear this panorama not only existed for the most part, but was supposed to exist based on a couple of later revised city plans.
April 16, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Dan, note the drawing of the Killingsworth house that I send you a copy of the photo of. What is the place on the 3east side below theleft side of the Dolph, Thompson & etc. etc. inset that looks sort of like it might be Washington HS in the center rear? If I count streets, that would be about 12th or so, but then again, the intersection of what I assume is Burnside and Sandy is much closer in. Also, notice a pretty fancy looking building over toward Powell I am curious about under the right side of the Dolph, etc. etc. inset as well that has me curious. Assuming they exist tho’. I have this map in about a 3 by 2 ft format but it hasn’t helped me much figure out where stuff is!
April 17, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Roxanne, I believe this map would have been well before Washington HS existed, wouldn’t it? According to wiki Washington (East Side) HS didn’t open until 1906.
Also, in 1890 Sandy only went as far as 16th and Davis. See this earlier VP map from 1894:
http://vintageportland.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/paving-map-of-portland-january-1-1894.jpg
Stark is pretty clear on this map and if you count north 5 blocks you can see Burnside (which looks like it’s still labeled “B” though it’s very hard to read — next block north C is a bit easier) which fits as it’s two blocks south of where Sandy is merging with what is Davis.
April 17, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Roxanne – I believe the building you’re thinking might be Washington HS is probably the old Sisters of Mercy Home for the Aged, the tower of which was visible from 28th and Stark.
http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/se-stark-28th-1937/
April 18, 2011 at 5:24 am
Ah, yes. I had forgotten the date involved, re:East side high school. Sisters of Mercy. OK. That sounds good. What WAS the road on the east side running off at the NE angle from about Burnside?
April 18, 2011 at 5:35 am
I notice that the street south of Oregon was called “Willamette” at the time.
April 21, 2011 at 9:35 pm
TomK –
I have a reprint of this same map, but in the version I have, the corner of the map in this area is ripped off (damage done before it was archived?). In this version, someone has Photoshopped the building from the lower left onto the area where that part of the map was missing. Here is the link to the original, damaged version:
http://www.kroll-antique-maps.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/USCities/PortlandOR1890.jpg
Good eye!
April 21, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Also, there is a misspelling of the name of the John Palmer residence. They have it as John Parker. This amazing residence is still standing (and completely restored!) on the corner of Albina and Skidmore.
http://www.johnpalmerhouse.com/John_Palmer_House/Welcome.html
April 23, 2011 at 10:02 am
EricC,
Mystery solved. Thanks.
June 27, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Hi All,
I’m curious about the peninsula on the far south of the map, south of Hawthorne, North of Taggart/Powell. It shows a small bridge leading to it. Would that mean that the area that is currently industrial which 99E passes over, was once water-logged? When do you think Portland ‘reclaimed’ that area. I suspect it was filled in?
On a side note, this blog is my new obsession! Thank you!!
June 28, 2011 at 9:50 pm
aly star, yep, that area was filled in as was much of the east side of the river. If you look on the map you’ll see that many lower east side streets (Water, 4th/Union/MLK, between the Morrison and Madison bridges for example) were built on pilings above the low-lying ground (as were several buildings visible on the map). Also note how close Water St. is to the river in that stretch compared to how far inland Water St. is today between the Morrison and Hawthorne bridges.
As for when it was filled it, I suspect shortly after this map was made as it is already gone in this 1894 map (though you can still see a viaduct there on 5th/Grand). By the way, you can also see on that 1894 paving map the many other east side streets built on pilings as viaducts (shown in blue).
June 28, 2011 at 9:59 pm
aly star, here’s another reference to the filling-in of the east side, which says, in part,
“The low areas and sloughs on the east side of the river were filled as the city grew, especially after the consolidation of East Portland and Albina into Portland in 1891. Portions of Mocks Bottom and Swan Island were filled to facilitate industrialization of these areas. The east bank of the Willamette moved westward, and the river channel narrowed through downtown.”
April 13, 2012 at 10:27 pm
This is the first map that clearly shows King “Street” I’ve seen in a while! I’d love to find out what used to be at 901 SW King Ave. before the King Tower, currently Celio building was built in 1950-51. Do you have any pointers?
April 14, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Onya, the residence that was previously located at 901 SW King Ave. was the incredible William Honeyman mansion. Built in 1893, and designed by Whidden & Lewis. The Richardsonian/ French chateau style house was constructed of tenino sandstone with a heavy slate roof, and the romantic corner tower and dormer windows had matching copper finials. Many similarly built houses have lasted centuries with very little maintenance. Ironically, the house lasted less than a century because its desirable location
and economic forces ensured its destruction.
April 14, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Onya, here’s a picture of the place courtesy of U of O’s digital collections. HTH. Edmund
http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archpnw&CISOPTR=9319&CISOBOX=1&REC=4
April 14, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Swear to God, I have a framed original print of this hanging in my living room. I found it for $1.00 at a garage sale back in ’93. Very detailed.
April 18, 2012 at 10:25 am
Edmund… much appreciated! This is a stunning photo and I knew the stone wall that’s currently surrounding the Celio building must have had something to do with how the houses were situated there before. Time to dig through the census and find out more about the family who lived there! Thanks again – I spent hours studying a Goose Hallow book to find something about this location. MANY THANKS!
December 7, 2012 at 7:55 am
I still have mine beautifully framed and in excellent condition. I’ve been off work for 2 years now and might be willing to reluctantly part with it. Anyone interested at $100?