Official ground plan of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in the Northwest Portland/Guild’s Lake area. Guild’s Lake was completely filled in by the 1920s and very little remains of the exposition itself. Very cool map, lots of detail, very informative.
(City of Portland Archives)
Tags: Bridge of Nations, Centenial Exposition, Forestry Center, Guild's Lake, Lewis & Clark, Oregon, Oriental Palace, Portland, Union Printing Co.
March 28, 2012 at 7:19 am
On the far left of the map included in the Railway Equipment Co. buildings; bee deposit detector?
March 28, 2012 at 8:20 am
Very cool map.
The later Forestry Building, the world’s largest log building, must have been the American Inn. Did it really have overnight accommodations?
March 28, 2012 at 8:37 am
Sooo… this would be the area it was in? http://g.co/maps/b7ubk
March 28, 2012 at 9:34 am
Far left Wind Stacker? Googled it, pretty interesting machine.
March 28, 2012 at 10:32 am
@Carter: The later Forestry Building is the one labeled “Forestry”
(just to the northwest of the end of Upshur and next to the Oriental Palace).
March 28, 2012 at 10:49 am
Ah, yes. My sense of scale was way off.
March 28, 2012 at 10:54 am
The National Cash Register building at the corner of 26th and Wilson was moved to St. John’s and is now a the McMenamin’s St. John’s Pub.
http://www.crystalpalace51.org/ncr.htm
March 28, 2012 at 11:04 am
Very interesting to just take the time to browse the different buildings and concessions…and try to imagine what it would have been like to attend this huge Exposition in 1905. I wonder the impact this had on the growth of Portland.
March 28, 2012 at 12:06 pm
@ Dave Brunker,
Looks like you might have the right spot on the Google Map. It looks like the current NW Nicolai traces the path of what was Gray Boulevard/St. Helen’s Road on the Exposition map.
March 28, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Infant incubators?
A Glimpse of the Harem?
March 28, 2012 at 12:11 pm
If it can be assumed the the scale is correct, it is interesting to compare the foot print of the forestry bldg to it’s much larger neighbors.
As kids growing up in the 40′s, anywhere in the area you would probably have enjoyed a school field trip or two to the forestry bldg.the interior of which was huge and awe inspiring.All those huge logs holding up the roof were meant to convey the felling of being in a old growth forest and they sure did that.
Kind of makes you wish could have been around in ’05 to enjoy those other wonders.
Then I recall my grandmother telling me that the mosquitos were the lasting impression many took away. She said that the wise only attended the expo on windy days.
Thank you for posting.
March 28, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Great map. Here’s a photo that captures most of the fairgrounds:
http://historichoodriver.com/index.php?showimage=106
March 28, 2012 at 2:24 pm
My mom lived in Guilds lake in the 50′s when it was a housing development.
March 28, 2012 at 7:50 pm
I was looking at exhibit 114, on the far left side by the water. Can you imagine what they would do to you today if you used a road oiling machine today. You would probably get 10 years in prison.
I recalled as a kid, that a oiled road was much preferred over a dusty road.
March 28, 2012 at 8:09 pm
more photos of the event here
http://tinyurl.com/7y3huwg
It has a photo of the Infant incubators and claims to have living infants!
March 29, 2012 at 7:32 am
NativePDX, if you did road oiling today, hopefully you’d be paid for it. Check your Yellow Pages; there are several local contractors that offer road oiling services.
March 29, 2012 at 7:44 am
I didn’t know they still oiled roads, It must be a new earth friendly biodegradable oil. Unlike the old used oil, I’m sure they used when I was a kid.
Thanks for that.
March 29, 2012 at 10:18 am
There was great segment on incubators at fairs on PBS’s History Detectives. Shown on OPB not long ago.
March 29, 2012 at 12:41 pm
The Massachusetts building:
http://tinyurl.com/6mjv3px
was later moved across the river to become a private residence on SE Belmont:
http://tinyurl.com/787yy99
(scroll about halfway down the page)
It was demolished in the 1940s, I believe.
March 29, 2012 at 1:31 pm
There is also the same photo of the Massachusetts building on Mt Tabor at
http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/streetcars.html
half way down the page
March 29, 2012 at 2:06 pm
@Dan Faulkner and NativePDX: here’s a portion of a Sanborn Map showing the building location on Belmont from a previous post by Dan Davis when this building was discussed.
http://vintageportland.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/sanborn-josselyn-house.jpg
March 29, 2012 at 3:08 pm
thanks Brian.
A few years ago when I first saw the photo, I thought maybe it was around Laruralhurst park. But it just didn’t seem to fit. I later figured out, it was around where you show on the Sanborn map. But I was never really sure, exactly where it was.
March 29, 2012 at 3:38 pm
I have always been fascinated by the Lewis & Clark Exposition; ever since I saw pictures of it in an Oregonian Article many years ago. For those who also find this interesting, I heartily recommend the book “The Great Extravaganza: Portland and the Lewis and Clark Exposition” by Carl Abbott. The book is full of pictures and fun facts about the fair. I was able to grab a used, good condition copy from Powell’s for around $9.00.
If you have a Multnomah, or Clark County, WA library card you can download the June 1905 addendum to the Portland Sanford maps featuring a special 2 page overview of the Exposition.
March 29, 2012 at 4:08 pm
This looks like the Sanborn map here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osucommons/3818466011/in/set-72157619653342096/
March 29, 2012 at 8:59 pm
In fact road oiling machinery is still very much with us.The same technology, only slightly improved is very much in use. Ironically, there exists today at least three road oil blenders and distributors right now in the Guilds Lake industrial area. Asphalt, chip sealing as well as dust control depend on it.
April 4, 2012 at 6:05 pm
The remains of the flume that were used to fill in the lake are still visible in Lower Macleary Park.
http://www.1nova.com/photoblog/2010/05/27/danford-balch-homesite-and-witches-castle/
April 12, 2012 at 1:38 pm
I have one of these as well, it has the outer cover too — is it worth anything?
April 12, 2012 at 10:55 pm
Katy: this one sold for $10:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item484408086e&item=310379022446&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=Gmt2B%252FT06TKkAmTf6y3XxEgunjk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_1202
April 12, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Thanks – so probably not worth $300 to restore…
January 18, 2013 at 11:34 am
Here’s a crude overlay of the exposition map with a present day Google map:
http://oi45.tinypic.com/k0k0ud.jpg