I had to follow up yesterday’s Reservoir #5 post with this related photo. It shows the house on the hill in much more detail. I believe this may have been the home of Rev. C.O. Hosford, who owned land (indicated on this map) that coincided with the location of the reservoir.
(City of Portland Archives)
Tags: Mount Tabor, Oregon, Portland, Reservoir
June 14, 2012 at 7:33 am
The house most probably survives here on site to act as project headquarters. There was a large engineering staff to go along with the pick and shovel boys, you can bet on it, and they need a place to lay out their drawings. Most likely there were a couple of draftsmen on site as well as timekeepers and foremen. There would also be fireman/watchman 24/7 to keep up steam on the machinery. Good fortune has provided a nice structure.
Nowadays there are a number of company’s providing lease work-site infrastructure, portable offices and port a potties and the like but in the time era we are looking at the norm would have been a drafty canvas roofed temporary shack. Just to provide a space to examine the drawings requires the equivalent of two large dining room tables and believe me there were hundreds of drawings required here. This was no seat of the pants, scratch a line in the dirt project. A couple of D9s a Mack truck and a tracked excavator and you would pretty much be up to date but we would miss that great looking mule from yesterdays view.
Fun to imagine living there but.
Another great view .
June 14, 2012 at 8:49 am
Thanks for both posts, very interesting.
June 14, 2012 at 9:45 am
Is that the same Hosford as in Hosford-Abernathy neighborhood?
June 14, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood (note the second E in Abernethy) was named after two schools within its boundaries.
Hosford School was named in honor of Rev. Hosford who owned some 200 acres of land around Mt. Tabor. The report I read said he died on Mt. Tabor in 1913, a few years after these pictures.
June 14, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Very interesting series of images, have a lot of good memories in that park overlooking that reservoir. Rod is probably right in that the house is likely vacant other than for the work crew. The ground looks pretty worn around it and parts of the house look stripped. At the present location, it looks like around the location of the Reservoir Loop Drive.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=portland,+or&hl=en&ll=45.510924,-122.596967&spn=0.003089,0.005252&hnear=Portland,+Multnomah,+Oregon&gl=us&t=h&z=18
February 12, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Wonderful goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely wonderful.
I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it wise. I can not wait to read far more from you. This is really a wonderful web site.