Comments on: SW 5th & Madison, 1965

By: Ryan Thompson (@RyanTee82)

Ryan Thompson (@RyanTee82) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:02:04 +0000

From wikipedia, about the Public Service Building on the left:

“Taking advantage of its being the tallest building in town, the utility companies added [[neon sign]]s atop the roof: “POWER”, “HEAT”, “GAS”, and “LIGHT”, each aimed in a cardinal direction. At some point all four sides of this sign said “PACIFIC POWER”.”

I’m guessing the four differing sides came before “PACIFIC POWER” (visible in the photo shown in this blog entry)?

By: stan

stan — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:55:51 +0000

In the 50′s the main Multnomah County jail facility was at Rocky Butte, but there was/is a a jail facility on the the 7th Floor of the courthouse that is currently only used for day use only. There also was a jail/lock up facility at the old Police Headquarters complex for city municipal offenses.

By: rod taylor

rod taylor — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:44:32 +0000

Both bus stations are in view here, the Greyhound 1 block north. This view should answer some questions that have come up regarding the inter-city buses from time to time.

Brian, the tower supported the county’s radio communication antenna in the days before microwave

I used to catch a trip once in awhile for Trailways, ’64-’68. Airport transfers between Pdx and Setac when fog would shut down one or the other. Never used the station here. Those Trailways Silver Eagles were a sweet sweet ride. Unlike that Corvair station wagon, they were safe at any speed. Had a stewardess to handle the crowd as well.

By: Tad

Tad — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:51:11 +0000

Brian – if you look at the aerial view (http://goo.gl/lp0jx) you’ll see the “extra” floors atop the courthouse are still there… perhaps less visible these days with the street trees and taller surrounding buildings (I never noticed them before).

As for the blocked-in windows, I’m going to guess this was where the jail was located before it was moved to its present location (Justice Center?).

By: BrianG

BrianG — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:40:56 +0000

I’m curious about the tall tower (atop the Courthouse or beyond?) and the blocked in upper windows of the Courthouse’s south facade – when were those removed?

Re: Dave’s street view post. It’s always so fascinating to see the transformation the Transit Mall, with it’s wide sidewalks and street trees, has had on 5th & 6th.

By: Dave Brunker (@dbrunker)

Dave Brunker (@dbrunker) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:17:43 +0000

Wow, that area has changed a lot. Street view http://goo.gl/maps/e8bB

By: Tom Jones

Tom Jones — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:41:28 +0000

There’s a real rare Corvair station wagon in the lower right corner of the photo, sitting in the parking lot pointed at the camera. They were only made for 2 years, 1961-62, and only a little more than 33,000 were ever built. I had a black 62 Monza coupe when they first came out.