Many of the old riverside docks have been demolished along Portland’s west side waterfront as workers prepare to build the seawall. A dredge works just south of the Burnside Bridge. Front Street is to the left of the buildings, and the one with the “CO.” on the side is the Central Block at Ash Street.
(City of Portland Archives)
Tags: Oregon, Portland, Sewer, Willamette River
August 9, 2012 at 10:10 am
This isn’t exact, but as close as I could get to the same view today: http://goo.gl/maps/ESbdI
August 9, 2012 at 11:20 am
Great stuff here. The underbelly exposed. The below grade door ways here originally provided convenient merchant access to the riverfront and the earlier wharves. True they could be turned to sinister and nefarious uses, crimping, smuggling and skulduggery but that was not their intent when they were put in place. Note the several saw logs that became sinkers and are hauled out and awaiting disposal. There are many of these sinkers still lurking on the bottom, perfectly sound old growth. Several outfits are making a good living salvaging these logs today. Interesting most of these logs are branded and their owners can i believe still assert ownership.
Interesting addition to the other fine photos previously posted here documenting this project. Thank you
August 9, 2012 at 1:17 pm
This actually gets you closer to the same spot.
http://goo.gl/maps/oR5OG
Also, here is an aerial view of the finished seawall. Ash Street is where the boats are tied up on the left. The intact warehouse that’s parallel to the water is visible in both images.
http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/westside-waterfront-1928/
August 10, 2012 at 5:09 pm
I always look forward to waterfront photos from this era. With the installation of it’s new seawall, it seems like Portland was in the last stages of it’s transition from the gritty port town it had been, to the cosmopolitan city it was to become. It’s also fascinating to realize, as Rod briefly pointed out, that the backs of those elegant Front street cast iron buildings actually ran down to the waters edge, and sometimes well below water line, and with the docks removed we see a raw and unrefined side of Portland that I find immensely appealing