Portland Public Schools open for the first day of the new year today. Nobody is going to the old Peninsula School these days however. The school, on the north side of N. Lombard Street at Knowles Avenue in 1945, has been replaced by an Arbies Arby’s fast food restaurant today.
(City of Portland Archives)
Tags: Oregon, Portland, PPS, school crossing, St. Johns
September 5, 2012 at 7:28 am
Peninsula School was eventually sold to the Archdiocese of Portland and was used as North Catholic High School from 1958-70. My dad was a member of NCHS’s last graduating class; a fire burned the school down that summer. While the main part of the building is now an Arbie’s, the gymnasium directly behind the school and an adjoining science wing facing Emerald Ave. still stand today. The football field directly behind the gym was also still intact until about ten years ago, when it was developed into condos. Below is a link to a photo gallery and some articles about the history of NCHS:
http://www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=18&SubSectionID=79
September 5, 2012 at 1:04 pm
The remaining section of the school is now the Open Meadow Middle School.
Also, at risk of being pedantic, it’s “Arby’s”.
September 5, 2012 at 6:31 pm
That Flag Pole is now in my front yard..
September 10, 2012 at 9:10 pm
I love the typography in ‘Peninusla School’ here. Did any other schools use a similar style? Are any extant?
September 11, 2012 at 4:02 am
Can anyone identify the second flag on the pole?
September 11, 2012 at 7:53 am
It looks like the “War Bonds” flag I knew as a child, but with the colors reversed.
September 11, 2012 at 7:59 am
IIRC we had bond drives in the schools–that continued into the Korean War era–and I think there were even postage-stamp sized bonds to paste in books like green stamps. Perhaps the flag was an award for bond sales in the school.
September 12, 2012 at 4:34 pm
The original school burned (was built in the teens, twenties – just look at the style of the first story, the main doors, and the glass above them) and was redone/rebuilt in the 30′s (hence the art deco).
No idea when the front half went away.. but yes part of the 30s section of the school (like the gym and some classrooms) remain.