An unusually highly detailed look at the Forestry Building following the Lewis & Clark Exposition of 1905. This view is looking north; that’s likely a bit of the Oriental Palace showing in the background. Thanks to Scott Smith for pointing out this image, courtesy of The Field Museum.
(The Field Museum)
Tags: Centennial Exposition, Expo, Forestry Center, Oregon, Portland
March 1, 2013 at 6:23 am
No wonder this building is so fondly remembered, and sorely missed. It was a gem! Do we know the cause of the fire that destroyed it?
March 1, 2013 at 6:32 am
Oh, my. Wouldn’t it be grand to have this building still with us? I’ll bet others at the exposition would be popular today, given the right circumstances.
March 1, 2013 at 7:50 am
The cause of the fire in 1964 was determined to have been caused by faulty wiring.
March 1, 2013 at 7:54 am
I wonder if this building like all of the other buildings at the L and C Exposition was designed to be a temporary building. Therev was no foundation on this building in pictures of it being built.
March 1, 2013 at 8:14 am
Looks almost the same today
March 1, 2013 at 10:05 am
The Glacier Park Lodge in Montana was supposedly modeled after the Forestry building. It is much nicer.
March 1, 2013 at 11:33 am
@Carter – haha I bet it is, since the original burned down 50 years ago O_o
March 1, 2013 at 11:47 am
OK, it is much nicer now than the original was then. I didn’t specify because everyone knows it burned down. I was late learning that–I was at the beach with my family that day and didn’t learn about it until the evening of the day it burned down.
March 1, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Eric C. The Forestry Building burned down in 1964. Don’t age me before my time.
March 1, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Every school child in Portland went there on a field trip back in the day. That and Omsi to see the plastic lady. Lol.
March 1, 2013 at 1:11 pm
OMG The plastic lady at OMSI. I havent thought
about that in decades!
March 1, 2013 at 1:54 pm
My mother says she remembers going to the original Forestry Center.
It’s a little off topic but did you see the Flickr gallery posted on the Oregon Department of Transportation’s 100th birthday? There’s still a stop light at the same corner were Oregon’s first electric stop light was installed in downtown Portland.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregondot/8515604827/in/set-72157632879113811/
March 1, 2013 at 10:29 pm
There is a great vintage photo of the Forestry Center which show people standing near the doorway-It really captures the size of the building. ( I got my copy at the Pittock gift shop-years ago). This building was one of my favorite childhood memories.
March 2, 2013 at 5:09 am
I have fond memories of going there with my Dad. Thanks
March 2, 2013 at 9:06 am
Great photo. I was living about a block away when it burned down. It was a very frightening experience. The flames were huge and people near by were keeping their roofs wet with water from their hoses. It was a sight I shall never forget. Sad to loose that beautiful building tucked into those tall fir trees.
March 2, 2013 at 9:10 am
The fir trees are not in the photo. They must have been babies in 1905.
March 2, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Dave Brunker: Thanks for the link to the ODOT photos. I like how they have a photo captioned, “Cars make their way out of a tunnel near Bonneville in 1937.” Those aren’t just any old “cars”; they’re President Roosevelt’s motorcade during the dedications of Bonneville Dam and Timberline Lodge in 1937.
March 2, 2013 at 5:05 pm
google: forestry building, portland then click images.
Check out the photos with the people inside the building, it will show the massive size of the interior.
March 3, 2013 at 8:28 am
My parents…many, many stories. ME? I was 2 when it burned down. Alas, I got to see the grand opening of the ‘new’ on in about ’72. Was a big occasion, school field trip and all. I saw Tom McCall cut the ribbon.
March 3, 2013 at 8:33 am
@DAVE: You say downtown…but it’s not one of the original, 2-light, Red/Greens is it? I’ve NEVER seen one in my entire lifetime.
And you know what? I miss the CANTEL wooden, folding sidewalk / street barricades. I HAD ONE in my dad’s garage until I threw it out about 10 years ago. My God, there were 10,000+ in Portland as a teen and younger. I see none left now. Probably some for sale in artsy-fartsy antique / boutique stores.
March 3, 2013 at 8:58 am
I visited the building in 1954 and loved it. Some online sources say the building was designed by A.E. Doyle (1877-1928), one of Portland’s great architects. He made the interior like the nave of a gothic cathedral, with huge trees in place of stone columns. The exterior is reminiscent of cottages Doyle designed elsewhere, such as the Reed College faculty houses (now language houses) facing Woodstock Blvd. (1922). An excellent biography is “Beauty of the City: A.E. Doyle, Portland’s Architect” by Philip Niles.