Armistice Day Parade, 1919

VP fan Scott Blyth sent in this great photo of Portland’s 1919 Armistice Day parade. “My paternal grandfather Reginald Arthur Blyth was heading up the Canadian contingent and is marching with his officer’s cane directed towards the ground.” The parade is heading east on SW Alder at Park Avenue; both the 1908 Cornelius Hotel and the 1912 Woodlark Building in the background are still there. Thanks again, Scott!

Update: This is actually the Rose Festival Military and Naval Parade, held on June 12, 1919. See the comments for more information.

(Scott Blyth)

Henry Corbett House, c1910

After yesterday’s post, I’m going to agree with Edmund’s determination that this was the Henry Jagger Corbett house on SW Park and Main. We had earlier seen this house as the Henry Ladd Corbett house, so the middle name is still a question. Roxanne sent in today’s photo as corroborating evidence. Yesterday’s photo would be looking southeast at the back of the home. Today’s photo shows it looking southwest with the Park Avenue front of the home on the left. The Elliot R. Corbett house shared the same block. Thanks again, Roxanne, and to Edmund for the positive ID. One more mystery solved!

(Roxanne Cummings)

Portland State Campus, 1959

The campus at Portland State College (now University) has undergone many changes over the decades. Vehicular traffic was still allowed on SW Park, now a pedestrian mall. Many buildings have either been replaced or drastically transformed; the Smith Memorial Student Union is now twice as tall as it was in 1959. This view looks north on SW Park from Harrison.

(City of Portland Archives)

SW Park Ave, 1933

A Union Pacific Stages bus on the Columbia River Route pulls into the Central Stage Depot on SW Park between Yamhill and Taylor in 1933. This is possibly a wood-frame bus and wicker seats can be seen through the windows. A similar scene was shown here.

(City of Portland Archives)

SW Park Avenue, 1940

This 1940 view is north on SW Park Avenue just south of Market Street. The apartment on the left is the extant Parkway Manor. SW Park doesn’t look nearly this wide now, does it?

(City of Portland Archives)

Madison Park Apartments, 1972

While the tower of the First Congregational Church featured in yesterday’s post dominates this photo, what really caught my eye was the graceful Second Empire-style Madison Park Apartments on the right. It was completed in 1908 on the southeast corner of SW Park at Madison Street. A fire in December 1972 killed two people and extensively damaged the building. It was demolished in 1974.

(University of Oregon Libraries)

First Congregational Church, 1902

The First Congregational Church, at SW Park & Madison Street, is shown here seven years after its completion in 1895. It was designed to look similar to the Old South Church in Boston and for many years was the tallest building in Portland. The 175-foot bell tower still stands but the smaller towers and cuppola were removed in 1951 due to extensive damage.

(City of Portland Archives)