This photo is a bit of a mystery. The record for it says, “Photo is documenting extension of Sandy to SE Belmont.” I don’t know exactly which corner it was but I have a feeling it looks southwest at Burnside and 12th where Sandy will make its diagonal cut. This must have been the golden age of billboards; this one is a beauty!
(City of Portland Archives)
VP fan and past contributor Roxanne has sent in this beautifully rendered but optimistically titled postcard showing a “typical residence” in Portland circa 1909. Roxanne is trying to find the present (but probably past) location of this home. Some websites place this on the Corbett property at SW Park and Main Street but we’ve seen both homes on that block, neither of which match this home. Does anyone have any correct information on this location? Thanks for sending this, Roxanne.
(Roxanne Cummings)
The University of Oregon Libraries gives this photo conflicting information. It identifies this establishment as the Perkins Hotel Grill but gives its location as the corner of SW 6th and Washington. The Perkins Hotel was on 5th and Washington and the photo matches neither face in this view of the hotel so I’m not 100% convinced this is correct. If anyone has any more clues or information (or confirmation), please let us know via the comments for this post.
(University of Oregon Libraries)
A 1967 street widening project caused the six towering trees on the next block in this photo to be felled. Can you identify this location? Extra points if you can name the person on whose property the trees once grew.
(City of Portland Archives)
This modern design office building, shown here in 1961, is still standing somewhere in the Portland area. Its landscaping is nicely matured and the building is somewhat hidden on the Google Maps street view but it’s there for you to find. Good luck!
(University of Oregon Libraries)
VP fan Frank Vaccarezza sent this postcard showing his great uncle and his grandfather, Paul and Frank DeBenedetti, in front of the men’s clothing store they owned. Frank’s grandparents moved their clothing store from San Francisco in 1913. His great uncle was 18 that year and Frank thinks he looks a bit older than that so it would put the store in Portland.
So a couple questions here; is this really Portland, and if so, where? Their San Francisco store was located in an Italian neighborhood and they may have done the same when they relocated to Portland. There’s also an address in the upper left corner that might be “371″ which would be Portland’s old street numbering systems. Frank knows that they had a storefront at 282 Grand in the 1916-1918 time frame so the “371″ address may have been the initial store before they moved to Grand. I’m hoping the expert Vintage Portland community can help Frank add a little information to his family history.
(Frank Vaccarezza)
The EE Coovert house location is identified on the UofO Libraries website as being on NE Halsey between 2nd and 3rd but that’s incorrect. This impressive Italian villa-style house still stands elsewhere in the Portland area. You will need all of your Vintage Portland sleuthing skills and resources to track this one down. Good luck!
(University of Oregon Libraries)
