Another image of the May 1948 flood that swamped many low lying areas along Portland’s waterfront. This photo looks north along NW Front from under the Steel Bridge ramp. Union Station is to the left and the Broadway Bridge in the background. The industrial property along the right was decades away from becoming McCormick Pier Condos.
(City of Portland Archives)
There’s a lot of nice detail in this 1960 bird’s-eye view of Portland’s Northwest industrial area, including Swan Island. Although there’s been much growth in the past 50+ years, both areas look remarkably similar today.
(City of Portland Archives)
Associated with yesterday’s photo is this one, also labeled “SE” Water that’s actually SW Water Street. Just south of the area shown yesterday were several lumber and shingle mills. The photographer may have just turned 90 degrees to the right and made another image.
(City of Portland Archives)
Although this photo is labeled as “SE” Water Avenue, a close examination of the stamped concrete on the corner shows this to be the intersection of Water and Columbia Street, which is on the west side. The vantage point today is roughly the center of the bowl in Waterfront Park at the foot of Columbia Street.
(City of Portland Archives)
Looking west at SW Barbur Blvd, Slavin Road no longer snakes down from the north to meet on the east side of the highway, but Capital Highway still comes down the hill from the west. The Chart House restaurant is on Terwilliger Blvd in the upper right, the I-5 freeway now runs along the old railroad right-of-way just east of Barbur, and SW Corbett Ave slices across the bottom of this 1932 photo.
(City of Portland Archives)
The NW Lovejoy ramp once met the west end of the Broadway Bridge and then came down to grade level at NW 14th Avenue. The ramp, here looking east, and most of what we see in this 1939 photo, is gone, replaced by Pearl District development. A bit of Union Station, featured yesterday, can be seen at the extreme upper edge.
(City of Portland Archives)
Portland’s impressive Union Station is shown here in 1918, 22 years after its 1896 opening. The building itself has remained remarkably unchanged in 117 years but the forecourt, parking and roadways have changed many times over the years. The “Union Station” and “Go By Train” signs at the top of the clock tower were not installed until 1948.
(City of Portland Archives)
