Vintage Portland

Portland Heights Panorama, 1903

Dan Davis — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:17:39 +0000

This lovely 1903 image from Portland Heights encompasses Goose Hollow on the left, Union Station on the right, out to Mount St. Helens in the distance. The large white residence near the center was the Monroe Bennett Rankin home. Mr. Rankin made his fortune in the timber industry and built this fine home in 1890 on the block bounded by SW 16th and 17th Streets, Clifton and Myrtle Avenues. It’s no longer in existence and the four homes now on that block date from the late 1930s.

(Library of Congress)

Filed under: 16th Avenue, 17th Avenue, 1900s, Aerial, Southwest

Biplanes Over Portland, 1920

Dan Davis — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:21:46 +0000

I don’t know why the artist felt the need to place dozens of biplanes in the skies over Portland but the planes give a rather dramatic, yet whimsical, perspective to the downtown core area of 1920.

(Library of Congress)

Filed under: 1920s, 5th Avenue, Aerial, Downtown

NE Sandy Blvd, 1947

Dan Davis — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:10:35 +0000

We’re moving just a bit northeast on NE Sandy Blvd, overlapping yesterday’s post, with the intersection with 28th Avenue in the upper left corner now. Dan Faulkner commented yesterday that today’s U-Store facility was at one time the Doernbecher Furniture Manufacturing Company. This photo verifies it and gives a nice overall view of the plant, the 28th Avenue viaduct, and the surrounding neighborhood.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1940s, Aerial, Northeast, Rail, Sandy Blvd.

NE Sandy Blvd & 28th, 1937

Dan Davis — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:02:08 +0000

NE Sandy Blvd slashes diagonally across this 1937 photo and intersects with NE 28th Avenue in the middle. The area south of Sandy hasn’t changed a whole lot; north of Sandy has grown more commercial. 28th at that time crossed Sullivan’s Gulch and the railroad track (upper right); it now spans the I-84 freeway too.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1930s, Aerial, Northeast, Sandy Blvd.

SW Columbia & 2nd, 1962

Dan Davis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:58:25 +0000

SW Columbia Street looking east to 2nd Avenue appeared borderline industrial back in 1962. The KOIN broadcasting studio on the right would move into a new high-rise tower a block to the west of this location (just to our right in this view) a couple of decades after this photo. The cornice of the Ladd Block can be seen beyond the Boyd’s coffee building on the left.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1960s, 2nd Avenue, Columbia Street, Downtown

Reed College, 1940

Dan Davis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:10:13 +0000

Southeast Portland’s Reed College campus is shown looking northeast in this nice 1940 aerial view. SE 28th Avenue and Woodstock Blvd. meet in the lower left corner. Those look like tents to the north of the campus; anyone have any idea what those could be?

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1940s, Aerial, Southeast, Woodstock Blvd.

N. Lombard & Fiske, 1944

Dan Davis — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:07:56 +0000

Wide streets and tidy neighborhood shops are hallmarks of the stretch of N. Lombard Street where N. Fiske Avenue crosses in the University Park area of North Portland. This 1944 view is to the southeast and the dense trees of Columbia Park can be seen a few blocks down on the left.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1940s, Lombard Street, North

SW Morrison & 5th, 1907

Dan Davis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:06:00 +0000

The heart of downtown Portland is shown in this nice 1907 image; SW 5th Avenue crosses in the foreground as we look west on Morrison Street. Even though all the buildings except the Pioneer Courthouse on the left have been replaced, it’s a pretty recognizable scene even today. And as we’ve seen a number of times, today’s MAX Light Rail cars now rumble over some of the same routes that early streetcars did over a hundred years ago.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1900s, 5th Avenue, Downtown, Morrison Street, Streetcar

Mr. Blandings’ Dream House, 1948

Dan Davis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:16:43 +0000

To promote the 1948 Cary Grant and Myrna Loy movie “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,” the studio built “dream houses” in various cities around the country. The Portland-area house was built in the Cedar Hills area of Beaverton. As well as a promotional device, it was built using the latest post-war materials and technology but with a traditional design and decor. It’s still a lovely estate on the northwest corner of SW Walker Road and Mayfield Avenue. Read the feature article in The Oregonian, November 6, 1948.

(The Oregonian. Retrieved from http://infoweb.newsbank.com)

Filed under: 1940s, Southwest

N Broadway & Larrabee, 1937

Dan Davis — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:16:21 +0000

N. Broadway looking east to Larrabee seemed like a thriving, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood center in 1937. You can even see the subway entrances that would allow walkers to cross under the busy streets. Everything on the right is now part of the Memorial Coliseum/Rose Center complex. See another view of this intersection looking south on this previous VP post.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1930s, Broadway, Macadam Avenue, North

Steel Bridge, 1952

Dan Davis — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:13:39 +0000

This is a terrific 1952 aerial view of the Steel Bridge looking southwest across the river. It shows quite a bit of new ramp construction on the east side and gives a new perspective to this earlier post showing Harbor Drive approaches to the bridge, and the layout of nearby blocks, on the west side.

(City of Portland Archives)

Filed under: 1950s, Aerial, Bridges, Harbor Drive, Northwest

Morris Marks House, 1963

Dan Davis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:55:44 +0000

This was the second Italianate home that architect Warren H. Williams designed for shoe merchant Morris Marks. It was built in 1882 on the southwest corner of SW 11th and Clay, diagonally across from The Old Church. It was moved to its present location at 1501 SW Harrison in 1910 and is beautifully restored today. The first Williams-designed Marks home, at 1134 SW 12th, is more well known, primarily because of efforts to relocate and preserve the house in the face of urban development.

(University of Oregon Libraries)

Filed under: 1960s, Buildings, Southwest