It was a beautiful day in 1963 as Mt. Hood loomed over the Portland skyline. The Hilton Hotel was the tallest building in town, the freeway had not come to the west side and was only partly underway on the east side, and the Portland Beavers played baseball at Civic Stadium.
(City of Portland Archives)
Vintage Portland 
Spectacular! Are the two treed spots on the east side Laurelhurst Park and Lone Fir Cemetery?
Carefully cropped I’d say. Omits the South Auditorium scars as well as the in progress right of way clearance for the I-405 abomination. Pre photo shop they couldn’t so easily hide the I-5 scar ripping the remaining face off our fair lady. Sigh.
On the up side Portland’s last gasp as a real baseball town is in progress at the Stadium with the Beaver’s tie up with the Indians entertaining us with the likes of Lou Piniella, Sudden Sam and El Gigante. From this height it looks like Rocky Benevento and the crew have the field in hand. Would this be the last year of the NFL pre-season games between the Rams and Niners. George Pasero is probably still at work in the Journal Bldg down there mulling it all over.
Right next to the stadium on the west side (just in the edge of this photo) was the famous KPTV studios. Went there to be on Ramblin Rod’s pier 12. A Portland institute.
I currently live on 17th and Yamill. That entire block across from the stadium was razed to build my building and the little plaza. I also see a sliver of the Civic Apartments. I wasn’t aware the Portland Towers apartments were that old…
The Portland Towers apts. actually date back to 1950 according to the Sanford Insurance maps from that time. The building they replaced was the residence of Richard King, son of Nahum A. King, who was the developer of the King’s Hill Addition. I really wish they could have saved this one. Here’s a link to a picture of the house. Tell me you wouldn’t like to explore that house top to bottom.
http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archpnw&CISOPTR=20760&CISOBOX=1&REC=1
the following year, 1964 my father took me to my first portland beaver baseball game, i was hooked ever since, got many autographs from beavers players, including lou pinnella, luis tiant darren daulton, pasquel perez and many others, but now thats all gone, we have the portland timbers!!! making portland a laughing stock! 107 years of baseball in portland gone for this?