Northeast Portland Aerial, 1938

Some pretty nice detail on this 1938 aerial image of inner Northeast Portland. Burnside, NE 9th, the site of the future Lloyd Center and NE 20th to the east frame the pre-freeway Sullivan’s Gulch in the middle.

(City of Portland Archives)

10 thoughts on “Northeast Portland Aerial, 1938”

Another good one. I see many buildings which I pass daily on my morning walk and/or mass transit commute. Being able to see these images so well after clicking twice is a treat.

Great to see my alma mater! Always interesting to see these perspectives where some things have radically changed from what they were right next to areas that remain almost untouched. Go Tech!

So, at this point in 1938 most of the blocks where Lloyd Center would eventually be built were still undeveloped, even though the blocks around were. Were these blocks being saved by their owners for a shopping center, even that early?

You can see the golf course that was in the gulch for a while, just north of where it says Irving.

I believe that when Ralph Lloyd started buying up proprieties in the area, he started demolishing buildings straight away.

Douge,

Yes, it seems the land was indeed being set aside at the time for development, although the original owner/investor had different plans for it than the primarily commercial zone it eventually became: http://bit.ly/PwypQu (article from the Oregon Historical Society).