This photograph was taken in the heart of St. Johns in 1979, on the corner of N. Philadelphia Avenue and N. Lombard Street looking north. Remember when the #35 Trimet bus that services areas of North Portland used to be the #1 bus? The clock in the photograph still stands today.
St. Johns Plaza, 1979 : A2010-003
Today’s photograph features a more rural setting. You may not recognize the area from this picture, but this is what SE 28th near Eastmoreland looked like back in 1923. It’s amazing to see how the area transformed over the years.
SE 28th Ave. near Eastmoreland, 1923 : A2009-009.292
Today we have a wonderful aerial of the shipyards along the Willamette River in North Portland circa 1945. In the middle of the photograph you can also see N Interstate Avenue where it intersects with Albina Avenue, Mississippi Avenue, and Russell Street. In the lower right of the image is Fireboat 2 outside of its station. This boat, the David Campbell, still serves in reserve based at Station 6 on the other side of the river off of NW Front Ave.
Aerial of shipyards circa 1945 : A2005-005.1416.4
As it is today, back in the 1950s one of the best things to do on a hot summer’s day was head to the community pool. Here you see adults and children enjoying the water at the Grant Pool, a summer favorite for several decades. The pool is open to the public and located on NE 33rd Ave in U.S. Grant Park.
Grant Pool 1950 : A2001-030.2771
Today we have an image of the “number man” documenting the corner of N. Jersey Street and N. Richmond Avenue while getting some shade from the awning at The Harmony Dance Hall in St. Johns
N Jersey St. and N Richmond Ave. circa 1932 : A2009-009.2603
In 2009, Dan Davis started a new blog called Vintage Portland that grew to become a very popular site for a community of people interested in Portland’s history. The City of Portland Archives & Records Center (PARC) is not only a fan of Vintage Portland, we’ve also been quiet collaborators. Dan approached us in 2009 because he was interested in using some of our photos he found in Efiles, our online database. We were delighted to work with Dan as a way to showcase many of the City’s photographs. Our collaboration continued when we approached Dan (and this great community) for help in identifying some of our “mystery” images.
PARC has enjoyed our association with Dan and the Vintage Portland community; and while we are sad that Dan has decided to move away from managing the site, we’re also very excited that Dan has asked us to take over the Vintage Portland site! As of June 23, 2013, PARC will begin administering the Vintage Portland blog and other social media platforms. We are thrilled by the opportunity to continue to engage Vintage Portland followers by featuring the City’s extensive collection of photos. We also plan on inviting other institutions to share some of their photos because there is a rich visual history of Portland held within many local archives. There will be a few changes to the site, mostly cosmetic and procedural. Please let us know if you have any questions about the transition or about the collections in general. Many thanks to Dan and this incredible community he has helped create! We are looking forward to continuing the tradition.
City Hall from 5th Ave and Jefferson St. circa 1905 : A2011-014
This is my last post for Vintage Portland. After 4-1/2 years, about 1,100 posts and almost 3 million page views, I’ve decided to hang it up. But don’t be sad, VP will carry on under new stewardship. I’m pleased to announce that the website will now be run by the City of Portland Archives & Records Center (PARC), the same people who have so generously allowed me to use their materials for so many great views of Old Portland. They have vastly greater resources to draw from than I could ever hope to have, so new and wonderful photos, maps and other documents will still appear regularly on this website. They are also assuming control over other Vintage Portland social media sites, so expect to see some revitalized content there too.
While I value the collaboration with PARC over the years, I’m looking forward to being an outsider, seeing fresh images, being surprised at what is presented, joining the conversation, and digging into a few mysteries myself. I know there will be days when I miss publishing these gems, but the time has come for me to turn the keys over to an enthusiastic group with fresh ideas and perspectives. Portland has such a rich history, and PARC has done such a great job of preserving our past, I’m confident they will take this space to places I never could.
I appreciate the enthusiasm, passion and knowledge of the Vintage Portland community. It’s gratifying to see the level of discussion some subjects spark, and that discussion adds considerable value to the images we see. Mysteries solved, historical facts unearthed, context given through personal experiences, and even the rare heated comments have made my efforts even more enjoyable. And I’ve had some great contributions sent in too, dug up from personal archives or discovered at garage sales, all little gems.
Thanks for all your support over the years. We won’t publish any new content next week while the transition takes place but PARC will begin a new era of old Portland on Monday, June 23. I’ll see you in the comments section!
Dan Davis
Vintage Portland 