Another view of downtown Portland, 1966. This image shows the South Auditorium Urban Renewal Area.
City of Portland Archives, Oregon, A2010-002.181
South Auditorium Urban Renewal Area, 1966
Vintage Portland
Another view of downtown Portland, 1966. This image shows the South Auditorium Urban Renewal Area.
City of Portland Archives, Oregon, A2010-002.181
Vintage Portland 
Anyone have an idea what that odd shaped building is that is north of the Sarahan Hotel on SW 4th on the west side of SW 4th?
Driving over thehawthorne bridge it was always facinating tosee those hotels bars and apartments so longgone
Don’t remember a Sears store at the east end of the Burnside Br. Or maybe that’s just a sign?
Good view of the auditorium pre-renovation. Does it still look like that under the building skin.
No Elliott they took that building down to the steel I-Beams before they rebuilt it. The Sears sign was not on top of a Sears store. Just a ware house.
There was a Sears nearby, though. I remember going there with my parents.
Yes, there was a Sears nearby, and in the photo it can be seen just slightly left of and slightly above, the Sears sign — the arrow on the sign is almost pointing at it. The old Sears building was renovated into the Metro (regional government) headquarters on the corner of Lloyd Blvd and Grand.
compare this shot from 1968:
I use to walk from my school (MLC) in Northwest, home to Corbett Street every day, which took me through this area. Love the fountain, played there often as a young kid, smoked a lot of weed there as a teenager in the 70’s and 80’s…
Could the car culture be anymore evident than in this picture?
Looks like Lovejoy Fountain is under construction (in the very center).
Mike,
I could be wrong, but I believe that is an old mid-century modern funeral home that used to be in that neighborhood. It is more prominent in wl’s photo (which is looking due west instead of northeast).
I didn’t notice before but the I-5 ramp (on the east bank) for the Marquam is missing a huge piece.
The odd shaped building-Findley’s Mortuary by Pietro Belluschi
Thanks Joan,
Now that we have a name, we can find a couple of better views.
Any idea why that Finley Mortuary building was torn down? It’s an empty lot today.
The photo file name is May 18th, 1966. Little did we know what would happen exactly 14 years later! Too bad we can’t see Mt St Helens in the picture.
Oh yes. The old Sears store on Grand. I used to go there in 8th grade and skip school to play the old ‘Flip Flop’ pinball game. Of course no one said anything as long as we were paying. Those were the days. I really miss the old Portland. Thank god a lot a lot of the buildings are still around. The people have changed though that is for sure.