Another great image from Bo Sullivan of Arcalus Period Design, the Sunnyside Rose Festival Float, 1908. Can anyone tell us which street the float is parked on?
Bo Sullivan, Arcalus Period Design
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Vintage Portland
Another great image from Bo Sullivan of Arcalus Period Design, the Sunnyside Rose Festival Float, 1908. Can anyone tell us which street the float is parked on?
Bo Sullivan, Arcalus Period Design
There is a resemblance between the houses shown in the picture and those that can be found on the north side of SE Belmont about SE 31st to SE 30th.
Sorry gang – a lot less to go on in this one.
I at first assumed this would have been taken in Sunnyside such as on SE Belmont (naively, like thinking the photographer’s address is the address where a photo was taken) and scoured the Sanborns for the house footprints in the neighborhood.
However I now realize it was probably taken in the area where all the floats would have lined up before the parade started. So really this one is asking the question “What was the Rose Parade route in 1908, and where did the floats line up in preparation?” Was the parade entirely on the westside or did it cross the river?
Unfortunately, this streetscape probably resembles most any of Portland’s older working class streets on either side of the river in 1908.
judging by the lack of shadows, it appears to be an overcast day around noon on an east-west street… and cold, judging by how unhappy they look!
but yeah – that street could be any 1880 -1900 era neighborhood.
house with double chimney is the best (only?) clue!
Off hand I’m thinking maybe they staged near the houses that once stood where PSU now sits.
SE Hawthorne about SE 33rd
go to: http://www.all-that-is-interesting.com/vintage-portland
Scroll down a bit to an old picture of Broadway. Then click on next image until you get to image#5. It looks like the same float actually in the parade. Not sure what street the picture was taken on.
Barry – nice spot! That is indeed the same float.
This may help – I am going to post here another picture of the float in the same location from a different angle:
Here is a close-up of the ladies:
Here is Barry’s picture:
And this is only marginally related, but here is the Sunnyside float in 1909:
we know the where some 1908 floats were staged:
https://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/rose-festival-1908/#comments
that shot is 387 yamhill.
One additional thought – it seems like they would have staged in a location that didn’t involve a lot of sloping road terrain for the floats to navigate prior to the parade. I’m thinking inner SW. Maybe the direction of the parade in the photo will indicate where it would have originated.
1908 floral parade started at the armory:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/jevp9ha
i assume the staging area must be somewhat nearby.
hmmmm… east side had a parade, too, on grand avenue. started in early evening, ‘so children could march in daylight.’ we need to find a list of floats for both parades to see which one ‘sunnyside’ was in. hopefully not both!
huge controversy in 1908 about school children participating in parades – school board was adamantly opposed.
looks like biggest float in east side parade was a pony cart… ‘sunnyside’ school children were in the parade, but as a drill team. those ladies do not look grade school age, either.
so west side it should be.
Fun! So the decorated saddle horse and carriage parade was to depart the Armory at 10am on Thursday, June 4th, and it was supposed to have 600 entries and have a 33-block line of march length – meaning the staging alone would have snaked through a lot of territory!
So maybe the photo is taken somewhere in the vicinity of the Armory?
The route is described as all on the westside, and it would take 2 hours to pass. The parade was to end at 12th and Washington (not that far from 387 Yamhill, by the way).
As for the slope question and whether or not that shot of the 1908 PFD float in the older post at 387 Yamhill was taken on an incline, here is the corrected image – I’d say it was not taken on an incline:
Given the Armory as the launch site for the 1908 Rose Parade, I’m going to guess somewhere in slabtown depending on how many entries were in the parade. I’ve seen somewhat later photos of Rose Parade floats in front of the decaying Oregon Pavilion from the Lewis & Clark Exposition.
200 articles into the paper, and i still haven’t found a mustering area listed… but i did find out that this float was put together by the ‘sunnyside push club.’ h.e. cowell offered to provide ‘a team of white horses and a wagon.’ no clue if the ladies on the decoration committee mentioned in blurb are in the wagon.
morning oregonian, may 14, 08, pg. 9.
have found out that school was not out for the whole week, leading to verrrrry distracted kids when they bothered to attend class, and it was quite chilly all week.
an amusing editorial comment:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/h7g5anf
Per above:
Just found my picture on the Oregon Encyclopedia website. Picture of the float in the parade was taken on NW corner of 10th and Madison.
Barry, I believe that Oregon Encyclopedia entry is incorrect. It appears to me that we are looking W/NW from somewhere close to SW 10th and Morrison prior to the construction of the 1910 Olds, Wortman & King department store (today’s Galleria/Target).
I’m almost certain that the tall peaked roof in the distance belonged to the old Portland High School at 14th and Morrison as seen in this 1912 photo.
If this were the view from the NW corner of 10th and Madison, we would be looking due north and wouldn’t be seeing the hill at the end of the street.
Edit: this should be the link attached to my previous comment:
https://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/portland-panorama-1912/
Jim, your location for the parade picture is further validated by the very top of the spire of First Presbyterian Church at 12th and Alder, peeking over the apartment building near the center of the photo.
Carter, I could be wrong, but I’m almost certain that apartment building is the still-extant Fine Arts Building on 10th and Morrison.
It sure looks like it.