A number man outside of Pet Samaritan Hospital at 2519 E Burnside Street, 1929.
City of Portland (OR) Archives, A2009-009.1158.
E Burnside Street, 1929
Vintage Portland
A number man outside of Pet Samaritan Hospital at 2519 E Burnside Street, 1929.
City of Portland (OR) Archives, A2009-009.1158.
Vintage Portland 
Return of the Number Man!
“Behind That Curtain”: The third Charlie Chan film and the first talkie with Boris Karloff.
Wow, it still exists.
I’ve often wondered if people back then appreciated the art in so many things from that era? From signage, buildings, cars, clothes…etc. I know it was the world they lived in, but there had to be some who found the everyday things around them beautiful.
On the window “Dog Specialist”. How much canine knowledge did a Veterinarian really have then compared to now?
How much did a structural engineer know then compared to now? How much did a doctor know? How about a pharmacist? Or many others?
Large apartment building still there too.
My first real job was bathing dogs and cleaning kennels here. That was summer of ’68. Ralph Plamondon(?) was the vet. He continued to house and care for animals whose owners had died. Great guy.
@Mimi’s question is actually quite apropos. In the 20s/30s, the vast majority of veterinary medicine was still focused on farm animals. According to the AVMA, in 1931 their members spent an average of only 24% of their time on small animals. So calling oneself a “dog specialist” could have differentiated a veterinarian from many others who had minimal experience treating non-livestock.
One of the best veterinary clinics in Portland. The waiting room is quite small as is the building.
What type of car is that behind the billboard?
Mike D.
I appreciate the beauty and character of Portland’s older historic buildings and the people of that era probably did as well, even though those styles were the norm back then. They had a different sort of appreciation from ours. Our appreciation is deepened by a sense of history, and a thankfulness in knowing that these buildings were preserved (not torn down). These buildings have “soul” and the buildings going up nowadays have none of that.
On their website….
“Pet Samaritan Clinic was established in the early 1900’s to care for the horses that pulled the trolleys from the Willamette River into the Portland residential area. Nearly 100 years later, the clinic remains in its original location on East Burnside in Portland, Oregon. Our little red brick building has welcomed many, many pets into its open door. We are always accepting new patients.”
I bet the current residents of that apartment building wish they still had awnings over their windows to fight off the afternoon summer sun.
Boris Karloff may have lived a few blocks up Burnside st. I worked at the Laurelhurst Theater in the 1980’s. A longtime employee told me that Karloff lived in an apartment across the street above Cal’s Pharmacy in the 1910’s or 1920’s. I don’t know whether this is true or not.
Boris might have been acting with the Baker troupe. Google doesn’t rule it out.
whats a ‘number man’? I googled, but couldn’t find anything relevant.
Madeline — number man is the cIty of Portland employee holding the number in the photo — he is in the photo for record keeping with a number for record keeping purposes– he has appeared in so many photos that he got the name ” number man” on this site.
Could that be a Marmon model 68 coupe in the photo?
I have worked at Pet Samaritan since 1992. We love our little building and actually are very sad that we have finally outgrown it. We are moving directly across the street as to stay in our beloved neighborhood. The little garage behind our building stood there and was used up until we remodeled the back of the building about 10 years. We used it to house old files and equipment. Dr. Patricia Huff owned the practice and the building since the 1980’s until her passing 5 years ago. Thank you so much for featuring our beloved building.
wow both buildings are still standing as the photo from 90 years a go !!!!