wasn’t this site a low area, and a pond seasonally . maybe a pig field, ? Then it became the center of sports and entertainment and many things pre Coliseum interest like the Rose Parade. A lake on the edge of Goose Hollow. . I still call it “The Stadium” ,loose track of its corporates names.
Note all the men in suits. Obviously, not a baseball game day. My father took me to lots of games there, but I remember the team as Portland Beavers, not Mavericks. I always loved this stadium. Sat halfway up behind home plate or down 3rd base line.
Tanner Creek Gulch
The Efiles date of this photo is 5/24/68 which would correspond with the dates that the Rev. Billy Graham held his Pacific NW Crusade at Civic Stadium from Thursday 5/23/68 thru Sunday 5/26/68.
Men in suits again…the young man heading off nearest the camera looks like someone who goes door-to-door handing out “Watchtower” pamphlets.
Providence Parks renovation cost $50 million dollars and added 4k seats to the park; that’s $12,500 for each new seat. The park’s new seating capacity is now 25,218.
A couple years ago, I lived near enough to the park that I could hear the roar of the crowds on game nights and I used to think “this is what living next to the Roman Colosseum must have been like – this sound is timeless”. The Roman Colosseum had a capacity of 50,000 and cost a lot not only to build but also demanded a high price in human life. As the old song used to go, “That’s entertainment!”
I’ve heard that this is where the Chinese lived and grew produce to sell. But don’t quote me on that. That street going up the hill is probably Salmon, and I wonder if any of those houses are still there.
Cynthia May Gage and Susan: Yes, some Chinese people rented plots of land along Tanner Creek where it flowed through what is now the Providence/ Multnomah Stadium. I think the wetlands were confined to a creek, though the surrounding land may have been swampy, but the west side was hilly. I have never read of Chinese gardeners living on their garden plots, but possibly they did.
joan — and I was there in 1957!
This picture was probably taken in May 1968 when the Billy Graham Crusade came to Portland.
If it’s true that this photo was taken during a Billy Graham Crusade event, then my Watchtower comment was spot on. I sensed there was some sort of religious shannanigans going on here.
Susan, I can confirm that it is Salmon. Do a Google Earth search for the intersection of SW 21st and Salmon. The result will include Salmon and a house that is also in Robert G’s photo. “The Town Club,” at 2115 SW Salmon, is now where the Chinese houses were, especially going down 21st.
There are many pages of photos of this area over the years in the book, “Portland’s Goose Hollow” by Tracy J. Prince. Dr. Prince writes about the history of the area, including quite a bit about the Chinese here.
Susan, good for you, being at the ’57 Elvis concert in Civic Stadium! And also, if any of those Chinese gardener houses are still there, they’re probably worth a fortune. A friend of mine in San Francisco grew up in the 1950s in one of that city’s remaining “earthquake shacks” quickly built right after the big ’06 quake. It’s still there today and worth about a million bucks!
The Oregon Journal on 5/25/68 (p 10) published a photo that must have been taken from the Multnomah Athletic Club of the Billy Graham crusade which shows the same stage setup over second base.
Daniel Lownsdale’s tannery was located where the stadium is now. To think that any of the Chinese huts would still be there is beyond my comprehension.
Vintage Portland 
wasn’t this site a low area, and a pond seasonally . maybe a pig field, ? Then it became the center of sports and entertainment and many things pre Coliseum interest like the Rose Parade. A lake on the edge of Goose Hollow. . I still call it “The Stadium” ,loose track of its corporates names.
Note all the men in suits. Obviously, not a baseball game day. My father took me to lots of games there, but I remember the team as Portland Beavers, not Mavericks. I always loved this stadium. Sat halfway up behind home plate or down 3rd base line.
Tanner Creek Gulch
The Efiles date of this photo is 5/24/68 which would correspond with the dates that the Rev. Billy Graham held his Pacific NW Crusade at Civic Stadium from Thursday 5/23/68 thru Sunday 5/26/68.
Men in suits again…the young man heading off nearest the camera looks like someone who goes door-to-door handing out “Watchtower” pamphlets.
Providence Parks renovation cost $50 million dollars and added 4k seats to the park; that’s $12,500 for each new seat. The park’s new seating capacity is now 25,218.
A couple years ago, I lived near enough to the park that I could hear the roar of the crowds on game nights and I used to think “this is what living next to the Roman Colosseum must have been like – this sound is timeless”. The Roman Colosseum had a capacity of 50,000 and cost a lot not only to build but also demanded a high price in human life. As the old song used to go, “That’s entertainment!”
I’ve heard that this is where the Chinese lived and grew produce to sell. But don’t quote me on that. That street going up the hill is probably Salmon, and I wonder if any of those houses are still there.
Susan – here you go: https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/chinese-vegetable-gardens-portland/
Elvis performed in 1957.
Cynthia May Gage and Susan: Yes, some Chinese people rented plots of land along Tanner Creek where it flowed through what is now the Providence/ Multnomah Stadium. I think the wetlands were confined to a creek, though the surrounding land may have been swampy, but the west side was hilly. I have never read of Chinese gardeners living on their garden plots, but possibly they did.
joan — and I was there in 1957!
This picture was probably taken in May 1968 when the Billy Graham Crusade came to Portland.
If it’s true that this photo was taken during a Billy Graham Crusade event, then my Watchtower comment was spot on. I sensed there was some sort of religious shannanigans going on here.
Susan, I can confirm that it is Salmon. Do a Google Earth search for the intersection of SW 21st and Salmon. The result will include Salmon and a house that is also in Robert G’s photo. “The Town Club,” at 2115 SW Salmon, is now where the Chinese houses were, especially going down 21st.
There are many pages of photos of this area over the years in the book, “Portland’s Goose Hollow” by Tracy J. Prince. Dr. Prince writes about the history of the area, including quite a bit about the Chinese here.
Susan, good for you, being at the ’57 Elvis concert in Civic Stadium! And also, if any of those Chinese gardener houses are still there, they’re probably worth a fortune. A friend of mine in San Francisco grew up in the 1950s in one of that city’s remaining “earthquake shacks” quickly built right after the big ’06 quake. It’s still there today and worth about a million bucks!
The Oregon Journal on 5/25/68 (p 10) published a photo that must have been taken from the Multnomah Athletic Club of the Billy Graham crusade which shows the same stage setup over second base.
Daniel Lownsdale’s tannery was located where the stadium is now. To think that any of the Chinese huts would still be there is beyond my comprehension.