The famous neon Portland, Oregon Sign still says White Satin Sugar and is about to get its animated sugar bag added next year. It’ll change to White Stage, like the water tower, in 1957, and two years later the red nose added to the deer, the year of Oregon’s 100th birthday.
That is the extant Bickel Building and Blagen Block (with the lettering at the top of the building in the distance.
The Bickel Building along with the White Stag and Hirsch-Weiss Building, and Skidmore Block are now part of the White Stag Block conglomeration of buildings owned by the University of Oregon.
Correction: leased by the University of Oregon
One more comment and I’ll shut up. The building in front of the Blagen Block is the extant OCOM building (formerly home to Import Plaza).
Old Town and Portland owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Naito family for preserving so many historic structures.
I remember Harbor Drive. It was a fast way of getting past downtown if you were going from southwest Portland over to the northside or northeast Portland. In the 1950s long before I-5 it ran along the westside of the Willamette River through the downtown area. To me, at the time, it seemed like a freeway with limited access and fast moving cars. As it passed the colossal Oregon Journal building — the former Portland Public Market — through very large glass windows you could see printing presses at work turning out the day’s newspaper. Kind of exciting for a ten-year-old kid!
Any chance you have any vintage pics of Columbia Park? I’m looking for one for a gift! Thanks
Sure! I would check out our Efiles database for even more historic photos: https://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Search
You can use the ‘Browse’ section to view partial collections of neighborhood photos, or Search for specific subjects. Select the ‘Electronic’ and ‘Archival photos’ filters to view records that have already been digitized.
Vintage Portland 
Charlie Chaplin makes a cameo.
The famous neon Portland, Oregon Sign still says White Satin Sugar and is about to get its animated sugar bag added next year. It’ll change to White Stage, like the water tower, in 1957, and two years later the red nose added to the deer, the year of Oregon’s 100th birthday.
That is the extant Bickel Building and Blagen Block (with the lettering at the top of the building in the distance.
The Bickel Building along with the White Stag and Hirsch-Weiss Building, and Skidmore Block are now part of the White Stag Block conglomeration of buildings owned by the University of Oregon.
Correction: leased by the University of Oregon
One more comment and I’ll shut up. The building in front of the Blagen Block is the extant OCOM building (formerly home to Import Plaza).
Old Town and Portland owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Naito family for preserving so many historic structures.
I remember Harbor Drive. It was a fast way of getting past downtown if you were going from southwest Portland over to the northside or northeast Portland. In the 1950s long before I-5 it ran along the westside of the Willamette River through the downtown area. To me, at the time, it seemed like a freeway with limited access and fast moving cars. As it passed the colossal Oregon Journal building — the former Portland Public Market — through very large glass windows you could see printing presses at work turning out the day’s newspaper. Kind of exciting for a ten-year-old kid!
Pingback: Harbor Drive, 1949 – Urban Fishing Pole Cigars
Hey There,
Any chance you have any vintage pics of Columbia Park? I’m looking for one for a gift! Thanks
Sure! I would check out our Efiles database for even more historic photos: https://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Search
You can use the ‘Browse’ section to view partial collections of neighborhood photos, or Search for specific subjects. Select the ‘Electronic’ and ‘Archival photos’ filters to view records that have already been digitized.