Original negatives of these photographs are housed in the City of Portland Archives and Records Center.
Portland, Oregon, began as a clearing on the west bank of the Willamette River in 1844. The new city was incorporated in 1851 and prospered because of its advantageous location near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, among other factors. Its growth was spurred by flourishing agriculture in the Willamette Valley, the California gold rush, the Indian wars of the 1850s, and gold discoveries in eastern Oregon and Idaho in the 1860s. By the Civil War, Portland was the principal metropolis of the Pacific Northwest with a population of around 3000. The arrival of the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads in 1883 and 1884 contributed to a new boom in prosperity, and in 1891 the city annexed the municipalities of Albina and East Portland on the east side of the Willamette. Residential growth was most dramatic in the eastern districts after 1900, and expansion was especially rapid after the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905. By 1910 Portland's population was over 207,000, and it continued its rapid growth up to the 1930s.
The collection consists of images taken throughout Portland, Oregon, with emphasis on the downtown and eastern portions of the city. Included are street scenes, thoroughfares, business establishments, and neighborhood views. The bulk of the images appear to date from the late 1920s and early 1930s. Many may have been created in relation to specific city projects, such as street paving, sewer installation, and improvement of blighted neighborhoods. Visible in many of the photographs from the early 1930s is a man holding a number -- probably a city employee engaged in a particular project. In general, the photographs provide detailed documentation of the city's built environment, much of which is still extant.
The collection is arranged by subjects, with files numbered to correspond to the Oregon Historical Society's Photograph Files. Neighborhood numbering corresponds to the system used by the Oregon Historical Society (e.g., "SW1, NW4, etc.).
Negatives used to create these prints are housed in the City of Portland Archives and Records Center.
The collection is open to the public.
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.
City of Portland photographs collection, Org. Lot 50, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Original negatives were obtained from the City of Portland; prints in this collection were made by the Oregon Historical Society.
Negatives for these images are held by the City of Portland Archives and Records Center, Portland, Oregon.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Includes downtown streets and trolley tracks.
Images of abandoned houses.
Includes images from Sullivan's Gulch
Aerial photographs of Portland
Includes images of sea walls and docks
Includes aerial photograph of the Public Market Building
Images of SW Front Ave widening project
Includes images of rowhouses
Images of public restrooms and sidewalks
Includes images of newspaper vendor stand, trolley tracks and trolley lines
Images of downtown streets at night
Includes images of Chapman Square, downtown streetcar in motion
Includes overhead image of pedestrians at crowsswalk
Includes images of downtown streets at night
Street signs for Morrison St., Park St., and West Park St.
Includes images of roadwork involving trolley tracks, dowtown apartment building facades
Includes images of residential basement, residential and downtown streets
Trolley tracks at NW 12th and Lovejoy
Includes images of roadwork; man posing with car by roadside
SW 15th and Salmon
Images of man replacing street sign at NW 16th and Glisan
Includes images of construction on NE Broadway and Larrabee, images of Prescott Street, 42nd Ave and N. Willamette Boulevard, pedestrian subway at N. Interstate and Ainsworth, mudslides on Interstate Ave, images of SE Division, Belmont St and SE 81st Ave
Includes mudslides on SW Fairview, Melinda Ave and Barbur Boulevard, series titled "Entering Portland", Barbur Blvd. construction, images of St.Helen's Road, railroad yards in Northwest Portland
Includes trolley tracks and overhead lines, mudslide on Hermosa St., retaining wall construction, residential and downtown streets, images of horse drawn carts
Includes residential streets and vacant lots
SW Broadway and SW Pine
Includes image of condemned lot
Includes Alder Street dock, overhead view of pedestrians at crosswalk
Includes image of Meier and Frank Building
Includes empty lot at Yamhill and 3rd Avenue, house at SW Yamhill and St.Clair
Street view at SW Salmon near 18th
Street view at SW 6th and Main St
Street view at SW 6th and Madison
Includes street view at SW Jefferson up Vista Blvd., overhead view of SW Jefferson St.
Includes images of residential houses on SW Madison St., condemned lots on SW Madison, ditch digging on SW Taylors Ferry Road
Includes road work on Council Crest Park Road, residential house at SW Beaverton Ave and SW Chehalem Ave.
Includes Marquam Gulch fill, SW Ford Street Dr., mudslide at SW 15th and Mrytle
Includes houses along Barbur Blvd., images of SW Front Ave., railroad bridge near SW 3rd Ave., images of the Marquam Gulch fill, the Boulevard Tavern, roadwork crews on SW Barbur and Whitaker, garage and tire shop on SW 3rd and Arthur, pipe lines on SW Seymour and Macadam
Includes railroad tracks and lines at NW 13th and Lovejoy, train cars unloading at NW 10th and Yeon, man posing with car at NW 14th and Lovejoy
Includes mudslide above Maywood Dr., mudslide on Melinda Ave
Includes railroad yards, mudslide on NW St.Helen's road, Gasco building on St.Helen's Road
Includes Guild's Lake Area, trains and railroad tracks
Includes backyard gazebo on NW Thurman St.
Includes aerial view of NW waterfront, Guild's Lake Area, railroad lines
Includes SE Morrison St., SE 66th and Foster Rd, SE 28th Ave., SE Woodstock Ave., radiator store on SE 7th Ave, roadwork on SE 2nd Ave and Morrison, SE Belmont storefronts and residences
Includes SE Foster Rd. storefronts and residences,
SE Grand Ave storefronts and residences, Union Ave,
Includes trolley tracks and lines, industrial areas, churches, roadwork on SE Morrison and 10th
Undeveloped land at SE Cora and 92nd
Includes images of farm land on SE 92nd, construction on SE 55th and Hawthorne, laborer posing by large stones on SE 55th
Includes residential houses on SE 17th Ave
Includes SE Belmont, SE Grand Ave, SE Powell, SE 20th and Oak, east side trolley tracks and lines, collapsing house on SE 28th and Clinton, residential corner markets, streetcar on SE 33rd and Belmont, undeveloped land, barn and farm land on SE Center St.
Includes images of streetcar in motion, corner gas stations, demolished building on NE Union and Burnside, Egyptian Theatre, images of railroad track laying
Includes images of NE Sandy, barracks on NE 82nd, truck accident on SE 82nd and Foster, roadwork and laborers
Includes images of NE 19th and Glisan, NE Siskiyou, future site of Memorial Colliseum
Residential houses on NE 39th Ave.
Includes corner markets, residential houses, exteriors images of the Hollywood Theatre
Includes images of NE Broadway, residential streets, east side trolley tracks and lines
Includes images of residential streets, Sullivan's gulch, shanty town shacks
Residential streets
Includes images of the Columbia Slough at high and low tide, work crews clearing the Columbia Slough South Channel, Balch Gulch, North Interstate Ave., exterior of Grigsby Bros. box manufacture
Includes images of construction on N. Interstate and Thompson, residential houses on Union Ave., stretches of Interstate Ave., intersection of Flint and Russell
Includes images of residential houses, farm land and railroad lines on N. Lombard St.
Includes images of residential houses, undeveloped land, interior and exterior shots of burned building on N. Columbia Blvd.
Images of gravel road leading to Swan Island access
Includes images of viaduct on NE 12th, Ford St. Bridge spanning Jefferson St., visualization of the proposed Vista Avenue viaduct, Vista St. Bridge, series of images of NE 33rd viaduct including construction of, Alexandra Ave. bridge construction, construction of Vancouver Ave. viaduct, construction of bridge on NW Italian Way, Incinerator Bridge, damaged column of NW Lovejoy on-ramp, illustration of proposed SE 17th Ave viaduct, Grand Avenue bridge construction, Burlingame Bridge construction
Includes image of model for St. John's bridge
Includes image of subway stairs leading from bridge to Union Station, bridge raised for passage of ship, aerial image showing future site of Memorial Coliseum
Includes image of model for bridge
Image series of bridge construction on southwest side of Willamette River
Images of damaged bridge road
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business building exteriors
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs, includes series of images showing inspection of businesses by health inspector
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Business Firms-P-Q [Except "Pacific", "Portland" and Parrish Watkins Real Estate]
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs, includes images of city auditor's office and storage files, interior and exterior of Public Employment Bureau
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs
Images of Portland area business exteriors and signs, includes images of junk dealers and wares on downtown streets
Includes images of motor vehicle inspection station
Images of apartment building facades
Images of barns on SE Bybee Ave
Exterior image of the Geo W. Bates Bank
Contains image of Christmas tree in lobby; image of condemned electrical plugs
Images of sidewalk outside SW Irvington Club
Postcard image of the dedication of the hall
Includes images of Isolation Hospital, interior images of hospital department, staff and patients, images of patients recieving iron lung treatment, images of vaccination clinics
Images of mudslide on hospital grounds
1800
Includes images of incinerators
Images of Municipal Paving Plant
Includes images of the Public Employment Office, image of a group of unemployed draftsman, interior of auditor's office
Includes images of produce and flower stands
Exterior images of residences on E. Burnside
Residence of Meton Smith
Includes images of Benson High School
Image of unidentified public school
Exterior image of Seller's Theatre
Images of Weatherly Building exterior
Images of the YMCA on NE Sandy Blvd.
Includes interior images of public restrooms
Images of land prior to construction of Oaks Park
Includes images of Lone Fir Cemetery, construction of Mt. Scott Cemetery
Includes images of fire boats in action, firemen performing fire tower drill, incinerators
Images of fire department vehicles
Images of fire alarm boxes
Includes images of "Miss Flame" performing at function
Image of public drinking fountain
Includes image of model for a proposed park and Civic Center
Includes images of Parks Department mowing machines, public swimming pools, gym classes, image of pottery club meeting at Peninsula Park
Includes images of Columbia Slough drainage gate
Includes aerial image of sewage treatment plant, images of sewer construction and repair on various streets, photographs of sewer expenditure graphs
Image of snow plow at work
Includes exterior images of the Municipal Paving Plant, downtown road repair near the Steel Bridge, street repair project in Ladd's Addition, roadwork on SE Caruther's and SE 8th showing team of horses at work, images of paving and grading machines, road repair on Union Ave
Includes image of Water Department Personnel, water testing machine, Balch Gulch intake project, images of creek at Wichita Station, construction on Hermosa St. drain, laying of Bull Run pipeline
Includes images of railroad crossing at SE 2nd and SE Morrison, interior and exterior images of the Motor Vehicle Inspection building on SE Powell Blvd. and Milwaukie Blvd. including aeiral shot, images of vehicle inspection and inspectors at work, the Titania on the Willamette river, images of the Portland Flying Service airplanes and preparation for flight
Includes images of Union Pacific Stages buses and depot on SW Salmon, images of Greyhound station
Image of men at unidentified station yard
Includes images of ambulance boat on Columbia River, bomb shelter siren, images of city and county "Clean Up" project including advertising billboards, images of community performances, Milk Fund football team practice, children participating in Milk Fund program
Images of the Public Works Rose Festival Float
Images of community performances at Powell Park
Images of maps, graphs and statistics created by the Department of Public Works