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Equitable Savings & Loan Association photographs collection, 1891-1980

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Equitable Savings & Loan Association
Title
Equitable Savings & Loan Association photographs collection
Dates
1891-1980 (inclusive)
1940-1980 (bulk)
Quantity
3.87 cubic feet, (1852 photographs, 170 film negatives, and 400 slides in 5 document boxes, 3 oversize boxes, 2 oversize folders, and 6 photograph albums)
Collection Number
Org. Lot 233 (collection)
Summary
The photographs document one of the most important and longest-lived financial institutions in Oregon and its expansion into branch banking throughout the state and into Idaho, Utah, and Washington. The collection covers personnel, activities, and buildings, most notably three buildings for the Portland home office, all designed by noted architect Pietro Belluschi.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

The photograph albums included in the Equitable Savings and Loan Collection have been cataloged and are findable through the keyword search in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's on-line public catalog.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

In 1890, prominent Portland businessmen incorporated the Oregon Building & Loan Association, which was renamed the Equitable Savings & Loan Association in 1899. The association occupied space in a number of downtown Portland buildings before constructing its first home at the corner of Southwest Sixth Avenue and Stark Street in 1932. Another new building replaced that one on the site in 1948. In 1965, the Association built the Equitable Center at 1300 Southwest Sixth Avenue. Pietro Belluschi, noted architect, designed all three of the buildings.

Equitable began its expansion into branch banking in 1941 at Seattle, Wash. Its branches eventually numbered more than 50 in Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Equitable was associated with GAC Corp. from about 1969-1972. When it merged with Benjamin Franklin Savings & Loan Association in 1982, Equitable was the oldest savings and loan in the Northwest.

Ralph Cake (1891-1973) was the association’s most prominent and longest-serving president (1938-1962). A Portland native and lawyer, he gained prominence as a national leader in the Republican Party and adviser to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the early 1930s, he was part of the group of savings and loan leaders who helped to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank and Loan Insurance Corporation. He also served on the board of the Panama Canal Co., 1953-1960 and 1969-1972.

A history compiled by Les Woods for an employee orientation slide show is located in Box 4, Folder 8.

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Content Description

The collection includes photographs from nearly all the period that Equitable existed as an independent institution, 1891-1982, but the bulk of them date from 1940-1980. The collection documents the buildings that the home office occupied in Portland and that branch offices occupied in Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The most notable buildings were for the home office in Portland, all three designed by noted architect Pietro Belluschi and completed in 1932, 1948 and 1965, respectively. The 1948 building was the first high-rise building constructed in the United States after World War II.

The collections includes several images of Belluschi. It also includes company personnel and activities, special events hosted or promoted by Equitable, and a small quantity of other images related to company operations and presidents. Included are a significant number of images showing women at work in the home office and in branches. Photo-Art Commercial Studios produced the bulk of the photographs, but the work of several other photographers also is represented, including Walter Boychuk, Ralph H. Cake, and Leonard Hatsill Delano and Delano Studios and Aerial Photography of Portland, Or. Many early images are later reproductions made by Photo-Art. Formats include black-and-white and color prints and snapshots, 35-mm color slides, and 35-mm black-and-white negatives. Some of the images are included in six photograph albums, mostly documenting headquarters and branch buildings.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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 reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Equitable Savings & Loan Association photographs collection, Org. Lot 233, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Equitable Savings & Loan Photographs Collection is organized into the following series and subseries:

  • Series A: Home Office (Portland, Or.), 1891-1980, undated
    • Subseries 1: Buildings
    • Subseries 2: Presidents
    • Subseries 3: Employees
    • Subseries 4: Employee Activities
    • Subseries 5: Special Events
    • Subseries 6: Slide Show for Employee Orientation
  • Series B: Branch Offices (Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington), 1949-1980, undated
    • Subseries 1: Buildings
    • Subseries 2: Employees and Activities
  • Series C: Other Images, 1940-circa 1970, undated

Acquisition Information

Library accession no. 16076 (Photo accession no. 1982D182).

Processing Note

Photograph albums were initially processed individually before being re-united with the collection. They were originally given Album numbers 706-711. The numbers are now Album 233-1 through Album 233-6.

Separated Materials

The Equitable Savings & Loan photographs were separated from a manuscript collection (MSS 2353), which is described and cataloged separately.

Related Materials

Pietro Belluschi's architectural drawings for two of the association's buildings are located in Archival Collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library (Coll 2) and at Syracuse University in New York.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Banks and banking--Northwest, Pacific--Photographs.
  • Branch banks--Idaho--Photographs.
  • Branch banks--Oregon--Photographs.
  • Branch banks--Utah--Photographs.
  • Branch banks--Washington (state)--Photographs.

Personal Names

  • Belluschi, Pietro, 1899-.

Corporate Names

  • Equitable Savings & Loan Association (Portland, Or.)--Photographs.
  • Portland Rose Festival--Photographs.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Film negatives.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Slides.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Boychuk, Walter, 1886-1967. (photographer)
    • Cake, Ralph H. (Ralph Harlan), 1891-. (photographer)
    • Delano, Leonard Hatsill, 1908-1989. (photographer)

    Corporate Names

    • Delano Aerial Surveys (Portland, Or.). (photographers)
    • Photo Art Studios (photographers)

Collection arranged and described by Mary Patton, 1983, and Sharon M. Howe, 2003
2003

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