PORTLAND OREGON

By 1850 Portland had approximately 800 inhabitants with a Steam Sawmill, a Log Cabin Hotel and a newspaper called the Weekly Oregonian. In 1851 the town incorporated and was officially the city of Portland.

Until the 1890's Portland was the major Port in the Pacific Northwest. Like other west coast ports, Portland was home to frequent acts of shanghaiing. Tunnels under the city stretched for blocks from the Willamette River under many of the city blocks. Trap doors in businesses were used to drop unsuspecting victims into the tunnels, where they were held in cells until a ship was ready to sail. Many bar owners and hotel operators relied on this shanghai trade to supplement their businesses.

Portland was booming with emigrants looking for a new life. By 1885 Portland was like any other large city. There were Public Schools, dogs were required to be licensed, Telegraph lines were strung, the first water mains, sewer system and gas lines were in place. The Railroad had arrived, along with Fire alarms, Telephone lines, Electric street lights, a Paid Fire Department, and the first water pumping station.

With the population increasing at a rapid rate, the needs of the people were also increasing. In the early days, Portlanders had to walk, ride a horse or ride in a horse drawn wagon to get around town. During the rainy months, the streets turned to mud and make shift wooden sidewalks were built to get people out of the mud. (Portland is located west of the Cascade Range, in the northern part of Oregon, which means it rains about 7 months out of the year.)

Transportation was a must in a town of this size. The resourceful Ben Holladay built Portland�s first drawn Trolley line to operate in Portland in 1872. The Trolleys were horse and mule drawn, traveling on First Avenue from Glisan to Caruthers. Ben Holladay purchased the Trolley�s and had them shipped by steamer from San Francisco.

With increasing numbers flowing into Portland, the ferry system on the Willamette connecting east and west Portland was becoming a problem. Accommodating all those who needed to cross, became very time consuming. So in 1888 a Bridge was built across the Willamette on the spot of the present day Steel Bridge. With the opening of the bridge, a major expansion began, with Trolley lines now on both the east and west sides of the Willamette River. Several new Trolley companies began, and the first electrified streetcar service began, in the Albina area. The fares were five cents. As the street car expanded to other areas, Real Estate developers created the communities of Council Crest, Hawthorne, Irvington and Mount Tabor, as well as others, as the street car lines lured people away from the central city to live in the suburbs.

A second bridge was built in 1891, the Madison Street Bridge, to accommodate the ever growing population, the town was spreading out farther and farther. Residents in the Sellwood area still were using a ferry to cross the Willamette River, as the community lye on both sides of the river, and it was still faster than traveling all the way to the Madison Street Bridge.

With the growing needs of the people, the East Side Railway Company started providing both passenger service and freight service all the way to Oregon City. (Portland was known for having the first electric railroad passenger service and first inter-urban line in the United States.)

In a time when ability to travel was of the utmost, the worst happened. A fire destroyed the Madison Street Bridge, in 1902. It would not be till 1910, before another bridge would replace it, the present day Hawthorn Bridge.

Farm lands were being subdivided and sold, creating small communities. As the communities grew the areas incorporated into small towns around the Portland area, one such was the town of St. Johns, which incorporated February 19, 1903.

A plan was submitted, by the Olmsted Brothers, in 1903, to hold an Exposition in honor of Lewis and Clark, which included plans for three new parks, which are the present day, Forest Park, Mt. Tabor Park and the Terwilliger Boulevard Scenic Parkway.

By the turn of the century, the residents of Portland began thinking more towards community. Community organizations and activities. The Portland Rose Society was formed in 1904, and the first, of four Rose Society Fiesta�s was held, helping to bring the community closer.

In 1905, the plans made by the Olmsted Brothers became reality. The Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair opened June 1st and ran til October 15th. The exposition was held on land created by filing in the Guild�s Lake, in Northwest Portland. An enormous Log Cabin, The Forestry Building, was built for the Exposition. The building won acclaim as �the world�s greatest log cabin.�

As community involvement increased, so did the need for social activities, and on May 1, 1907, Oaks Amusement Park opened. Dancing, Music and community socials became a weekly occurrence. Signs on the Trolley cars advertized �Amusements for all, Dancing, Music and Picnic Parties at The Oaks.� By October more than 350,000 people visited the park. The Rose Society, also saw the need for community involvement, and formed the first, of more than 96, Rose Festival�s.

Emigrants keep coming, and the area keeps growing. On the West side of Portland, a small community, was incorporated into the town of Linnton, in 1910, as Portland was purchasing land for the Forest Park, thus, preventing the town from being turned into a park.

With the need for more accessability to Northwest and North Portland, the City authorized the construction of the Broadway Bridge, with a cost of $450,000.

As Portland grew, the needs of the community grew, Schools, Doctors, Lawyers, Law Enforcement were all needed. Tradesmen were always needed, but usually stayed within their own community. Carpenters were in high demand as more and more houses and buildings were needed for the evermore growing population and businesses. Services were needed, but not always available. Water, was one thing, Portland was in short supply of, but in 1911, two additional Reservoirs were built on Mt. Tabor, giving the population over 125 million gallons of water to consume.

Portland was finally putting her name on the map. The second oldest lift bridge in North America was built in Portland in 1912. The Union and Southern Pacific Railroads paid $1.7 million dollars to build the Steel Bridge, the only telescoping vertical lift bridge in the world, replacing the old bridge built in 1888.

Again community involvement seem to shine through, as a most beautiful Rose Garden was designed and built in Peninsula Park. Not to be out shown the community of Ladd�s Addition planted Roses in Ladd�s Circle, for all to enjoy.

As the population grew, the county expanded, small communities were many. Incorporated towns were starting to be annexed to Portland. The town of Lents was one of those to be annexed.

By 1912 the City started looking to the future. An Architect from Chicago, named Edward Bennett, was hired to develop a plan for the city. Bennett�s visions of the future, were not far off, predicting that Portland would grow to 2,000,000 and would include all the population within a twenty-mile radius. Grand buildings, major roads and a City Center for the business district, spectacular visualizations of grand streets radiating out from West Burnside, Portland�s main drag. One stately parkway would run along the North Park Blocks to a proposed new train Station, linking pedestrians, cars and rail, making Portland the major city in Oregon, was all part of the �Greater Portland Plan.� Apparently his vision caught on in a smaller vision, as Simon Benson, Lumber Baron and philanthropist, concerned by the number of intoxicated workers in town, asked why the workers drank in the middle of the day, they replied that there was no fresh drinking water downtown. So Benson commissioned 20 4-bowl elegant freshwater drinking fountains to be built, for the downtown area. After the fountains were installed, Beer consumption dropped by 25% The Water Bureau of Portland, started selling water to the City of Gresham, as its first major wholesale customer, it seems as Portland was now on it�s way to the future. Following in the lines of the Greater Portland Plan, the first traffic signal was installed on SW Fifth and Washington, entering Portland into the new age of the automobile. The new Broadway Bridge was opened to traffic, connecting Northwest and North Portland.

A Major step for both Portland and the entire state of Oregon was when the Oregon State Highway Commission was created, in 1914, as there were 19,245 cars registered in Oregon. One of the first things the Commission did was to designate the Oregon beaches as highways, opening the doors to future tourism for both Portland and Oregon. A year later the first section of the Oregon Coast Highway was completed.

The Central Public Market opened in May of 1914, a part of the �Plan�, creating an open market for farmers and other vendors, to sell their goods. Again, helping to create the downtown area as the center of the business district. The Trolley System by now stretched out west to the Hillsboro and Forest Grove areas, to the east, to Estacada, Dodge Park and Bull Run, to the north to Vancouver and south to Oregon City, making Portland�s city center more accessible.

The cities of St. Johns and Linnton were incorporated in 1915, expanding the city limits and population, and a major development was taking place. The Interstate Bridge is under construction, and will connect the states of Washington and Oregon, allowing a more free flow of traffic between the two states by 1917.

By 1920, the population of Oregon has grown to 783,389 citizens and thanks to the Oregon State Highway Commission, there is 620 miles of paved roads and 297.2 miles of plank roads, open for public use. The need for a new plan for the growth of Portland was sought, that would include major traffic streets, boulevards and a park system, to help with the ever growing traffic and congestion problems. Between 1924 and 1926 the first zoning codes were established , the first one-way street was dedicated, four new Bridges were opened; the Sellwood, Burnside, Ross Island, and Vista Bridges. A report �Future Bridges� was completed, proposes new bridges at Interstate or Overlook Avenue and Morrison Street. It would take 53 years to complete the bridge proposal, with the completion of the Freemont Bridge in 1973. It is unclear to me wither Portlanders had more money or just preferred to drive, but by 1926, Portland had more cars per capita than Chicago or New York, requiring the streets to be widened in principal parts of the city.

In 1927 another vision was completed, with the opening of the Swan Island Airport, which replaced the outdated municipal field at Westmoreland Park. Charles Lindbergh flew in as part of the opening ceremonies. Bennett�s Greater Portland Plan was now reality, with the tallest building in Oregon opening, in downtown portland. The building housed three of the major business, in Portland; Portland Gas, Coke Company, and Northwestern Electric, later named Pacific Power and Light. The visions of Bennett�s Greater Portland Plan would continue to blossom, as bigger and better buildings seem to sprout up, and the entire city began to bloom like a rose.