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As near as I can make out, this photograph shows a series of six archways, and with an apparent date of 1918 also represents the earliest-known photograph of the arches that I've so far managed to find.
There's no date on the trolley map itself, but on the other side is printed a map of the Vanport development (which you also can see marked at the northern edge of the trolley map) which is dated as being from August, 1943.
The map itself indicates that it was prepared by the Portland Traction Company for the Housing Authority of Portland (the latter might explain the presence of the map of Vanport on the opposite side).
One afternoon back in late September of 2004, I encountered something most peculiar on the shelves at Powells, and despite its $30 price tag, I couldn't simply leave it behind.
Published in 1913, and entitled Portland, Oregon A.D. 1999 And Other Sketches, the book's first half takes the form of an encounter between the author, one Jeff W. Hayes, and a mysterious 86-year-old woman who reveals to him her prophecies of life in Portland at the end of the 20th century.
So hold on tight. Here, then, are some selected (but extensive) revelations of Portland in 1999 as seen from the vantage point of 1913.
Continue reading "Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's 1999" »
Although the set had been bound together in hardback form, with "THE FINGER" and "OCT. 9, 1942 - JAN 3, 1944" embossed along the spine, there was no indication of the book's source, although that it had been carefully bound at all suggested it had come from a collection, of some sort, from somewhere. That binding, however, was free of any label or imprint.
The collection then sat untouched for months before I began to seek out information on "The Finger," its origins, and its creators.
These arches crisscrossed above the intersections along SW 3rd between Yamhill (although some sources say Taylor) and Burnside.
Back in February of 2004, I began my research at the Oregon Historical Society research library, with the 1914 volume of The Oregonian Index, where indeed I found seven citations under the heading "Great Light Way" -- six from June and one from July of that year.
Thanks to a slightly sloppy piece of writing on my part, when The Oregonian selected as its website of the week my Portland Stories project, they reported that submissions could come from Portland history. In reality, stories on that site always were meant to be personal.
But the event of that miscommunication had at least one benefit: It prompted me finally to sit down and put together the companion site to Portland Stories which I always had intended to launch, but for whatever reason hadn't yet.
That companion site, of course, is this one. Welcome to the official launch of Portland Histories.