Glimpse history through fascinating old images of Portland, Oregon, in the United States of America.
Old Pictures of Portland OR
Published in 1859, the image of boats on the river and the surrounding landscape is surrounded by illustrations of a number of Portland’s notable and interesting buildings.Old Illustrations of Portland’s local industries, published in the January 1884 edition of West Shore.Late 19th Century illustration of First Street, North from Taylor, Portland, Oregon.Old illustration of Park Street School in Portland Oregon, published in West Shore in June 1880.Old illustration of the Portland Mechanics’ Fair Oregon, published in West Shore in November 1886.Picture of a bird’s-eye view of Portland Oregon, from around 1888.Old illustrations of the military academy at Portland Oregon, published in the December 1888 edition of West Shore.
Old Photos of Portland OR
Old photo of Front Street in Portland, Oregon, taken in 1852. I’ve left it small because it’s easier to see the image.I’ve left this image small so you can see it more clearly. It was taken on 22 June 1858, and shows some sort of event in Portland celebrating the admission of Oregon to the Union.Two very early photos of Portland, Oregon, looking down from an elevated position. The photographer died in 1916 but the buildings suggest this was taken many years previously.Two very early photos of Portland, Oregon, looking down from an elevated position. The photographer died in 1916 but the buildings suggest this was taken many years previously.Two old photos of Portland Oregon, one of the city from Robinson’s Hill, and the other of the wharf at Columbia River.Two old photos of First Street in Portland, Oregon, taken from the Occidental Hotel. Old photo of the Portland Library Association building, taken sometime around 1893.Old photo of Morrison Street in Portland (Oregon), taken about 1896Old photo of Third and Morrison streets in Portland Oregon, taken sometime around 1896. On the right is a closeup of a section of the photo, so you can see the horse in front of the carriage waiting at the side of the road, and spot the 3rd streetcar.Old photo of downtown Portland in Oregon, taken in 1898.Birds eye view of Portland Oregon, c.1899, plus a close up of one section of the old image.Old picture of the busy river at Portland Oregon in 1899.Old photo of the Oregonian Buildings (Portland, Oregon) in 1899. On the right is a close up, showing the shop awnings, and stationery horse drawn vehicles.Old photo of the Andrew Kan & Co china store in Portland Oregon, taken sometime between 1895 and 1910.On the left is a very early photo of Portland, Oregon; on the right is a photo of the Oregonian Buildings taken sometime around 1900. The two images contrast to show how rapidly development brought a modern city.Old photo of Portland Oregon. It was taken sometime between 1898 and 1931.Old photo of Third and Washington Streets in Portland, Oregon. Taken sometime around 1900. On the right is a close up of one section of the photo, so you can see the long line of telegraph poles disappearing into the distance. Old photo of Portland, Oregon, from an elevated position, taken sometime around 1900Old picture of the Post Office in Portland, Oregon, published about 1900.Old picture of Portland, Oregon. Probably taken around 1901, many tall buildings are already present.Old photo from around 1903, showing the cityscape of Portland, Oregon, with Mount St Helens in the background.Old photo of the Portland Dining Room, Portland OR, in 1904.Bird’s-eye view photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1904.Old photo of Baldwin’s airship returning from a flight over the city of Portland, Oregon. It was one of the attractions of the Lewis 7 Clark Centennial exhibition in 1905.Old photo of the Bridge of All Nations at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland Oregon in 1905.A blurry image of the main entrance to the Lewis & Clark Exposition, Portland OR, in 1905.Old photo of the Main Entrance and Colonnade, Agricultural Palace, and Foreign Palace, at the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition at Portland Oregon in 1905Old photo of the Linn & Co exhibit in the Agriculture Palace, part of the Lewis & Clark Centenary Exposition held in Portland OR in 1905.Old photo of the Forestry Building, part of the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition of 1905, Portland, Oregon. A statue installation at the Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland OR in 1905 depicts four men shooting guns into the air while galloping along on horses.Old photo of the City Park in Portland Oregon, taken around 1905.Old photo of the Thompson Statue in Portland Oregon, taken around 1905.Old photo of Washington Street, looking east from Fifth Street, Portland Oregon. Taken sometime around 1906. On the right is a close up of the ladies in their big bonnets and long skirts, crossing the road as a large horse driven carriage approaches. The pavements are very busy with pedestrians.Old photo of Sixth Street in Portland OR, looking north past the Hotel Portland, Marquam Grand, and Oregonian Buildings. Taken sometime around 1906. On the right is a closeup of the area further down the street, showing a long line of telegraph poles, horse driven vehicles and ladies in long skirts.Old photo of north through Sixth Street, Portland Oregon, looking from Vamhill. Taken sometime around 1907. On the right I’ve added a closeup so you can see a bit more further down the street.Old photo of Third Street, south from Oak Street, taken in 1907. The Chamber of Commerce is on the right side of the street. I’ve added a close up of further down the street, busy with horse drawn vehicles.Old photo of Morrison Street, looking west from Fifth Street, in Portland Oregon, around 1907. To the right is a close up of one section of the image, showing a horse drawn delivery cart, ladies in floor length skirts, and many people walking under the shop awnings.Old photo of Washington Street, west from Third, in Portland Oregon, taken sometime about 1907. On the right is a closeup of one section of the photo, showing a streetcar and horse driven cart, along with telegraph poles and ladies in long skirts.Old photo of Sixth Street, south from Washington, Portland, Oregon, taken around 1907. On the right is a closeup of one section of the photo, showing people crossing the road between a horse driven vehicle and a parked motor vehicle. Large awnings protect window shoppers from the elements, while a giant banner is wrapped round the outside of a building.Old photo of lumber being loaded onto sailing vessels at Portland Oregon, take sometime around 1907.An old photo of the cityscape of Portland Oregon, taken from an elevated point sometime around 1908.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1908.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1908.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1908Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1908.Old photo of a car taking part in the 1910 Annual Flower Fete in Portland, Oregon.Old photo of the USS Oregon at harbor in Portland, Oregon. The Broadway Bridge is still under construction in the background, suggesting this photo was taken in 1912.Colorado based artist Alice Cooper created a 34 foot bronze statue called ‘Sacajawea and Jean Baptiste’, which you can still see today at Washington Park in Portland Oregon. It was the first monument to Sacajawea, the indigenous Lemhi Shoshone guide who helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition across America’s western territories. The statue was erected in July 1905, a year Portland hosted both the 37th National American Women Suffrage Association Convention (at a time when women had the vote in only 4 states), and the Lewis and Clark Expedition centennial. The statue was funded by women, who sold Sacajawea buttons and spoons to raise $7,000, commissioned by women, and created by a woman. But the dark reality of Sacajawea’s life is that she was captured by a rival tribe at the age of 12, sold to the French-Canadian trapper Toussaint Charbonneau, and bore his child. When she was chosen to accompany the Lewis and Clark expedition, she took her two years old son too, and she joined the group of explorers long with a black slave called York. Both Sacajawea and York were allowed to vote on where to camp for the winter, which made her an inspirational story for the suffragists, but when she met her long-lost brother Cameahwait during an unexpected encounter with a Shoshone group, she was forced to continue the exploration rather than be reunited with her people.Composite photo made about 1920, showing over sixty biplanes flying over downtown Portland OR. With a close up of one section of the image.Old photo of wooden ships under construction at Supple & Ballin Yards in Portland Oregon. Taken between 1915 and 1920.Old photo of a wooden ship under construction at the Peninsula Yard in Portland, Oregon, taken between 1915 and 1920.Old photo of a wooden auxiliary motor schooner being built at the Peninsula Yard in Portland Oregon, sometime between 1915 and 1920.Old photo of Series “D” trains at East Portland Oregon, with ships in the background and a view of the city’s riverfront across the water.Charles Evans Hughes was a New York lawyer, Republican Party politician, 36th Governor of New York (1907–1910), 44th U.S. Secretary of State (1921–1925), and Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 1916 presidential election. This 1916 photo shows CE Hughes and his wife Antoinette during an election visit to Portland, Oregon. In 1922, their youngest daughter Elizabeth would become one of the first diabetic humans injected with insulin. I wonder who the jolly policeman is, smiling at us in the background?Old photo of children with tuberculosis (TB) sleeping at AL Mills Open-Air School. Taken between 1917 and 1925. I’ve kept the image small because it gets too blurry at a larger size.Old cityscape photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1923.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1923Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon taken around 1923.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon, taken around 1923.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon taken around 1923.Closeup of an old photo of Portland Oregon taken around 1923.Old photo of a rose lined street in Portland Oregon, taken in the summer of 1923.Old photo of the Portland Police, Oregon, taken on September 19, 1924.Old black and white photo of Portland, Oregon, taken from an elevated position sometime around 1927.Old photo of a Public Market in Portland Oregon in July 1936.Old photo of a squatter’s shack at Hooverville, Portland, Oregon, taken in July 1936.Old photo of the Mayor’s office and commissary at Hooverville in Portland Oregon, taken in July 1936.Old photo of Hooverville shacks at Portland Oregon in 1936.Old photo of a squatter living in a shack at Hooverville in Portland Oregon, in July 1936.Old photo of the interior of a squatter’s shack at Hooverville, Portland Oregon, in July 1936.Old photo of Squatters shacks at Hooverville Portland Oregon, July 1936.This photo from Portland OR in July 1936 records the price of oats for sale in a shop, showing how drought had raised food prices.Old photo of lumber loaded onto boats at the Willamette River, Portland Oregon, in 1936.Old photo of industry at Willamette River, Portland Oregon, in July 1936.These two images were taken in 1936 and 1941, and both show how lumber could be floated down the Willamette River to Portland, Oregon, ready for loading onto boats and ships for export to other States and nations.Old photo of woodpiles on the street outside houses in Portland Oregon. Taken in August 1939, the caption states “Costs five dollars and fifty cents per cord, and must now be hauled thirty-five miles”.Old photo showing people signing a petition against Federal Migratory Labor Camps, taken in Portland Oregon in 1939.Old photo taken in September 1941, of a pleasant house surrounded by conifer trees, in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon.Old photo of a woodyard in Portland Oregon, taken in October 1941.Old photo of an oceangoing boat being loaded with lumber at Portland Oregon, taken in October 1941. Good view of the riverfront and skyline beyond, too.Old photo of a Portland Junior Chamber of Commerce fire prevention campaign.Old postcard of Sturgeon on the Columbia River, Oregon
