The 1910s

Small Portland Homes of the 1910′s

North Portland’s Albina neighborhood is rich with history and probably contains more small turn of the 20th century homes than any other area of Portland.

“Farmhouse” and “Old-Portland style” homes were built to support the growing population of railway workers.  By 1909, the thriving Oregon Railway and Navigation Company rail yards serviced five transcontinental rail lines ran through the heart of Albina. The company was directed by the prominent Portland businessmen whose names are easily recognizable as the streets and areas named after them, Henry Failing and William S. Ladd.

Albina was always diverse but construction of the rail shops brought changes in the population.  The working class moved in as semi-skilled jobs became available in the OR & N rail yards, and management and business owners moved to Irvington and other neighborhoods expanding east.  These working class residents occupied the cheap and temporary structures along the railroad tracks in an area then known as “Stringtown”.  Within a few short years, Albina became almost entirely a working class community of small homes.

The area consisted of industrial, commercial and residential buildings.  Industrial was focused at the OR & N rail yard along the low-lying riverbank of the Willamette River.  Three and four-story brick commercial buildings in plain styles lined the busy retail streets bound by Mississippi and Williams Avenue supporting the bustling population of over 3000 residents and growing.

Unfortunately alot of these commercial buildings were demolished to make way for the Interstate Highway construction and the Emmanuel Hospital urban renewal project. But many of the small “farmhouse” and “old-Portland” style cottages can be found today in the once-again thriving areas of Old Albina including the Mississippi and Boise-Eliot neighborhoods.

1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair Promotes Portland

“Westward The Course of Empire Takes Its Way”

The first census of 1860 showed Portland’s population as 52,465.  By 1900, that number had grown to a sizable 413,536.  By 1910 it was 672,765… an increase of 62% in just 10 years!

Many memorable changes and events took place in those 10 years that left an indelible mark on our young city.   One of the most influential was the Lewis & Clark Exposition of 1905.  The idea originated with Portland’s business community as a way to help the city become more well known nationally and even internationally.

Some of Portland’s most wealthy and powerful men joined together to create an event of unmatched grandeur.  Henry W. Goode, the head of Portland General Electric Company, became the president of the Board of Directors.  Others included I.N. Fleischner, First Vice-President; Oskar Huber, Director of Works, Colonel Henry E. Dosch, Director of Exhibits, Henry E. Reed, Secretary, and J.A. Wakefield, Director of Concessions and Admissions.

Looking for a way to connect the Expo to a celebration, the Oregon Historical Society suggested they tie it to the Lewis & Clark expedition which was about to celebrate 100 years.  Officially it was not considered a World’s Fair but it was described as one, and featured 21 exhibitors from other countries.

Guilds Lake was a picturesque lake In NW Portland where the fairgrounds were built, covering almost 400 acres. The lake is gone today, thanks to developers and the Port of Portland who filled it in.  In fact there are few remnants of the fair since most of the structures were meant to be temporary. A few places were moved to other locations and were used for many years, such as the Forestry Building.  Billed at the Fair as the “largest log cabin” in the world, it was reinforced with concrete and turned into a museum until it burned down in 1964.  It was rebuilt in Forest Park and is known today as the World Forestry Center.  The National Cash Register Building is currently owned by McMenamins and serves North Portland as the spectacular St Johns Theater and Pub.

St Johns Theater and Pub

The exciting event is generally considered to have influenced the tremendous population growth in the years preceding the fair.  During its 4 months over 1.6 million visitors from around the world visited our city, bringing in $85,000 in revenues, extremely rare for similar fairs of the time.  And the early hopes of Portland’s business community were realized… the beauty of Oregon and the prosperous outlook of Portland enticed many visitors to stay.