Dave Knows Portland

May 17, 1858: Portland’s Central School Opens

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Central School - Oregon Historical Society Photographs Dept.

Several schools, most private and a few quasi-public, sporadically served the children of Portland from the late 1840s through the mid-1850s. But finally on May 17, 1858 the Central School opened, the first public school in Portland in a building, and on land, owned by the school district.

The school was constructed at 6th and Morrison, where Pioneer Courthouse Square is now. The first principal was L.L. Terwilliger, and he was assisted by Owen Connelly and Mrs. Mary J. Hensill. The first class had an enrollment of 280.

Additional source: Portland Public Schools, 1845-71, but Charles N. Reynolds. Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Dec., 1932), pp. 334-347.

April 26, 1869: Classes Begin at Portland’s First Public High School

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The first public school in Portland was established in 1851. Classes were held at the school-house at SW 1st and Oak, a building that had been used by an earlier private school. In 1858, a year before Oregon gained statehood, the first new school house was built at 6th and Morrison (where Pioneer Courthouse Square is located today).

On April 14, 1869 the board of directors established Portland High School, only the second public secondary school west of the Mississippi River (The Oregonian, 22-September-2005). A portion of the North school building (at NW 11th and Davis) was set aside for the school, with the first classes beginning on April 26, 1869. Called the Portland High School at the time, it was renamed Lincoln High School in the 1880s.

Additional sources:

Preview: Soccer City USA: The Portland Timbers and the NASL Years, 1975-1982

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Portland Timbers NASL era logoThe Oregon Historical Society‘s newest exhibit, Soccer City USA: The Portland Timbers and the NASL Years, 1975-1982, kicks off on April 15, 2011 (the day after the Timber’s home opener!).

The exhibit curators are Michael Orr (aka @maofootball ) and Morgen Young (aka @AlderLLC), historians and principals of FC Media LLC, which is dedicated to forming the definitive history of Portland Timbers Football Club.

They have assembled an exhibit which focuses on the years the Timbers played in the original North American Soccer League, and is the largest collection of Timbers artifacts in one place at one time.

The museum is located at 1200 SW Park, and the hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm, and Sunday, noon to 5:00pm. The exhibit runs through September 4, 2011.

Here are a few examples of what you will see:

1981 Warm Up Ball

Warm up ball from 1981 that was accidentally kicked into the crowd. It was later signed by the team at the first home game of the season against Vancouver.

Booster Jacket from the Timbers’ Booster Club, founded in 1976

Booster Jacket from the Timbers’ Booster Club, founded in 1976

Framed poster of the players on the 1975 team, loaned by ex-Timber Roger Goldingay (#16). (Click to embiggen!)

Framed poster of the players on the 1975 team, loaned by ex-Timber Roger Goldingay (#16). The poster is 7 feet wide.

April 12, 1887: First Morrison Street Bridge Opening Ceremony

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Morrison Bridge 1889Though the bridge had been completed and accessible for a day or two prior, on April 12, 1887 the first Morrison Street Bridge officially opened with a little celebration that included a procession and free crossings:

This forenoon at 10 o’clock the Morrison street bridge will be opened to the traveling public, all necessary work having been finished. At 10 o’clock sharp the bridge will be opened, and for two hours – until 12 M. – it will be free to all. After the noon hour the collector will commence taking fares. It was the purpose of the company to have the formal opening of the bridge celebrated in some fitting manner appropriate to such an event in the history of Portland. (Morning Oregonian, 04-12-1887)

In an early display of Portland’s patented passive aggressiveness, the article continues:

Some public demonstration was talked of, in which the mayor and members of the common council and other city officials of Portland, should unite with the officers of the municipal government of East Portland; that there would be a procession, music and congratulatory speeches made, and that the event would partake somewhat of the nature of a gala-day. However, as the project did not seem to meet with a very responsive spirit, the matter went by default and it was concluded to quietly open the bridge without any public demonstration.

The full length of the $200,000 bridge was 1650 feet, from the east line of Front street to the west line of Water street, with an 808 foot long iron draw. The movable span, which required about 90 seconds to open and close, was 26 feet high and 40 feet long. The roadway was 25 feet wide with 5 foot wide sidewalks on either side (sorry, no bike lanes). The toll rates were $.05 cents for pedestrians (but you could get 8 tickets for $.25!), $.10 for horsemen, and anywhere from $.15-$.25 for vehicles with sundry additional charges depending on load size and passenger count (Morning Oregonian, 04-07-1887). Built by the Willamette Iron Bridge Company, when it opened the Morrison street bridge was the largest span west of the Mississippi (Insiders’ Guide to Portland, Oregon, page 12).

Morrison Bridge #1 was replaced with Morrison Bridge #2 in 1905, and #3, the Morrison Bridge we know today, was opened in 1958.

April 7, 1890: The Portland Hotel Opens

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Portland HotelBefore Pioneer Courthouse Square, the block was a parking lot. Before the parking lot, the block was home to the Portland Hotel (aka Hotel Portland), which opened on April 7, 1890 (and before the hotel, one of Portland’s first schools occupied the location).

The Oregonian (8-April-1890) wrote of the importance of this development to Portland:

We have in this hotel an instrumentality that will be of greater service in building up the city than any other single thing could possibly be. It will speedily become another sign and attestation of the pre-eminence of Portland in the Northwest, whose chief city should have, as it now does have, the finest, largest and best hotel. A city is judged by its hotel accommodations, and on this basis of judgment Portland henceforward will take the rank she deserves.

The Portland Hotel sported 326 elegant guest rooms distributed over 8 floors and everything else one would expect in a modern hotel: parlors and sitting rooms, a restaurant, a bar, a ballroom, dining rooms, etc. It also boasted steam heat and gas and electric lights.

Railroad man Henry Villard, who also spearheaded efforts to build Union Station, began constructing the hotel in the 1880s, but ran out of money. A group of Portland business men raised money to finish construction by selling subscriptions, and the hotel was completed.

In 1951 the hotel was razed and replaced with a parking lot, as developers were wont to do in the 1950s.