Dave Knows Portland

December 19, 1910: Hawthorne Bridge Opened to Traffic

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Morning Oregonian headline and photo, 20 December 1910The Hawthorne Bridge opened to traffic on December 19, 1910 (Morning Oregonian 20 December 1910).

“Let it open.”

In that pert sentence the Hawthorne bridge was accepted for the city by Mayor Simon yesterday after a discussion of minor defects in the machinery of the bridge, which for a time bid fair to delay acceptance of the viaduct for another fortnight. . .

The Mayor, other officials and bridgemen ascended on the lift 160 feet over the level of the river. Engineer Hicks, who will operate the lift for the county, handling the levers. The bridge was then officially accepted, Mayor Simon saying to Engineer Stutsman:

“I now turn this bridge over to you, Mr. Stutsman. You are now in full charge. The bridge is open to traffic.”

The 1,383 foot long Hawthorne Bridge is the oldest vertical lift bridge still operating in the country, and one of Portland’s busiest bridges. 30,000 cars and trucks, and thousands of pedestrians and cyclists cross it each day. Lifts are required approximately 200 times a month. It was designed by the engineering firm Waddell and Harrington and was constructed by the Pennsylvania Steel Co, United Engineering and Construction, and Robert Wakefield.

December 18, 1953: The Dalles Bridge Opens

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The Oregonian photo and caption, 19 December 1953On Friday, December 18, 1953 automobile traffic began streaming onto The Dalles bridge (The Oregonian, 19 December 1953).

THE DALLES (Special) – Traffic in a steady stream was flowing across the newest Columbia river interstate bridge at The Dalles, opened for public use at noon Friday by the governors of Oregon and Washington, as thousands of motorists tried out Wasco county’s $4,000,000 structure located a stone’s through downstream from the are where a huge Columbia river dam is now rising.

The steel truss cantilever bridge carries U.S. 197, connecting Murdock and Dallesport on the Washington side with The Dalles. Less than four years later the completion of The Dalles Dam nearby inundated Celilo Falls.

December 17, 1898: Oregon Historical Society Incorporated

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Oregon Historical SocietyWork begun by Professor F.G. Young of the University of Oregon was the inspiration for the establishment of the Oregon Historical Society, which was incorporated on Saturday, December 17, 1898 in the lecture room of the Portland library (The Sunday Oregonian, 18 December 1898).

Professor Young was asked to give an outline of his plan. This he did briefly, referring to similar societies in other states, but especially to that of Wisconsin, as affording the best model. He then called upon L. B. Cox to give the legal aspect of the matter. He responded by suggesting the mode of organization under existing state laws. A board of 10 directors was then elected . . .

Harvey W. Scott, former editor and part owner of The Oregonian, was elected president of the nascent society, and Portland was selected as the permanent place of business.

The Oregon Historical Quarterly has been published continuously since 1900, and since 1929 the society has published over 150 books on Oregon history, politics and culture, as well as biographies, field guides and exhibit catalogs.

December 16, 1961: KPFM, Portland’s First FM Stereo Radio Station, Goes on the Air

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KPFM program listing in The Oregonian, 16 December 1961KPFM, Portland’s first FM multiplex stereo radio station, and at the time one of only twenty in the country, began broadcasting at noon on Saturday, December 16, 1961 (The Oregonian, 16 December 1961).

The Oregonian explained the new technology:

In its simplest terms, FM stereo is the broadcasting of two signals over one channel from the station. In the FM stereo receiving set, the two different signals are put through a dual amplifier and fed into separate speakers for reconversion into sound.

FM stereo is full compatible and owners of conventional FM sets will hear broadcasts monoaurally just as they always have but will not hear them in stereo.

The first show FM stereo program broadcast was “Introduction to Stereo” with Don Vincent, Art Gilmore and Tom Mercein hosts. It included sound effects, music and commentary. It was followed at 1pm by the album “Victory at Sea,” Vol. III. “Pass in Review,” the sound effects of a parade presented in London’s Phase 4, was scheduled at 3pm.

December 15, 1925: Sellwood Bridge Opens

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Morning Oregonian headline, 16 December 1925Portland’s Sellwood Bridge first opened to traffic on Tuesday, December 15, 1925 (Morning Oregonian, 16 December 1925).

For 21 years the ferry John F. Caples has done valient service in transporting Portlanders to and from Sellwood, connecting the east and west sides. Now it has been supplanted. During those years Portland has seen the development of the automobile: it has seen a vast increase in motor traffic, bringing with it harassing problems of vehicular control: it has seen a need created for greater ease of trans-river communication.

And so it is that yesterday saw the end of active service at Sellwood for the John F. Caples. In its place now towers the new $500,000 Sellwood bridge, which, at exercises attended by thousands of Portland residents, including hundreds of school children, was officially thrown open to traffic yesterday afternoon.

1,092 feet long and 28 feet wide, the Sellwood Bridge was the first fixed-span bridge on the lower Willamette River and a pioneer in area bridge technology. Gustav Lindenthal, a renowned bridge engineer, designed the bridge, and it was constructed by Portland’s Gilpin Construction Company.