Driving down basically any street in the city can make you wonder ‘hey when did that building get there?’ With rapid growth and change, Portland looks significantly different today than it did just a decade ago, let alone a century back. In these rare photos you are blasted to the past when things were a lot slower and a whole lot less crowded.
- This snowy image was capture on SW 12th Avenue between Main and Jefferson in 1950.
Portland Bureau of Transportation / Flickr
- Traffic was scarce at this junction of Barbur Boulevard looking south in 1950.
Portland Bureau of Transportation / Flickr
- While downtown was pretty set in stone by the 1950s, the streets look so uncharacteristically empty, especially here on SW Broadway and Columbia.
Portland Bureau of Transportation / Flickr
- This image is from the Taylor Hotel, which was on the corner of 3rd and Taylor in the 1920s.
Oregon Nikkei Endowment / Flickr
- While some Portlanders still have goats today, you don’t see them pulling people around in wagons. This picture was taken at Southwest Main Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues sometime after 1900 when this statue was installed.
A. Davey / Flickr
- Still a hub for public transport, this picture taken at SW 3rd and Yamhill shows the public transport of the early 1900s in Portland.
Trimet / Flickr
- In this undated photo of Union Station, you can see that not much has changed other than the cars driven.
Loco Steve / Flickr
- As far back as 1890, Portlanders were taking this classic picture of the city. The skyline has changed quite a bit, but you still may be able to recognize a few of the landmarks in this photo.
Marion Doss / Flickr
- Before strip malls, Janzen Beach was a popular swimming spot for area residents. After the Vanport Flood in 1948 though, people stopping coming and the pools were shut down in 1970.
Washington State Department of Transportation / Flickr
What do you remember from Portland’s past? Share below!
Portland Bureau of Transportation / Flickr
Oregon Nikkei Endowment / Flickr
A. Davey / Flickr
Trimet / Flickr
Loco Steve / Flickr
Marion Doss / Flickr
Washington State Department of Transportation / Flickr
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