Interpretive Bridge Panels Large Stand Alone Small Stand Alone Quotations & Poetry Exhibit Locations 1

interpretive bridge panels large stand alone small stand alone quotations & poetry exhibit locations 1. Lumber Mill Location: #1 Northeast Plaza Theme: Although it’s now a quiet riverside neighborhood, the area at this end of the Sellwood Bridge once echoed with the screams of sawmills, the smack of lumber, and the whistles of trains. Title: Echoes of Industry Content Overview: East Side Lumber Company was established in 1902 by four local men just in time for a big building boom in the Portland area. It grew to include subsidiary Oregon Door Company and East Side Box Factory, becoming one of Portland’s larger mills. By the 1920s, there were 300-500 employees at the mill, depending on the number of jjypyobs the mill had. Many employees lived in Sellwood. Timber arrived via river or by interurban railroad. The original Sellwood Bridge included a fire suppression system under the east end, to protect the bridge from fires that might catch in the mill buildings below. By the 1930s milling operations had shut down. A huge fire burned many structures in 1940, but Oregon Door Company survived and continued into the 1950s. A building from the old mill remained until 2011, when it was demolished to make way for the new bridge’s construction. Visible remnants of this industrial era include the Springwater Corridor, which lies along old rail lines that once served the mill . The rail lines are visible from some spots on the bridge. 2. Story of the River Location: #2 Southwest Belvedere Theme: As Portland has grown over the past century and a half, the Willamette has always been at the heart ofkldtttif work, play, and transportation. Title: A River of Challenge and Opportunity Content Overview: In the early 19th century, Euroamerican explorers, traders, and trappers came up the Columbia to the Willamette, where they found Native Americans using the river for transportation (they made dugout canoes and rafts) and for subsistence (fish, beaver, etc). Only about 10 miles south of Sellwood Bridge was Willamette Falls,,pg one of the most important trading centers for Pacific Northwest tribes—so this part of the river was very busy with boats going to and from the Columbia system. Euroamerican settlers--farmers and lumbermen--of the 1800s also found the river to be valuable for transportation, but for the types of transportation they used (large steamboats to ship grain, other produce, supplies, an d passengers ), the r iver ’s c hang ing c hanne l an d annua l floo ds were a big c ha llenge. In the 1940s, the Willamette Valley Project created a system of dams, “taming” the river. Today, the river remains a very important transportation corridor; at this point it is primarily pleasure craft, but just downstream large commercial ships still use the river (point out docks for pleasure craft visible from the bridge). 3. River View Cemetery-Historical Superintendent’s Residence Location: #3 Near Funeral Home, off of Macadam Theme: This handsome brick building is just one of many structures at River View Cemetery that were designed by some of Portland’s most celebrated architects. Title: Architecture for a Solemn Setting Content Overview: Funeral home: The Georgian-style building, once known as the Superintendent’s Residence and now housing the funeral home, was designed by Ellis Fuller Lawrence, founder and long-time dean of the U of O School of Architecture. It was completed in 1913. (Lawrence also designed many other notable houses and buildings in Portland, including the Cumberland Apartments and Cooley House at Lewis and Clark College). The Superintendent’s Residence replaced an older “caretaker’s cottage” designed by Warren H. Williams. There was originally a widow’ s walk on the roof, removed sometime after 1987. Cemetery gates: Lawrence designed the original gates, which were removed in 1928. The replacement gates have an interesting story. While on his deathbed, noted architect Albert Ernest Doyle (Multnomah Falls Lodge, the Benson Hotel) described his concept for the gate design to his student and colleague Pietro Belluschi:a: a set of inverted Ionic columns, symbolizing death. Belluschi sketched the design that was eventually used for the new gates. Belluschi also went on to design the cemetery’s Chapel Mausoleum and Office. Another generation: Richard Sunleaf, a student of Lawrence, Doyle, and Belluschi, designed additions to Belluschi’s chapel. 4. River View Cemetery Location: #4 Near Cemetery Entrance, off Macadam Theme: One of Portland’s oldest cemeteries, River View is also the final resting place for some very celblebra tdted c itizens. Title: River View Cemetery Content Overview: This exhibit will welcome visitors to respectfully explore the cemetery, and point out that tour brochures are available. History: the cemetery was established in 1882 as a non-ppy,rofit cemetery association, on land donated b y founders William S. Ladd, Henry W. Corbett, and Henry Failing. It was intended to be a major cemetery for the growing city of Portland, an improvement over the existing city cemetery, which was on the other side of the Willamette. A great deal of forethought went into the design of the grounds; it represents an era when cemeteries were conceived as beautiful, pastoral spaces in an increasingly urbanized world; in a sense, cemetiteries suc h as RiViRiver View were among thfitthe first pu bli“blic “par k”iUSitiks” in US cities. Examples of significant interments: Virgil Earp, Henry Weinhard, Abigail Scott Duniway, Simon Benson, Dorothy McCullough Lee, Lyle Alzado [Sidebar]: William S. Ladd (one of the founders, also a Portland mayor), was buried here in 1893. In 1897, his body was stolen and held for ransom. When it was recovered, the family had his coffin encased in concrete to deter further crimes. 5. Historyyg of the Sellwood Bridge Location: #5 Northeast Belvedere Theme: The Sellwood Bridge, opened in 1925 and removed in 2012, was a venerable and notable Portland landmark: revolutionary in purpose, and unique in construction. Title: Spanning the Decades Content Overview: BfBefore thbidthe bridge: This sit e was a Will ame tte cross ing long be fore the br idge was bu ilt; beg inn ing in 1883 the ferry JhJohn F. Caples made regular trips across the river between a landing near River View Cemetery and a dock at Spokane Street. The ferry carried both passengers and vehicles. It operated until 1925, when the bridge was completed. Need for a bridge: By the 1920s, automobile use in the Portland area was booming. Existing ferries and bridges were not enough to support the increasing traffic. City leaders envisioned a new set of bridges for the automobile age; Sellwood was one of these. Construction of the bridge: The Sellwood span was part of a bond package that included three bridges (Sellwood, Ross Island, and a replacement for the 1894 Burnside Bridge—parts of which were originally slated to help form the new Sellwood Bridge). Before construction had even begun, though, a bribe-taking scandal resulted in the replacement of the original design team. The new designer was New York engineer Gustav Lindenthal, who built on the existing plans, finalizing a four-span continuous sub-divided Warren Truss design. It was intended for auto use only; it was the first Portland bridge to be built without streetcar tracks. It was also the first fixed Portland bridge; built high enough for boat tffittraffic to pass w ithtthithout the nee dfd for a draw bidbridge. ThdiThe design is an e ffiitfficient use o ftlfthldff steel for the loads for w hihithich it was designed, but unfortunately auto traffic would prove to be far greater than engineers may have anticipated. 6. Bridge Facts Location: #6 Under Eastern Terminus of Bridge Theme: The new Sellwood Bridge represents a great leap in strength, capacity, safety, and durability over a bridge that was inadequate and unsafe. Title: A Change of Guard Content Overview: Issues with original bridge: The original Sellwood Bridge was well-built for the automobile traffic of its day. In fact, it did not reach its design capacity of 15,000 vehicles per day until the 1960s. But ultimately it proved too narrow and too lightly built for modern traffic. In addition, it was insufficient for increasing pedestrian and bicyyppg(py)gcle traffic. The approaches on either side of the bridge (particularly on the west side) created tight turns and traffic problems. And the old bridge was not earthquake-resistant to modern standards. New bridge features: The new bridge incorporates an arch design that retains the height above the river. It’s built to modern earthquake standards. There are new approaches that ease traffic congestion and increase safety. The bridge incorporates recycled steel and uses local labor in construction. It’s built for flex use, safely accommodating different traffic patterns, plus bicycle and pedestrian traffic. 7. View to the North: Oaks Amusement Park and Portland Location: #7 Northwest Belvedere Theme: From this viewpoint, you can see a patchwork of Portland’s history, including The Oaks Amusement Park, which opened in 1905 and still operates today. Title: A Grand View Content Overview: Amusement park history: Oaks Amusement Park was built by Oregon Water Power and Railway Company in connection with the great Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905 (this event was significant in Portland’s greater history, heralding a boom in population and construction). OWPRC built the park primarily to boost ridership on the city’s fledgling electric trolley system; special expedition trolleys packed with merrymakers would depart the city and arrive at the midway, greeted by carousel music, thrilling rides such as the “Barrel of Fun ,” and Punch and Judy shows . When OWPRC was acquired by PGE in 1907, the company continued to operate the park, and it is still open today—making it one of the oldest continuously-operating amusement parks in the nation.

Load more