872 results
Portland Flood, 1894
In late May and early June of 1894, the Willamette River rose well above 30 feet, flooding the central business district of Portland. The water …
Portland Harbor, 1899
This 1899 photograph shows steam-powered sternwheelers and sailing ships in Portland’s Willamette River harbor. The photograph, which was also made into a postcard, was taken …
Portland Heights Cable Car
Cable cars appeared in Portland in January of 1890. The first line ran from Irving Street, near Union Station, along 5th to Jefferson Street and …
Portland High School, c. 1899
Photographer Edwin D. Jorgensen captured this image of Portland High School circa 1899. Constructed between 1883 and 1885, the building stood on the corner of …
Portland Hotel, 1890
The Portland Hotel opened in 1890. It had eight floors, 326 bedrooms, and extensive dining facilities, and the design suggested substance and elegance rather than …
Portland Junior Symphony, 1927
This photograph from 1927 shows the three-year-old Portland Junior Symphony. When it started, the young musicians practiced in the attic of music teacher Mary V. …
Portland KKK
This image shows a photograph from the early 1920s, probably in Portland, in which robed and hooded Ku Klux Klan members share a stage with …
Portland Mansions, 1882
The pair of Italianate mansions on the right of the lithograph belonged to two brothers, Ralph and Isaac Jacobs, and their families. In 1882, when …
Portland Public Market and Downtown
In this 1933 photo, the newly constructed Portland Public Market, located along Southwest Front Street, stands out in the lower right-hand corner. During the 1920s, …
Portland Railway Company Car
This 1905 photograph shows a Portland Railway Company car at the NW 26th Avenue and NW Upshur Street entrance of the Lewis and Clark Exposition, …Interpretive Essays
Interpretive essays use primary documents from the Oregon Historical Society archives to help readers imagine the events, people, and issues that shaped Oregon history.
