On the waterfront

The small brown image in the middle is a sealion munching on a salmon and the scavenger seagulls around it seem to think they deserve a bite.

From the vaults: pretty West Texas girls

From the vaults: along the Oregon coast

Bishop's House 1879

This Victorian Gothic cast-iron structure is a long standing favorite of the remaining historic structures of Portland, Oregon. A brick and stone Catholic cathedral had been built originaly in 1878 and the local church elder's house, the Bishop House, built next to it the following year, but the church's " seedy" location, in the heart of the Old Town area, where the many saloons were filled with sailors of the sea-faring docked ships in the booming new port of call on the West Coast town of Portand , were " their debauching behavior", forced the new found church leader to abandon the structure after only 1 year and see the actual church to be demolished only 15 years later. The surviving Bishop House building would find uses as a clothes store, a Chinese tong society facility and a restuarant.

Stephen Seagull, martial arts expert

Photographed at the instant that his deadly weapon of a leg is about to take out the unruly strollers along the Portland waterfront, Seagull brings Justice to the weak and downtrodden, those who can't seem to get a fair shake, along the mean streets of this cold , west coast city.

Logus Building 1895

Just across the street from the Barber Blocks building, the Logus is another cast-iron structured building preserved from Portland's past. Using giant rough-hewn stones as a foundation with a red brick covering of the top floors, this Romanesque Revival building with terra-cotta detailed features on the top was a popular style seen with many buildings of this time.

Barber Block 1889

The oldest commercial building that survives on the east side of the Willamette River in the downtown area , this cast-iron building is a mix of Gothic, Italianate and Victorian styles with stucco and tin features. Originally built as a mortuary, this ornate structure saw other uses from hotel, apartment building, junk store and restaurant.

Simon Building

This cast-iron structure was built in 1892 using stone and brick. A fire gutted it and the standing facade gives viewers a good idea of the typical infastructure used then. Destined to be a parking lot after the fire, it was saved by preservationists- and it became a parking lot with a cool wall.

more downtown Portland

The Mikado Block, built in 1880, is a classic example of the cast-iron frame, terra cotta exterior features that dominated the commercial buildings of the time. This Victorian Italianate building would be named by one of the owners, who was fascinated with the contemporary popular music of Gilbert and Sullivan. It would be located in the infamous area of Portland of the time that many an unwary sailor would find himselfed "shanghaied" onto ships leaving Portland for the exotic Far East.

Yamhill Historic District

The Poppleton Building, built in 1867 , one of the earliest survivng cast-iron buildings in Portland , Oregon was heavily damaged by the Great Fire of 1873 and was quickly remodeled.





The Gilbert Building, a Romanesque arched brick facade built in 1893.



The Auditorium Building and Music Hall 1894:

this cast-iron framed Romanesque with terra cotta botanical details was designed to house a dance hall on the second floor with a concert hall on the third.


********** The Yamhill Historic District ************

Containing the largest surviving buildings of cast-iron design in Portland , this area of downtown was originally wooden New England-style buildings until the Great Fire of 1873. The area flourished, reflecting the great boom the entire West Coast experienced , until too many floods from the nearby Willamette River forced new development to higher ground to the west and and eventually led to a decline , a somewhat "seedy" area of town , which would lead to destruction of many buildings during the 1940s and 50s era of the modern theme of "Progress". Led by Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt in 1972 and the popular progressive rethinking of social norms during the 1960s , the area would be saved from total destruction that all but a few isolated places would see .

Historic downtown Portland buildings

Portland, Oregon has the second largest collection of cast-iron structured buildings in the US, next only to NY City. Cast-iron buildings were built from the late 1850s to 1900 as a inexpensive, fireproof alternative to the flammable wood and limited brick buildings of the time. By having a cast-iron , load bearing infastructure wrapped with easily stylized masonry front- mostly limestone or terra-cotta, the commercial buildings of the late 1800s were built with an artistic style featuring old classic styles as well as the soon to be adopted modern style, using the newly designed Otis elevator to enable builders to have larger , more creative safe structures.