Author: Tanya March
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Fun Fact #74 Part Two of Recycle, Reuse Repurpose, Ravage
Read more: Fun Fact #74 Part Two of Recycle, Reuse Repurpose, Ravage“Fun Fact” Urban Legend #74 North Portland community members distraught over pool closures rehash a mysterious source of parts repurposed to facilitate original construction of Pier Park Pool. What was the source of those now failed parts? According to Urban Legend a liberty ship – if that’s true maybe original parts were replace because the […]
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Fun Fact #73 Part One of Recycle, Reuse Repurpose, Ravage
Read more: Fun Fact #73 Part One of Recycle, Reuse Repurpose, RavageFun Fact #73 Question: To what city did the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exhibition water tower relocate? Answer: St. Johns Part One Of Reuse Repurpose, Ravage My fascination with water towers was kindled during my Place Matter employment. One of the nominated locations was a PWA era public pool, in Harlem NYC. The local […]
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Fun Fact #72 Which fast food chain opened their first first Oregon location on Foster Road?
Read more: Fun Fact #72 Which fast food chain opened their first first Oregon location on Foster Road?Which fast food chain opened their first first Oregon location on Foster Road? A. Burger King B. Kentucky Fried Chicken C. In-N-Out Burger D. Burgerville The answer to our trivia question – Which fast food chain opened their first Oregon location on Foster Road? – is B. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Pre-KFC Here’s a fascinating tidbit: […]
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Fun Fact #71 How many city parks were combined to create Forest Park in 1947?
Read more: Fun Fact #71 How many city parks were combined to create Forest Park in 1947?Updated 6-19-2025 New Image Fun Fact #71 How many city parks were combined to create Forest Park in 1947? Answer: Four Parks #1 Macleay Park Macleay Park, Georg F. Holman Park, Clark & Wilson Park (O.M. Clark Park) Linnton Park (Pioneer Park) Forest Park was once Native American land. By 1847, squatters had already settled […]
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Fun Fact #70 Halloween Firsts in Portland
Read more: Fun Fact #70 Halloween Firsts in PortlandFun Fact #70 Random Wholesome Timeline of Halloween Firsts in Portland (area) Halloween postcards were first introduced in the late 1800s. they are rare and if in excellent condition can be worth thousands of dollars. Vintage postcards often depicted images of witches, black cats, pumpkins, and other Halloween-themed motifs. We explore the Oregon Journal and The Oregonian’s “first” […]
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Fun Fact #68 Why did St. Johns Secede from Portland in 1893?
Read more: Fun Fact #68 Why did St. Johns Secede from Portland in 1893?Fun Fact #68 Why did St. Johns Seceded from Portland in 1893? St. Johns seceded from Portland in 1893 because of a combination of higher taxes and unsatisfactory municipal services. The St. Johns-Portland love-hate relationship ramped up in 1891. In February of that year, the unincorporated area of St Johns was annexed by the City […]
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Fun Fact #67 What animal marched next to two dump trucks during the dedication of the St. Johns Bridge in 1931?
Read more: Fun Fact #67 What animal marched next to two dump trucks during the dedication of the St. Johns Bridge in 1931?Answer: An Elephant Birth and Captivity Tusko, a male asian elephant, lived a horrible life in the United States. Born in Siam (Thailand) in 1892 this male Asian Elephant was ship to New York City at the age of six. The elephant performed under the name Ned until he was resold in 1921; renamed Tusko […]
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Fun Fact #66 What was the name of the 1920s era airport at Guilds Lake?
Read more: Fun Fact #66 What was the name of the 1920s era airport at Guilds Lake?Yes there was once an airport in NW Portland, and it was the “Lewis & Clark Field”. The landing strip during the 1905 Exposition was called “Government Island”. Image courtesy Norman Gholston.
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Fun Fact #65 When did Oregon go dry?
Read more: Fun Fact #65 When did Oregon go dry?When did Oregon go dry? Answer: Oregon prohibited liquor 1916. Three years after Oregon went dry, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of “intoxicating liquors” across the entire United States. It prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors…”. Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933, […]
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Fun Fact #64 How much did 2247 NW Kearney rent for in the 1970s?
Read more: Fun Fact #64 How much did 2247 NW Kearney rent for in the 1970s?This 1909 single family home off of NW23rd on the edge between Nob Hill & Slabtown is 2,472 square feet and rented for $65/month in the 1970s. Image on left appeared on the cover of a marketing newspaper in my St. Johns mailbox. I remain curious why of all the houses the real estate agent […]
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Fun Fact #63 Which Nob Hill celebrity chef’s cooking was used to entice 1,000s of workers to move west during WWII?
Read more: Fun Fact #63 Which Nob Hill celebrity chef’s cooking was used to entice 1,000s of workers to move west during WWII?Which Nob Hill celebrity chef’s cooking was used to entice 1,000s of workers to move west during WWII? Answer: Henry Thiele’s cooking was used as an enticement for men from Vermont to Texas to move west to work in Henry Kaiser’s shipyards. Left: Chef Henry Thiele instructing hotel workers’ class at Girls; Polytechnic “Training Women […]
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Fun Fact #62: Was the Hotel Repose built for the 1905 Fair?
Read more: Fun Fact #62: Was the Hotel Repose built for the 1905 Fair?The Hotel Repose Updated 6-19-2025 edits, new links The Hotel Repose, a working-man’s lodging, stood on NW 23rd and Savier from 1912 until 1968. The Bodner family moved into the building in 1915 and ran a tailoring shop on the first floor of the hotel. George Bodner was interviewed by Sylvia Frankel June 26, 2007, […]
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Fun Fact #61 How old is the oldest original functioning flushing toilet in Slabtown?
Read more: Fun Fact #61 How old is the oldest original functioning flushing toilet in Slabtown?Updated: April 28, 2025 new Links (Our Slabtown Tour does not use this toilet, curiously a Willamette Week reported in 2023 reference this post when she raved about our tours.) How old is the oldest original functioning flushing toilet in Slabtown? 137 years old Telling guess to use the facilities prior to arriving for a […]
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Fun Fact #60 How much was a pack of regular cigarettes in 1959? (or for that matter a walking tour in 1906?)
Read more: Fun Fact #60 How much was a pack of regular cigarettes in 1959? (or for that matter a walking tour in 1906?)Fun Fact #60 How much was a pack of regular cigarettes in 1959? (or for that matter a walking tour in 1906?) Clyde Besaw was selling regular cigarettes from Besaw’s Cafe on NW 23rd for 20 cents a pack. After Prohibition was repealed, Besaws was granted the first liquor license in the state of Oregon. […]
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Fun Fact #59 Roses are not always Flowers in the City of Roses.
Read more: Fun Fact #59 Roses are not always Flowers in the City of Roses.Our Rose was an entrepreneur. The rose wrapping that popped up on the building at 315 NW 23rd was a COVID era temporary art pieced honored Rose’s Restaurant, a business started at the location. The woman owned business was founded by Rose Garbow Naftalin in 1956. Rose’s was a popular place for significant events and good memories. […]
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Fun Fact # 58 Which Slabtown building has the tallest fire escape?
Read more: Fun Fact # 58 Which Slabtown building has the tallest fire escape?Which Slabtown building has the tallest fire escape? Answer: Montgomery Park has the tallest series of fire escapes and possibly the most banks of fire escapes in Slabtown. Currently, this building is the second largest office building in Portland. Montgomery Ward & Company building was a department store and warehouse distribution center in operation from […]
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Fun Fact #57 What is the oldest retail business in Northwest Portland?
Read more: Fun Fact #57 What is the oldest retail business in Northwest Portland?The oldest retail business in Northwest Portland is Chown Hardware dating back to 1879. Still a family owned business that has evolved to meet the community needs. Images courtesy Chown Hardwear. Here’s a look at some of Northwest Portland’s most enduring establishments. This post was first created in 2020. Northwest’s Legacy Businesses 1875 Good Samaritan Hospital […]
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May Day Fun Fact 56 What was Bloody Wednesday?
Read more: May Day Fun Fact 56 What was Bloody Wednesday?What was Bloody Wednesday? Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) to gain recognition and better working conditions. The strikers were attempting to block a train carrying cargo through the picket line. The police, led by Chief B.K. Lawson, were instructed to clear the way. According to the provided text, police and strikers offered conflicting accounts of the event, […]
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Fun Fact # 55 Marge Davenport, a staff writer for the Oregon Journal and author of several short story collections, wrote about many amazing dogs. Which dog from her books was the star of a silent film produced in Portland?
Read more: Fun Fact # 55 Marge Davenport, a staff writer for the Oregon Journal and author of several short story collections, wrote about many amazing dogs. Which dog from her books was the star of a silent film produced in Portland?Fun fact #55: Marge Davenport, a staff writer for the Oregon Journal and author of several short story collections, wrote about many amazing dogs. Which dog from her books was the star of a silent film produced in Portland? The Brazier family of Silverton, Oregon—Frank, Elizabeth, Leona, and Nova—were the owners of Bobbie, a Scotch-collie […]
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Serious Fact #55.5 How Many Portlanders Died of the Spanish Influenza?
Read more: Serious Fact #55.5 How Many Portlanders Died of the Spanish Influenza?Today’s national news references to the 1918–1919 Spanish Influenza pandemic have focused on the contrasting experience of two cities—Philadelphia and St. Louis. In the face of the pandemic in September 1918, Philadelphia held a parade; over the next six months 16,000 residents died. St. Louis canceled its parade; its death toll was only 700. I […]
