Transportation planning until the 1900s remained in the hands merchants, entrepreneurs and business men. The advancement of the railroad system to steam power sparked a new wave of transportation in the city. The “Oregon Pony” arrived in Portland on March 31, 1862 and became the first steam locomotive to operate in the Pacific Northwest (2). The Oregon Steam Navigation Company quickly invested in rail construction and built over 14 miles of railroad to navigate around the Cascades of the Columbia. The new rail allowed the OSNC to further monopolize the transportation industry. They could now navigate waters other companies could not by navigating boats to the new portage railroads, loading equipment onto the rails and moving it around the cascades, then reloading onto another steamboat waiting past the cascades.(3)
The Transcontinental Railroad
The Transcontinental Railroad (4)
The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 called for a railroad to connect the eastern United States with the west. The advantages for a city to be part of the connection were immense. The decision to make Portland the last stop of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1870 confirmed Portland’s continued commercial success. (5)
Henry Villard
Henry Villard (6)
In the years following the Pacific Railroad Acts, a wealthy financer named Henry Villard created his own ‘transportation empire’. Villard took over both the Oregon and Washington railroads by buying the OSNC and combining it with rail lines he already owned. The business, The Oregon Railroad and Transportation Company, is responsible for completing the transcontinental rail lines in Washington and Oregon and building up the Columbia River to connect Eastern Washington with the Northern Pacific. (7)
Union Station
Union Station (8)
Portland’s success during the railroad era caused the population grow to eleven times its population in 1870. In order to accommodate the waves of citizens flocking to the city, the rail line owners made the decision to construct a Union Station. Finished in 1896, the station originally handled twenty two passenger trains. (5)
Although rail transportation had advanced over the previous decade, Portland’s rivers had improved little. The river along Portland still contained rocks and natural barriers that prevented steam boats from navigation the channel easily. In addition the mouth of the Columbia River prevented large ships form reaching Portland. One of the few publicly funded projects at the time, the city once again hired the Army Corp of Engineers to dredge the river and build a jetty at the mouth of the Columbia. By the middle of the 1890's, the engineers created a twenty three foot deep channel and ten thousand foot long jetty. (5) To maintain the new construction, the Port of Portland Commission was formed in 1891 by the state legislature. In the following years the primary focus of the commission was to deepen and maintain the channel and the jetty.
Bridges, Electricity, and Streetcars
Morrison Street Bridge (9)
In 1887 the first bridge across the Willamette River was constructed. The Morrison Bridge allowed citizens to settle in East Portland where land was cheap; massive expansion in the city followed. Soon after, a second bridge was constructed and transportation across the river became the city’s main focus. By 1889 electric trolleys were traveling over the bridges. In 1890 Portland became the first to accomplish long distance transmission of direct current electricity in the United States. (5) Funded by local, private investors, the electricity was used to run electric street cars in downtown Portland. At the time electricity was being generated by the Oregon Falls and when it was discovered that electricity could be stored, the street car system in Portland boomed. Many transit companies owned real estate in the outlying regions of Portland. These companies began to invest in public transit in order make traveling from the far reaches of the city easier. Within a few years public transit served almost all of Portland and its surrounding suburbs. In addition, many elected officials had promised free public bridges leading the mayor to buy two of the privately constructed bridges in 1892; the Morrison and Madison Street Bridges. Soon after, the council voted to build additional bridges along the river. (5)
The city’s government could barely keep up with its population growth during the Railroad Era. Over the next ten years funds were allocated to street expansion and guaranteeing water supply to all areas of Portland. (5)
The city’s government could barely keep up with its population growth during the Railroad Era. Over the next ten years funds were allocated to street expansion and guaranteeing water supply to all areas of Portland. (5)
1. (Image) http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Images/NW%20History%20Course/Lesson%2014/
Northern%20Pacific%20RR.jpg
2. "Portland Railroad History - Pacific Railroad Preservation Association." Pacific Railroad Preservation Association. http://www.sps700.org/portlandrailroadhistory.shtml (accessed February 26, 2013).
3. Gaston, Joseph. The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912, Volume 1. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912.
4. (Image) http://www.sps700.org/portlandrailroadhistory/Oregon_Portage_Railroad.jpg
5. "City of Portland Civic Planning, Development, & Public Works, 1851-1965 A Historic Context." City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability 1 (2009): 1-64.
6. (Image) http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/files/images/HD_villardHc.jpg
7. McVoy, Arthur D. "A History of City Planning in Portland, Oregon." Oregon Historical Quarterly 46, no. 1 (1945): 3-21.
8. (Image) http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/getimage.exe?CISOROOT=/alaskawcanada&CISOPTR=1796&DMSCALE=100.00000&DMWIDTH=802&DMHEIGHT=537.79947916667&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&REC=1&DMTHUMB=0&DMROTATE=0;
9. (Image) http://pdxretro.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/morrison-bridge_1892.jpg;
10. (Image) http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/65711
11. (Image) http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/65714
Northern%20Pacific%20RR.jpg
2. "Portland Railroad History - Pacific Railroad Preservation Association." Pacific Railroad Preservation Association. http://www.sps700.org/portlandrailroadhistory.shtml (accessed February 26, 2013).
3. Gaston, Joseph. The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912, Volume 1. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912.
4. (Image) http://www.sps700.org/portlandrailroadhistory/Oregon_Portage_Railroad.jpg
5. "City of Portland Civic Planning, Development, & Public Works, 1851-1965 A Historic Context." City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability 1 (2009): 1-64.
6. (Image) http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/files/images/HD_villardHc.jpg
7. McVoy, Arthur D. "A History of City Planning in Portland, Oregon." Oregon Historical Quarterly 46, no. 1 (1945): 3-21.
8. (Image) http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/getimage.exe?CISOROOT=/alaskawcanada&CISOPTR=1796&DMSCALE=100.00000&DMWIDTH=802&DMHEIGHT=537.79947916667&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&REC=1&DMTHUMB=0&DMROTATE=0;
9. (Image) http://pdxretro.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/morrison-bridge_1892.jpg;
10. (Image) http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/65711
11. (Image) http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/65714
Jillian Emery