20
THE TOBXTN'G OBEGOJSHCAST, TUESDAY JAn7AB 1, 1805.
BY BRIDGE
Means of Crossing- trie "Willamette at
Portland.
HISTORY OF EARLY AGITATION FOR BRIDGES
Tlic Four Modern Bride Structures, and Troo Commodious
Steam FerricB-A. Description of the Free
23riclres and City Ferry.
"We'll have a bridge, I feel it yet,
A bridge across the "Willamette."
" HUS -wrote Stephen
Maybell a score of
years ago, and from
that time until Port
land's first bridge at
Morrison street was
opened to travel on
April 13. 1SS7, every
proposition to bridge
the "Willamette at
Portland was re
garded as a chimer
ical undertaking, as
far removed from
the hoped-for con
summation as the millennium is remote
from the expectations of the practical
man of affairs. The two districts of Port?
land, lying respectively on the east and
nest sides of the Willamette river, are
today connected by four well-built and
commodious bridges, but the herculean
tabic of constructing these open highways
across the navigable waters of the Wil
lamette can only be appreciated by those
w Lose memories carry them back a quar
ter of a century or more, and who have
seen Portland grow from a town of a few
thousand population to a magnificent c.ty
in -which 80,000 or more people make their
homes.
On tho 4th of July, 3SC3, Portland held a
WEST APPROACH BURKSIDE-STREET BRIDGE.
monster celebration. The city on the west
bank of the river at that time was a mere
aggregation of frame structures, with a
low brick scattered here and there, ana
the principal streets were quagmires in
winter and beds of impalpable dust in the
summer Front street, the principal bust
rcss thoroughfare, was kept comparative
ly free from dust during the heated term
for the short distance of three or four
blocks, in which the main business cen
tered, by the frequent playing of water
from the numerous lines of hose as re
ligiously cared for by the average busi
ness man of those times as the latest im
proved electric sprinkling car is by the
. ity & Suburban line of railway in Port- i
land today, but the rest of the city was j
as dusty in summer as the Powell's "Val
U y road is today. As far back as 'C3, how
cver, Portland people knew how to make
the best of a situation, and with all the
enthusiasm of the frontiersman they had
made every arrangement to have a big
time on the "Fourth." The good time waj
to include not only a surfeit of noise, an
imposing street parade in which the now
antiquated hand fire engine was to play
a most important part, but also the spe
cial featun-s which could cater in any way
to the amusement of the horde of country
visitors who were expected to grace Port
land's streets with their presence on the
gkrious Fourth. "4-- - v.o visitors
come?" is asked. "And didn't they come!"
might every man who witnessed the
pageant exclaim. From early morn till
long after sunset the creaky Stark-street
ferry-boat, steered by an oar dragged in
the wake of the steamer, groaned under
the heavy loads of vehicles and variously
colored ribboned crowd from the interior
w ho had come to Portland to have "a big
time." The crowd did not reach the city
in Pullmans, neither were they favored
with the luxurious accommodations of a
eat on a Hat car. In their transit to Ore
gon's metropolis. Ox teams, farm wagons
drawn by cayuses that never felt the
to acli of a curry comb, and other prim
itive mode? of rapid transit were plenty
good enough In those days to bring people
20 miles or more to a big Fourth of July
celebration, and families that were accus
tomed to ford streams of considerable
width and at times of unknown depths
jnado no protest to being ferried over the
W illamette in a mere shell of a boat,
con if it did often require half an hour
or more to make the round trip across the
stream.
Portland has grown since then, and the
means of transit across the river at this
roi-t have been improved to a point never
dreamed of by those who attended the
i Ubration of the nation's holiday in l$fc
Tor many years the Stark-street ferry
was the only means of communication o
tneen the oust and west banks of the Wil
lamette river at Portland. When the vtt
rran Sam Douglas was at the helm of the
boat, people grumbled less at being
t harged M cents for the privilege of cross
ing the river than they do today when they
ian cross free with the occasionaPslight
rrnoyanoe of waiting for the draw while
one of the floating palaces on the Willam-
Otirr : - :
AND FERRY
7 ette is steaming through. Following the
.Douglases (Sam and his father) in the
management of the Stark-street ferry,
came the elder Knott, and after him his
two sons, Jack and Levi. Under the
Knott boys, as the latter were called, the
ferry was run for years as the principal
means for traffic over the Willamette
here, and during that time the line was
a veritable bonanza. Although the fare
had been reduced from time to time until
the commutation rate of 2, cents for a
foot passenger was reached, yet the boat
continued a paying investment, and it
amassed fortunes for the brothers who so
ably managed it. The Knott brothers did
away with the primitive method of steer
ing by oar. They built large and com
modious boats, comfortable pontoons for
landing places on either side of the river,
and laid a cable to which attachments
were made from the boat so that it
steamed as easily and unerringly over the
stream as a car might glide over a track
on which it was kept by the resisting
powers of the flanges.
In 1S70 Ben Holladay established the
steam ferry at F street on the west side
to connect with the Oregon & California
Railroad Company's main depot and
warehouses on the opposite shore. Fol
lowing the establishment of the railroad
ferry, a number of years later came the
ferry at Jefferson street, one block above
the present location of the Madison-street
bridge. Still later was established the
steam ferry at Albina, on the same route
which the free ferry at that point now
operates over. In the mean time a num
ber of small steam yachts began opera
tions on the river, connecting the East
Side districts with Portland proper, as far
north as St. Johns and south to Mil
waukie and Oswego. These ferries af
forded excellent means of communication
across the Willamette for years. With
the exception of short periods of extreme
high water during the winter months, or
ot one or two seasons during the many
years the ferries were operated when the
harbor was closed by ice, these boats
made fast trips during the day and night,
and thousands of people were dally ferried
over the Willamette by this means, and
the passages were all made in safety and
with the greatest degree of comfort.
THE FIRST BRIDGE.
The Central Structure at Morrison
Street.
N the early 'SOs, when Portland
was just emerging from the
pretensions of a town to the
importance of a metropolitan
City the demand for a bridge
over the Willamette began to
be deemed an Imperative one.
People then did not ask for a
free bridge: then did not even
expect to be enabled to ride
ovc-r the bridge in a comforta
ble car for the modest fare of 5 cents. All
they wanted was a bridge, and the man
who could have assured the city a bridge
over the Willamette in those days would
have been recognized as a public bene
factor with the unquestioned right to x
act tolls across his finished bridge struc
ture that wo aid have Insured him a
princely fortune.
The owners of the Stark-street ferry,
from the reasonable position of business
protection, were implacable enemies of a
bridge. It was not the project of a free
bridge those gentlemen opposed, but any
means of conveyance across the Willam
ette that would depreciate the value of
their property in the ferry line which they
had displayed such commendable enter
prise in perfecting, until it was regarded
as one of the best-conducted ferries of
the coast. Added to the influence of the
Knotts was the antagonism of nearly ev
ery owner of water-front property within
Portland's limits, and the aggressive fight
made by tho entire shipping interests cen
tering here. While public sentiment de
manded a bridge, and while public senti
ment usually is the detei mining quantity
in any question affecting in the least the
public weal, the great Influences in Port
land opposed to a bridge confined the peo
ple to the ferries for years as the only
means of crossing the river, and Port
land's first bridge was only secured after
innumerable delays, vexatious and costly
legal contests, and years of patient effort
on the part of Portland's pioneer bridge
builders.
Although work was first commenced on
-35S
URXJDE'STEEET BRIDGE From c SUtch by Tic Orestmian Artist
the present Morrison-street bridge in IS S,
it was not until August 31, 1SS6, that active
operations were commenced on the work
of construction that led to the last stroke
on the finished structure In April follow
ing. To Messrs. H. C. Campbell and C F.
Swigert falls the distinction of having
carried the work of constructing the first
bridge over the Willamette at Portland
to a happy consummation. In prosecuting
this work these gentlemen suffered innu
merable delays; they surmounted obsta
cles before which many men would have
quailed, and doubtless one of the proud
est moments of their lives was the inter
val on the 13th day of April, 1SS7. when
the expectant populace were admitted to
the bridge through the open gate ai its
western end. For a number of years fol
lowing the completion of the Morrison
street bridge, the principal traffic acrobs
the Willamette at Portland was via the
Stark-street ferry and this bridge, and m
til the opening of the free bridge at Mad
ison street In 1S91 Morrison street was
the principal thoroughfare of the city,
through which the vast travel from the
East Side districts gained ingress to the
business district of Portland.
The bridge at Morrison street is what is
technically known as a "Pratt Truss Com
bination." Its total length with approach
es Is slightly over 1600 feet, a little more
than one-third of a mile. The middle pas
sageway for teams and street-cars is 20
feet wide in the clear, and the walks on
either side for passengers are six feet in
width. The draw of this bridge, affords a
passageway for vessels on either side of
13S feet. This draw Is operated by means
of an electric motor, and Is easily hand
led at all stages of water in the Willam
ette. The approximate cost of the bridge
was 5200,000. It rests on concrete piers and
piling fully protected by iron casings and
concrete and, as was evidenced by the
extreme high water of February, 1SD0, it
was built in a substantial manner and
with the proper attention to the changing
currents of the river during the periods
of Its greatest freshets.
THE NORTH AND SOUTH BRIDGES.
The Open Higruways at Madison
Street and the Steel Bridge.
HE next hridge to be completed
xver the Willamette at Port
land was the magnificent steal
structure of the Union Pacific,
the approach of which com
mences at Glisan and Third
streets on the West Side. This
bridge was completed in 1SS9.
It is built entirely of steel and
iron, resting on concrete piers,
and is perhaps one of the
most substantial bridge struc
tures of the West. It is of the
style known as the "double
decker," the lower part of the
bridge being used altogether
for the passage of steam cars,
while the upper part is devoted
to foot passengers, teams and the fine line
of the electric railway which operates
cars across the river at this point. The
total length of the main bridge is 1235 feet,
while the total length including the ap
proaches is 1835 feet. The bridge is 22 feet
wide over all, and the draw, operated by
steam power, affords a safe clearance for
river traffic of 150 feet in the clear. The
approximate cost of the bridge was $500,
000. In the spring of 1S91. the Madison-street
bridge was completed by the Columbia
Street-Bridge Company. This is a wooden
structure of a total length of 22S2 feet. In
cluding approaches. The middle passage
way for teams and electric cars Is 22 feet
wide, and the sidewalks on either side are
6A feet In width. The draw Is operated b.
electric power and is 317 feet in length,
affording a passageway for river steamers'
of 141 feet on either side. Until November
12, 1S91, all three bridges spanning the
Willamette at Portland were operated Dy
companies who charged an average toll of
2 cents for foot passengers, and from 5
to 15 cents for vehicles crossing the
stream.
On the latter date was completed the
purchase of the Madison-street bridge by
the city of Portland, and the following
day the bridge was opened to free traffic.
The proceedings of the purchase of theJ
bridge were a little of the "star chamber"
order, but the deal had beenclosed at the
snug little figure of $142,500,' and, while the
people had been clamoring for a free
bridge across the river at the central part
of the city, they immediately recognized
the value of free transit at Madison street,
and the enormous .travel which Imme
diately sought the "free route attested its
appreciation by an industrious commu
nity which was disposed to be a little fru
gal with its nickels and dimes.
In this connectlon.-it Is not necessary to
enter Into any discussion of the merits of
the legislative enactments which empow
ered both the elty and the bridge commit
tee to purchase and erect bridges for Port
land. It is enough to recur to the fact
that after the city had operated the new
bridge at Madison street as a free struct
ure for several months, the question arose
whether the city, under the bridge bill
passed by the legislature, had the author
ity to maintain a free bridge, or whether
such a responsibility did not devolve alto
gether on the bridge committee created
by the legislature under the terms of what
Is known as the Meussdorffer act. This
act, passed in 1E91, provided that a com
mittee of eight citizens of Portland be ap
pointed by the local circuit judges for the
avowed purpose of building or leasing
one or more suitable and commodious
bridges across the Willamette river, with
in the limits of the city of Portland, and
bonds to the amount of $500,000 were au
thorized to be sold by this committee for
this purpose. This original committee as
appointed consisted of M. C. George, E.
A King. C. C. Redman, William M. Ladd.
C. H. Meussdorffer, J. L. Sperry, John
Parker and T. W. Pittenger. The matter
of authority between the city and the
bridge committee was finally determined
by a lawsuit, in which the circuit and su
preme courts of the state decided that the
authority to purchase and operate free
bridges at Portland rested altogether with
the bridge committee. It was thus estab
lished that the city had no authority to
issue bonds to buy bridges, and that if
Portland wanted the Madison-street bridge
as a municipal investment it must pay for
the structure out of its own treasury
The city thus found Itself in a dilemma
which might have been annoying had not
the bridge committee come to its rescue
, and taken the Madison-street bridge oft its
n
hands at the full .purchase" price and the
accrued interest up to date of purchase
by the committee, April 24, 1SS2. The total
price advanced by the hridge committee
for this purpose was $143,567
With nearly $150,000 of the 5300.000 au
thorized, by the legislature for securing
free bridges at Portland applied to the
purchase of the cheap wooden structure
at Madison street, but $250,000 remained to
provide free bridges across the river for
the rest of the city. When the Madison
street bridge was purchased, the city
council accepted a lease from the line of
street-cars operating across this bridge at
the absurdly low rental of $100 per month.
One of the best-equipped lines of electric
cars on the coast, a line that operated as
far south of Portland as Oregon City, and
to Mount Tabor and outlying suburbs on
the east, gains an entrance to the h'eart
of the business district of the city on the
West Side at the nominal charge of $100
a month, a little more than the salary of
a single gateman on the bridge. This in
come of $100 per month has constituted
the only return the city has had from its
investment of nearly $150,000 In the Madison-street
bridge.
On November 27, 133, the present bridge
commission, consisting of Messrs. J. L.
Sperry. C. C. Redman, William M. Ladd
and T. W. Pittenger, was formed. This
commission succeeded the former bridge
committee, and It has been under the au
thority of the commission that the Madl-
l iiHErr2L Jk5i
HfegrAlSirIA
son-street bridge has been operated and
the magnificent new structure at Burn
side street was completed and operated
since it was opened to traffic on July 4
last.
After repeated conferences with the
management of the steel railroad bridge
and the bridge at Morrison street, with the
hope of opening these bridges to free
travel, the bridge commission finally de
cided to build two bridges across the Wil
lamette, one to be located at a point be
tween; the MorrisonstcfetiJjrldge and the
steel bcidce. and, JtherftherJn-lhe northern
end'Ofiihe citV.tft.connecfejitVh that parj,
of the Eagtt Side knpwn g Albipa". After
mupi,dlsucsslpn,,the Ipeation.jOf the pes
etljj&yrnsldestfestuctre was estab
lishedand the line ior.,jLhe bridge at the
northern end was fixed at Knight and
Qulmby streets. Immediate application,
under a misconception of the government's
rights over the Willamette river at Port
land, was made to the secretary of war
for authority to build bridges at the sites
selected. Major Handbury, the local engi
neer in charge of government works here,
to whom this communication was referred
by the war department, practically gave
a decision that meant no more free bridges
at Portland. This aroused the ire of the
people, who promptly sent a delegation
to Washington to Intercede with the sec
retary of war. Secretary Elkins, at that
time at the head of the war department,
not only approved the choice of the local
commission for the new bridges, but he
Informed the committee that their jour
ney to Washington Was unnecessary, as
the matter of the location of these bridges
was in the hands of the state of Oregon,
which had delegated Its power to the
bridge commission.
THE BURXSIDE BRIDGE.
The Finest Bridge Structure in
the
State.
EFORE work was commenced
on these proposed bridges, It
became apparent to the bridge
commission that the remain
ing money they could secure
from the sale of bonds would
not more than pay the con
struction price of a single
bridge. In this dilemma the
more important of thevtwo
sites was selected, and immediate arrange
ments were made for the inauguration of
work on the new Burnslde-street struct
ure. Mr. W. B. Chase, of this city, was
appointed chief engineer of the commis
sion, with instructions to prepare plans
and specifications with as little delay as
possible for the new bridge. Bids were
finally called for, and on October 15, 1892,
the contract for the Burnslae-street bridge
was let to the Bullcn Bridge Company for
$262,2S7.
This contract price, was afterward In
creased to $285,000 on the commission's de
ciding to build a bridge of greater width
than the original estimates provided for.
The east-side approach to the bridge was
purchased at a cost of $10,000. The ap
proach on the west side cut through some
valuable wharf property. After consider
able litigation, condemnation proceedings
were commenced by the bridge commission
and Judge Shattuck awarded the owners
of the property abutting on the bridge site
damages to the extent of $19,200. On April
2 last, the circuit court denied the defend
ants' motion for a new trial, the bridge
commission immediately paid over the
amount of award for damages, and the
work of finishing the last span of the
bridge on the west side was commenced
in earnest. Prior to the settlement of the
west-side approach, the work of construc
tion on the bridge had proceeded without
interruption, and when the award was
finally made the entire structure, with the
exception of the west-side span, was com
pleted. The Burnside-street bridge is pronounced
to be the best-constructed bridge on the
coast, and it is the pride of Portland. It
is built entirely of steel, resting on the
best of foundations. The foundations for
the pivotal pier are very heavy. To carrj
this pier 300 piles were driven into the bot
tom of the river to an average depth of 27
feet, some of these piles being sunk to a
depth of 32 feet below the bed of the river.
This piling was cut off close to the river
bed, and on this rests a grillage of 12x12
inch timber. The dimensions of this gril
lage where it rests on the piles is 44x60
feet, and It maintains this size for 15 feet
upward. It then gradually becomes
smaller by steps one foot wide by two feet
deep on the north and south ends till its
dimensions are square, 41x44 feet. The
depth of the grillage Is 41 feet, Its top be
ing IS feet below Jow-water mark. On
this rests a steel drum of half-Inch steel,
43 feet in diameter and 14 feet high. The
drum Is filled with concrete In layers.
Above this base of concrete is the mason-
l.ry of the pier, 42 feet In diameter and
about 33 feet high, finished"" with neSLvSCXStructlon of solid and permanent improv
coping and stone.
The Burnslde-street bridge rests on five j
piers. The pier of the western end is des
ignated as A, while the one on the east
abutment, a platform pfer, is known as
E. Piers B and D, on either side of the
pivotal pier and draw-rest, are of the
cushion variety, and define the channel of
the river. The spans, with the exception
of thefloor plan, are built entirely of steel.
An innovation in affording free trans
portation over a navigable stream has
been made, on the authority of the last
legislature, in establishing a free ferry to
connect the West Side districts of the
northern end of the city with that part of
the East Side known, as Albina. Under
me act or ine legislature autnorizing tne
establishment of this rerry, the bridge
commission was empowered to issue $50,000
in bonds for the purpose of operating a
free ferry. "Under this act, the commission
purchased the franchise, boat and land
ings of the old Albina Ferry Company,
which had long operated a ferry on the
route now covered by the city's boat. The
price paid the company was $20,000. The
amount of travel which Immediately fol
lowed the establishment of this free ferry
compelled the bridge commission to com
plete arrangements for building a larger
boat for the route. From plans and spec
ifications drawn by Mr. Chase, the pres
ent commodious ferry, the W. S. Mason,
was constructed. This boat made her
FERRY LIXESPAST AXD PRESEXT.
first trip on the Albina route on June 25
last, and she is now making regular and
frequent trips, thus affording ample ac
commodations to the people of Albina and
the peninsula to reach the city on the
west side of the river.
W. B. CHASE.
Early in 1892 the bridge committee se
lected Mr. W. B. Chase as chief engineer
on account of his recognized engineering
ability and his knowledge of Portland and
the Willamette river. After a careful
sfudy' or"the;cneeds of the city and the
engineering problems of the location, he
prepared the general plans and speciflca-fcftra-s
from which the Burnslde bridge was
built. To Mr. Chase's careful and con
stant attention both in designing and the
execution of this work is due the fact that
Portland today -nas the finest bridge on
the Pacific coasts ..
Mr. Chase has had large experience in
railroad work and in designing and
constructing sewers, water-works plants
and bridges. In 1SS0 he entered the
'r
W.B.CHASEi
Photo by McAlpIn & Lamb.
service of the Northern Pacific Rail
road Company. He designed many of
the first bridges built by this com
pany in the West. He was assistant
engineer on the Albina bridge commenced
by Henry Villard. He was also engineer
of bridges for the Oregon Pacific during
the construction of that road from Corval
lis to Yaquina. Among his other work,
he designed the Eugene City water-works
system. He also made the drawings and
specifications for the W. S. Mason, the
substantial and commodious Albina ferry.
Mr. Chase's work is before the public,
and it is evidence of his entire fitness for
the position of chief engineer of large pub
lic works. He is careful and conservative,
and he gives special attention to the con-
zsssSJ&'
RfliuROACo 5tel Bridge
' vhi 'iwytfsmpj
Morton SiRre r BfiibGe.. jOSs
B7j rz-' FREeBRibGE.MflbisoN Street. j
THREE POPULAR BRIDGES,
xnents. He is a hard student, and is today
one of the leading engineers of the coast.
Mr. Chase has shown his faith In Port
land by Investing his capital here, and he
will make this city his future home.
HE HAD HEARD ENOUGH.
How Senator Palmer Fooled His Old
Friend, the Judge.
An old republican judge from Illinois on
his way West from New York stopped
oerhere yesterday long enough to have,
as he intended, a little fun with his old
friend, Senator Palmer, says the Wash
ington Post. The senator's committee
room was rather full when the judge en
tered, and he felt a little diffident. Still,
after clasping the senator's hand in a
firm grip of friendship, he said, with a
grin:
"What do you think of the election?"
"Hey"" the senator, with his hand be
hind his ear replied. The judge, somewhat
surprised at this, to him the first sign of
deafness in his old friend, said in a louder
tone:
"I say, what do you think of the elec
tion?" "Sir?" said the senator, with his hand
still behind his ear and bending near the
judge.
"I say," the judge loudly responded.
&
" &P
turning a bit red as he saw that every
one had stopped talking to listen to him;
"I say, what do you think of the elec
tionthe election the election?"
The senator looked pained as he does
when he has to turn down a needy office
seeker. He glanced round, as if to read
the judge's question in the faces of those
present, and then, apparently falling, he
turned again to the judge, and without
even so much as a twinkle in his eyes
thrust his ear to the judge's mouth and
said: .,
"W-h-a-t?"
This drove the spirit of victorious and
gloating fun from, the judge's mind.
"Dear ih'e," he sard in a low voice full
of sympathy and regret, "I had no Idea
that my old friend John had become
deaf."
Then he shook the senator's hand and
left the room, whereupon the senator
turned to those present and winked the
other eye.
A State Mystery.
A private letter from St. Petersburg
mentions the mysterious disappearance of
a valuable diamond from the crown of
jewels. It is well known that the Im
perial crown of the Russian czar is set
with a number of very fine and large
diamonds. During the late czar's funeral
procession, this crown was carried by a
high dignitary from the NicolajevskI rail
road station to the castle of Peter and
Paul, and during thi3 time it is thought
the jewel was lost. Great secrecy is ob
served by the officials, hut still the rumor
has spread. An inquiry is known to have
been ordered. A prominent jeweler ex
presses the opinion that the stone may
have crushed into the interior by careless
ness and might be found between the met
al rim and the purple velvet lining.
Took Trap and All.
A farmer named Sam Jones set a trap
for a fox the other day in a clearing in
Seabury Settlement, N. Y., and when he
went to see if he had caught anything he
found that the trap was gone, notwith
standing It had been secured by a chain
and a heavy staple driven into a log. The
chain had been broken off, and fox tracks
led away, leaving a tolerably plain trail
In the dead leaves. This trail Jones fol
lowed until he 'reached a small opening
some dozens of rods away, where, on the
moss, lay his fox dead, and holding fast
by the throat with his jaws a dead eagle.
The eagle in sailing over the woods had
spied the fox In the trap, and had swooped
down upon it, but tho fox. though crippled
by the trap, had made a game fight and
killed his assailant while yielding up his
own life.
Siamese Funerals.
In Siam, when a funeral Is passing, the
women take down their hair and unfasten
their beads, and the men fumble around in
their pockets for a little piece of metal to
hold between their teeth.
Turin Crossing Stlel Bbiose
'.35i"
ggSsaBwgTfc' ,1
THE SEW CaTT EALL
FEV'EST 3nJXIClF.U, BUHDIXG EV THJt
PACIFIC NORTH-WEST.
Constructed at a. Coat of Over $500,-
OOO Interior Arrangements and
Appointments LIsht a.ad Heat.
N the contemplation
of the early comple
tion of the new City
Hall, the people of
Portland may be ex
cused for displaying'
something of a par
donablo spirit of
pride. While tins
magnificant structure
is today practically
completed, yet there
remain a few finishing touches to be put
on the building, which will add percept
ibly to its general attractiveness.
No city of Portland's size In the Unllad
States claims a public building devoted
to the use of tho officers of the municipal
government which approaches in point of
beauty and finish, or in its modern con
venient interior arrangements, the fine
city hall new about completed here. Like
the construction of the great Bull Run
water-works plant, the City Hall has
been built under tho direction of a board
whose appointment was authorized by
the state, and the entire construction of
the present edifice has been economically;
handled. '
Portland has long felt the need of a
building of its own, which would be
ample in size and contain the necessary
modern appointments for the expeditious
handling of the heavy business of the
city. An exhaustive research would
hardly determine the different locations
.the headquarters for the municipal ofhcer3
have been domiciled in since Portland was
first incorporated. A change in the lo
cation of the "city hall" was regulartv
made after nearly every election, and
some of tne rooms occupied by the mu
nicipal officers during the early history
of Portland's development are today tha
headquarters of much less august as
semblages. Some of the later quarters
of the city officials have been strictly
modern in their appointments, and they
have been supplied with all needed con-
venlences, but the new City Hall just
completed Is the only hullding ever occu
pied by the city as its own which tha
citizens could point to with any spirit
of pride.
The first practical move in the direction1
of building a city halL In Portland wa3
the successful attempt made by tre mu
nicipality to have an act passed through
the legislature of that year which would
authorize the construction of such a build
ing here. This act authorized the ap
pointment of a board of commissioners,
who were empowered to issue and sell
bonds to the extent of $175,000, these bonds
to run for 30 years and to draw 5 per cent:
interest. With the money received from
the sale of thsse bonds, the commlssio-i
was to purchase the necessary ground
and construct a building which, in their
judgment, would be suitable for the de
mands of a city of the pretensions of
Portland.
The first board was made up as follows:
Henry Failing, L. Fleischner, William
M. Ladd, Donald Macleay, L. Therkelsen,
A. H. Breyman, J. J. Fisher. Out of the
$175,000 realized from the first sale of
bonds, the board purchased the block of
land bounded by Fourth, Jefferson. Fifth
and Madison streets, and the foundation
of the building was soon commenced.
It was subsequently found impossible to
utilize this foundation, as it was designs!
to support a building, the cost of which
the city board could not meet from the
moneys it had en hand. The legislature
of 1890-91 passed another act, which au
thorized tho appointment of the present
board, and this board was also empowere-t
by the same act to issue and sell bends
tdtthe -extent oe:$500,eC0,-ta runT30. years!
and to draw 5 per cent interest, for the
express purposes of completing a city hall
at Portland. The names of the members
of the present bord are as follows: Will
lam M. Ladd (chairman). W. B. Ayer,
C. B. Bellinger, A. H. Breyman, H. J.
Corbett and C. M. Forbes. The clerk of
the board Is Charles Randolph.
The issue of $500,000 in bonds authorized
by the legislature was sold in a lump
sum on May 25, 1S92, to Rollins & Son,
Boston and Denver, at a premium of
$22,610. This sale was made subject to the
agreement that the bonds should be de
livered only as money was required for
the prosecution of the work of construc
tion on the City Hall. The last of these
bonds were delivered on August 9 last.
The principal contract for the con
struction of the building was let July
25, 1S92, to Rocheford, Gould & Gladden,
of Omaha, Neb. This contract called for
furnishing the material for the building
and for doing the principal part of tha
work of construction. The amount o
the contract made with these people was
$301,368. The contract provided for modi
fications of the original plan of construc
tion to bring the entire cost of the struc
ture within the amount authorized by the
legislature. The other contracts for the
construction were as follows: Marble
woik, $39,965; apparatus and appliances
for heating, $20,295; plumbing, $15,226; or
namental iron-work, $15,168; scagllola
work, $8170; two elevators, and for plac
ing the same in position, $7000; electric and
gas fixtures and other work, $3738 75;
electric wiring, $2982; hardware, $2600; iron
work on stairs, $2580; counters and other
fixed furniture, $2500; vault doors, $1662;
conduit under building, $1280.
The contract for the completion of the
third floor was let some time after for
$6955. The other contracts had been
awarded. Miscellaneous sums called for
by other contracts, including the ex
penses of the commission, foot up to $3921.
The total sum that will be paid the arch
itects on a basis of 5 per cent of the total
cost of the building, will amount to about
$25,000. This, with the extras already
allowed for, will bring the total cost of
the building up to $519,535 35. The neces
sary sums of money it will require to
finish the building will absorb the funds
now remaining in the commission's hands.
In addition to the $522,610 realized by the
commission for the sale of bonds In 1S92
the commission received out of the old
funds left over from the proceeds of
the first bond sale, the sum of $79SL The
commission now has on hand $11,056 which
they can apply to finishing the building.
The members of the commission have
worked without pay and the close at
tention they have given to supervising
the work of construction has doubtless
saved the city a number of thousands of
dollars. The city hall Is today ready for
occupancy, although some work yet re
mains to be done on the structure which
It is hoped to have entirely completed
by February 1 next.
The contract for lighting, heating and
ventilating the building and for operating
the elevators was recently let to the
Portland General Electric Company. The
amount this company is to be paid for
this service is $475 a month.
THE BLILDIXG ITSELF.
Description of the Mnprnlflcent Jfew
Structure.
HE City Hall comprises sim
plicity of design with state
liness of outline. The yellowish-gray
sandstone of which
the outer walls are con
structed Impart a most pleas
ing effect to the eye. The de
sign is In what is known as
Italian Renaissance. Its total
length is 200 feet, the full dis
tance of the block. The width
of the main building is 110
feet, but wings which extend on either
side at the north and south ends bring the
total width up to 142 feet. It is four
stories in height. The grade of the block
of land on which it stands slopes grad
ually toward the river, and this makes the
entance on the Fifth-street side one story
higher than it is on Fourth street. The
entrance on the Fourth-street side is
through a semi-circular vestibule, the ex-
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