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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1910)
liy V. I.. Morjcan. I N January, 1904, at the southeast corner of Sixteenth and Jefferson streets, was commenced the first apartment-house built In Portland. It was a small, modest frame building, of 10 three-room and three two-room apartments, making: IS Jn alL This building; was completed in May follow ing and the writer who was the build er and owner, by numbers of excellent ly written advertisements extolling: the good points of the building, tried for some weeks to lease It at a rental of $125 a month, but could find no one who would take it. Being convinced he was right, and that it was what the people wanted, he then furnished it himself and put competent parties In charge and It was opened June 21, 1904, and during the first week, though Just at the season when so many leave town for the Summer, every apartment ex cept one was rented and that one soon after bringing in a gross Income of $356 a month. After the landladies bad been "shown" then they wanted It, and he PORTLAND'S BriLDLG RECORD FOR 1008 AND 1809 COMPARED. Nearly every month of the year just closed has shown a decided gain In building expenditure over the corresponding month of 190S. The gain for the entire year Is $3,067,404. a most s a 1 1 s f a c tory showing. The past year is the first in the history of the city during which the building expen diture has averaged more than $1,000,000 a month. . The move ment, however, has been heavy for several years, and 1910 prom ises to bring even greater ac tivity. The total value of permits by months for the past two years, aa shown by the official records, follows: Month. January ,.$ February March April ..... May ...... June ...... July August ... 8ept October ... Nov. ...... tec. 1908. 628,645 883.800 851,845 9X0,410 754,9-15 841.085 1,083.366 772,395 572,355 829.755 944,595 960,075 1909. 431.415 1,329.540 885. SS5 1,851,195 1.142,400 865,300 911,670 996,345 1,288,300 1.707.675' . 835,430 1.618,000 Totals.... $10,505,156 $13,662,565 4 December, 1909, estimated. soon sold out the furnishings at a very hand.-onie profit and leased the building as he at first desired. A peculiar cir cumstance connected with this build ing is that the landlady who had the lease, about a year ago sent for the writer, wanted him to build her anoth er one Just like It, as she said she had enough tenants on her waiting list to fill another one. Encouraged by the success of this building the writer formed a corpora tion In September of that year and pur chased the Quarter block at the north west corner of North Fifteenth and Everett streets, and built two much more pretentious buildings, containing some 22 apartments. While these were I corner of Sixteenth and Jefferson doing- the thins and would not be able V i ' i l&h. " " II'- ' I I BUILDING ACTIVITY IN PORTLAND DURING 1909 HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL Many Large Office Blocks Have Been Erected and All Have Been Fully Occupied as Soon as Com pleted. Steel and Concrete Construction Prevail. By Ivan Hnmason. THE building during the past year has demonstrated clearer than anything else the change in Port land's growth from a city of ordinary class to that of the highest grade. OtAer conditions may indicate, but nothing shows the real strength of a city as much as its new buildings. Portland has passed through the cheap and unsubstantial era of wood and brick, and now all the important structures are of concrete, steel or con crete and steel. Probably the greatest proof of Port land's growth has been in the way of office buildings. Not many years ago three or four such buildings were all that we could boast of, and from time to time others were erected, until it seemed impossible that all could be oc cupied. The demand, however, equaled the supply, and this year alone a con servative estimate places the number of new office rooms at 1200, and they all seem to be as much occupied as were the few a short while ago. A peculiar feature in this connection is the fact that the rate in the new mod ern buildings is about 25 per cent high T than in the old structures. The Lewis, Lumbermen's. Spalding and Henry blocks are good examples of the high grade of this class of build ing. Five such structures erected this year made a total of 46 stories, costing $1,435,000 and containing 822 rooms. Another strong indication of the rapid growth of Portland and the great need of new buildings to keep up with it is In the Increased Capacity of the hotels. rurlng the past year tha leading ho tels have utilized outstde rooms nearly all the time. The New Imperial Hotel is a model of the highest grade of arch itecture for this kind of building. It is nine stories high, built of concrete, contains 250 rooms and cost $250,000. It Is faced with white pressed brick, and J1 the entrances are of white marble. Th tnwi to the Oregon, Hetl la of - - ,f hi ii ilia jfii r mi ii ii i i'ii ji iff i being done he had numbers of people who told him he was certainly over doing the thing and would not be able to rent them, but they were all Imme diately rented on completion. Prom then on the building of apartment-houses has continued, usually with more conveniences and better buildings, until at the present time no one contemplates anything less than pressed brick buildings, with every thing that goes to make housekeeping easy for the occupant as well as home like and convenient. One thing about Portland apartment houses that is distinctly local, at least the writer has been unable to find it in j any other city in the country he has i visited, 'and he always makes it his ' business in traveling to look over the new apartments of other cities is the hydraullo or electric dumb waiter run ning from the basement to the kitch en, which, in connection with a- house telephone system, enables the Janitor to handle the entire building from the basement without having tradespeople in the upper halls or the necessity of back stairways. These innovations he worked out in his first building, and has used the na ever since, and prob ably all other builders In Portland have adopted them. One thing in connection with the apartment-house is the children ques tion. The writer is convinced that usually, the apartment-house is not suitable for children. He knows that oplnlciiB differ on the subject, but first if- K 5 - frr 1 it 1 H- hO ' Gig- - - " of all he does not believe that any par ent should attempt to rear a child steel, seven stories high, and contains 135 rooms. Besides these were erected numerous three to five-story buildings whose upper floors are used as hotels. Probably 1000 rooms were so built and occupied during this year. The apartment-house has come to stay. It has solved the question for the city dweller, and today Portland has some of the most attractive and convenient on the Coast. They vary from two to six rooms and average about four stories in height. Brick seems to be the most popular material, although some are constructed of con crete. Ten such buildings erected dur ing the last year give a total of 48 stories and cost $515,000. This last year witnessed the comple tion of the Meier & Frank Company's 10-story steel department store and the start on the 200x200 steel and concrete department store of Olds, Wortman & King. This will be five stories high, and the cost of construction will be $500,000. These two buildings undoubt edly give Portland the lead in this class over any city on the Coast. The new Y. M. C A. building, of steel CEMENT PLANT WILL RISE Forty-Acre Site Near Oswego, Purchased for New Industry. THROUGH a combination of Port land and Utah capitalists, an en tirely new industry Is to be added to Oregon's long list of commercial ac tivities within the present year. This Industry is the manufacture of Portland cement, and the proposed plant Is to be established on the west bank of the Willamette River, at Oswego, eight miles above Portland. Deeds recently passed to-tbe-oompany THE ' .MOUNTS' G- OREGONIAX, SATURDAY, 'w. uruir 11. 1 T II II 111 I I III II LSfl 111 WiU 1)1 Iff gSa II , . I, J Ml & i ? S Z aVsawvx-w jfoM,". v-tSj especially a boy In apartments. It j cramps their life and fails to develop ! and concrete, eight stories high, cost ing $466,000, and the Y. W. . A. build ing mark an epoch in that class of work. The Sisters erected a five-story brick and reinforced concrete annex to St. Vincent's Hospital. Eight large warehouses were constructed this year, all of them being either concrete or brick. Several new churches have been built during the year, either of brick or stone, and notable among these is the white stone church of the First Church of Christ. Scientist. The new Arling ton Club building, which is now in course of construction, and various garages and barns, costing from $20, 000 to $50,000 each, go to swell Port land's marvelous building for the last year. Taking it all in all and review ing the past, we have every reason to feel proud of the growth of our city and of a necessity the growth of our buildings. The line of demarkatlon be tween the old and the new is very pronounced, and in time, as the old buildings are town away to make room for the new, we shall have a City Beautiful. for a site of 40 acres, and preparation of the ground for the erection of build ings has been under way for several wfceks. It Is declared that construction of the buildings is to go on without do lay until the plant ls completed, the time set for this being December 1 next. The fact that the buildings themselves will cover 11 acres shows something of the magnitude of the factory. The outlay to start this new Indus try la to bo more than. $500,000. When 'f 'Will ' .1 JjmXMXXJOOQOOQOOQOUUOOCCCOUOOOOOa 1 IB x-K .v I lNittiiiin ? In them that which is best for their j future lives. However, there was such I the manufacture of 'cement is begun the plant will gi-ve employment to 15 men throughout the entire year. The ca pacity will be 1500 barrels daily. Although the use of cement has in creased so rapidly that there are now more than 100 factories in the United States, whereas there were only three 25 years ago, the great territory of Oregon, Southern Washington and Southern Idaho has been without such an industry up to the present time. The great building movement in Portland hath created a very heavy . demand for this material, and this demand has been met by shipping the commodity here from Europe and California. - The Os wego factory is being constructed for the purpose of eupplylng this local de mand. It is pointed out that even with Its output of 1500 barrels dally It will only half supply the needs of this city and the Immediate surrounding district. In addition to the manufacture of ce ment, the new company proposes to Include the making of lime. A kiln for this purpose is now being Installed near Roseburg. TAXABLE PROPERTY GAINS RAPIDLY IX VALUE. Multnomah County's t a z a ble property has increased In value more than $207,000,000 since 1902, according to the official assess ment figures. This gain, how ever. Is larger than It otherwise . would be had not the basis of the assessment beep changed In 1905. Nevertheless the actual gain in value has been very great, eacb year showing an increase, and that for 1909 over 1908 being -$15,202,150. The greater part of the advance is accounted for by actual rise In property values, although County Assessor SIgler is placing higher valuations on various franchises than ever be fore. The total assessment fig ures by years from 1902 to 1909 follow: 1902 $ 44.146.000J1906 $180,950,568 1903 51,038,000 1907 233.141,058 1904 B6.429.000I1908 236,1871737 1905 143,860.00011909 251.389,887 JANUARY 1, 1910. - - i 2 & sea1 a demand for them and as the tenants ; ordinarily would not stand for children PORTLAND DEPARTMENT STORES WILL SOON HAVE IMMENSE NEW BUILDINGS Structure Now Under Way, Covering Entire Block, With Two Others Soon to Be Constructed, Will Have Total Floor Space of 857,500 Square Feet. THERE axe few cities In the West which will be able 'to boast of three department stores as large as those In Portland after the plans for the Improvement of the three great stores in this city are carried out. The Old. Wortman & King structured now under way and Bearing completion; the Lipman, Wolfe & Co. new building, an nounced a few weeks ago, and the Meier . & Frank new addition, an nounced elsewhere in The Oregonian to day, will give three stores to this city, every one of which will have greater floor space than any one store in San Francisco. ' The wonderful growth of Portland can be shown In no better way than in the demand -for great stores. When the Olds, Wortman & King company started building on the entire block bounded by Morrison, Alder, Tenth and West Park streets there were many in Portland who believed the location was beyond the recognized boundaries of the retail district of the city. Now. with the five-story structure, contain ing 240,000 square feet of floor space, nearing completion, bfher stores are al ready moving Into the same general neighborhood, business blocks for other purposes are being built in the same locality and the general westward movement Indicates that the big store which Is beading the pioneer movement In a westward direction will by no means be away from the business dis trict of the city. Tha Olds, Wortman & King building will be completed early this year and will be a great fireproof structure, 200 x200 feet in size and five stories high, with a full basement, also used for re tail purposes. This will give a floor space of 240.000 square feet, but al ready the future is being cared for and the walls of the structure are built so that five additional stories may be . .... 4 1 in the buildings, that about two years ago he decided to build an apartment- added when the demands for business become such as to require additional space. The announcement. madeT a. few weeks ago, that the Lipman, Wolfe & Co. store would move to the present loca tion of Olds, Wortman & King and would erect an eight to 12-story struc ture on the west side of Fifth street, between Washington and Alder streets, came after much deliberation on the part of the proprietors of the store as to the best location. The owners of the property, the O'Shea Bros., the Cor bett estate and William O'Donnell, are to build a great structure on this half block, which will be leased to the big department store for a period of 20 years. The building will cost about $700,000, exclusive of the fittings, which will be Installed at an additional cost of between $150,000 and $250,000.- The plans call for a handsome fireproof structure, which will be one of the most modern and up-to-date buildings in the city. It cannot be started until the Olds, Wortman & King building Is completed and that firm has moved and until the leases on the corner of Fifth and Alder, held by another store, have expired. It has not as yet been finally decided whether to make the store an eight story building or higher. There Is a possibility that the present plans may be enlarged so as to give 12 stories, which would give a total floor space of 260.000 square feet. The third department store which will be greatly enlarged is the Meier & Frank Company store at Fifth, Sixth, Morrison and Alder streets. This store, now the largest on the Pacific Coast, with a total floor space already -of 257,500 square feet, will be added to by the demolition of the present five story building on the hsflf-block front ing on Fifth street and the erection in Its place of a big ten-story building, to conform with the ten-story annex t house for families with children,- an accordingly selected a site in the best family section of the city and built thereon a building Just suited for chll-j dren, with large front and back porches'' together with considerable yard space.; Considerable comment was made on this by the press of the city, and it waa' advertised as a building for families with children, but not a tenant could be secured of that class. All who had, children would be glad to rent If .no others were allowed, but would not go In if others were to be accorded th same privilege. So it had to be rented to families without children. What the future of the apartment-, house is is hard to say. Many continue) to ask the question: "Is it not over done ?"'. My answer to that is. "Not ifi Portland continues to grow as it has, and house servants remain as scarce." Many women can keep house with east and comfort In an apartment who can not keep up a house on account of tha servant problem. Besides, it is so nlce to have steam heat, hot water and oth-. er conveniences at all hours, by simply pressing a button or turning a faucet. Some of the largest and finest of th New Portland apartment-houses ar shown on this page. Several othep costly buildings of this class have been erected during the past year, and oth ers are planned for 1910. So far thai apartment-house movement has been confined almost entirely to the West Side, the advantage being tha prox imity to the business section. It is probable, however, that in time' apart ments will spring up in the more cen tral sections of the Bast Side. on the 100x125 feet at the Sixth and Alder corner. This will give a total floor space of S67.600 square feet. In cluding all ten stories and the basement. The cost of the big half-block ten story addition Is estimated at about $1,- " 600.000, and this, added to the $600,004 expended for the present ten-story an nex to the building, will represent an outlay of more capital than has been put In any other building in Portland. The general architecture of the build ing will be made to conform with that of the handsome ten-story. annex, which has already been completed. With these three stores completed, Portland will be able to boast of finer and greater department stores than any other city In the West, and the total floor space In the three stores of 857,"- ' 600 square feet will be more than that of all the stores in Portland to day handling business of the class of these stores. Jn accord with the general develop, ment of the big retail' section of Port- land Is the semi-official announcement that a 15-story structure will be erect ed on the northwest corner of Fifth and Washington, directly opposite the) new Lipman-Wolfe building. This struc ture is to be on the Mead Estate prop erty, and the lower floors will likely be occupied by some high-class retail establishment, . and the upper floors used for general office purposes. Tha building wiU cover a quarter block now occupied by one and two-story cheaply constructed buildings. : .. The sky-scraper section Is also to have In addition the John B. Yeon building,' a 15-story structure, for which a permit has already been issued. This building will rise at Fifth and Alder streets, one block from the Mead Estate property. The completed plana call for a maximum expenditure of $600,000, but are subject to revision, ant It Is believed the contract priea will be between $550,000 and $575,000.