THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND. MARCH-. 15, 1914.
HANDSOME HOUSE BUILT BY HEAD
OF FAMILY WHO OCCUPY IT AS HOME
William R. Bridges Designs Plan, Makes Own Concrete Blocks and Builds Attractive Domicile in Spare Hours.
Actual Cost, Exclusive of Own "Work, $1800. '
The Portland
Approval of East Couch Plan
Sought by Committee.
"Y" TO BRIDGE IS IDEA
Association Will Be Formed to Get
Behind Project South East Sidf
'f Starts Petition to Widen
Powell Street to 60 Feet.
13
WIDENING MOVE ON
mm
: Among the several important move
ments started on the East Side last
week' is that to make East Couch 80
feet wide from East First to East
Fourteenth streets, connect East Couch
with Sandv boulevard, cut down the
present grade at East Eleventh and
connect the street with the Burnside
bridge with a "Y" angle on an elevated
roadway.
In order to give the property owners
who have started this movement op
portunity to show what they can do,
the improvement of East Couch has
been held up. The contract for pav
ing that street is all ready for final
sanction.
A committee of property owners, J.
E. Widmer, W. R. Stokes, R. L. Zeller,
F. M. Stokes and some others, are now
Interviewing owners of property on
East Couch in the hope of gettin
their consent to the widening. It is
Urged that to widen East Couch and
. develop a moderate grade at the pres
ent steep- point at East Eleventh
street and connect it with Sandy bou
levard would make it an ideal street
for this growing section! The commit
tee having the matter in charge is re
ceiving encouragement. Many of the
property owners, however, are hard to
reach.
"We believe that this widening can
be done, said the committee in an ad
dress to the property owners, "if the
. property owners are willing and will
cut their shoulders to the wheel. Of
course it will cost some money, as all
good things do, but compared to the
amount of benefits the expense will be
very small. The few buildings on the
street that amount to anything can be
arcaded, which will lessen the expense,
i The time to do this is now if ever, be
fore more buildings are erected and
before hard surface is put down. The
City Commissioners have been asked
to delay letting the contract for hard
surfacing for a short time, in order to
give time to get an expression from all
owners affected.
Property Owners to Study Situation.
"Nine-tenths of the traffic over Burn
side bridge comes from and goes to
points north of East Burnside street.
This plan would give Burnside bridge
a double approach and East Couch
street, being on the north, would nat
urally get far the greater portion of
the travel. When the Burnside bridge
is rebuilt, which must be done before
many years, -'it may be placed in a
straight line with West Burnside
street. That will bring the east end
of it in the center of the block between
East Burnside and East Couch and both
streets can then meet It In a 'Y' con
nection." . An East Couch-street property own
ers' association will be formed to take
up the widening as soon as enough of
the property owners have responded.
It is believed that a wide street is
needed to connect the Burnside bridge
with Sandy boulevard, which is 80 feet
wide and which is paved to the city
limits. It is planned to make Sandy
boulevard 80 feet wide from East Six
teenth to East Twenty-eighth streets
and the connection with Sandy boule
vard will be made by extending East
Couch through part of two blocks. It
will have an easy grade, shorter route
and give a double approach to Burn
Side bridge.
Move to Widen Powell Street.
. In the South East Side a movement
has been started to widen Powell be
tween Milwaukie and East Eighteenth
street from 50 to 60 feet. A petition
signed by 50 per cent of the property
owners has been submitted to Commis
sioner Dieck and the South East Port
land Boosters Club passed resolutions
indorsing the proposed movement.
Some of the property owners favored
paving the street on the present width
of, 60 feet, tout the greater number
want it made 60 feet wide to correspond
with the width of the rest of the street.
Powell street is occupied with double
tracks of the Brooklyn carline, which
takes the main portion of the street.
Powell is the city end of Powell Valley
road, which carries a heavy traffic. It
Is considered highly important that
Powell should be widened to take care
of this traffic.
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REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
Real estate transfers involving nego
tiations of $5000 and over have been
filed since the first of the month as
follows:
Frank M. Mulkey et al to Bnai Brith
-Building Association, part block
"B," city, warranty deed .$15,000
A- A. Linusley and. wife to Clarence
R. Wagoner, part block 6, John
son's Addition, warranty deed... 38,000
William H. Ellis to Sol Rosertfeld,
undivided one-half interest lot ti,
block ii. City of Portland, warranty
deed . ., 10,750
Smith Wasoner Company to A. A.
Undsley. lots 4, S. ti, 15, 29, 32, H3,
34, Sheltered Nook, warranty deed 6,500
Harry K. Wagoner et al to A. A.
Lindsley, tot 1. east Vz lot 2. block
0. P. T. Smith's Addition to St. '
Johns, Warranty deed 12,000
Clarence R. Wagoner to A. A. Llnds
ley, lot 3, block 1U, Laurelhurst,
warranty deed 6,000
. Thomas Doonan to Joseph H. Nash,
Int lO KnslwiHul. in Krtinti ."i
township 1 south, range 3 east,
warranty deed 5,000
IB. U Stevens, Sheriff, to H. R.
Hirsch, lots 28, 2M, 30, block 13,
Treniont Place, lots 18, lu. 20 block
; 7, Willamette Addition, lot 14, block
12, Foxchase Addition (assigned to
Adam Mueller), Sheriffs certificate C.OCO
C. H. Piggott to Clara A. Gale, lots
2. 3, 0, 7, block 8, Fulton, war
ranty deed 10,000
J. C. Roberts and wife to Walter C.
Brettell, east Vi lots I, 2, block
20. Hanson's Second Addition to
East Portland, warranty deed 5,000
Alary E. Savage to Bert Shelton, lot
L'aruther's Addition, warranty deed 10.000. nis own labor.
Vartha r.. Adams to William Keid,
lot 5. block 6, City View Park;
also lot 4. block 0 City View Park
Addition except that portion said
lot deeded to P. R. L. & P. Co.,
warranty deed 5,000
J. M. Kichards and wife to Fred R.
Johnson t al, lot 3, block 44, Pied
mont, warranty deed 6,500
Alina Htoesslger et al to Clarence True
Wilson, warranty deed 9.250
William E. Finzer and wife to Frank
J. Richardson, lot 1, north 40 feet
lot 2. block 10, Irvington, war
ranty deed 0,500
Eva D. Burdln and husband to Frud-
. . erlck W. Drake, lot 4, part lot 3,
block 69, Laurehurst, Sheriffs
warranty deed U.UOU
J; C. Lubeck and wife to H. R. Trow
bridge, lot 14. block 17. Vernon. 1
William R. Ellis to Sol Rosenfeld. un
divided one-half interest, lot 6,
block 8, City of Portland 10,750
J. C. Roberts and wife to Walter C.
- . Brettell. east one-half -lots 1, 2.
block 20, Hanson's second addition
to East Portland 5.000
Frank M. Mulkey et al. to Bnai Brlth
Building Association, part block
"B," city 15,000
Edward M. Runyan and wife Jo J. C.
Ainsworth, land beginning' 40 feet .
, westerly from northeast corner,
-block 66, Carter s Addition to
Portland
m Doonan to Joseph H. Nash, lot
( 10, Eastwood, in section 5, township
1 south, range 3 east 5,000
Robert B. Beat and wife to Christian
Chrtstansen. lot 16. block 95. Irr-'""Ins-ton
M..M, 5,500
CAHCELT any more pertinent ex
emplif ication of the fruits of per
severance and industry could
be apparent than in the interesting and
praiseworthy achievement of William
R. Bridges, who lives at 221 East Forty-sixth
street. He has faced many
obstacles and handicaps and consistent
ly overcome them, and as a result to-
ay Mr. Bridges and his family of Ave
children live in a handsome house that
stands on the southwest corner of East
Forty-sixth and Salmon streets. From
all appearances the house Is built of
natural stone, but such is not the case.
It is made of concrete blocks, nearly
all of which were made and all of them
placed in position by Mr. Bridges dur
ing his hours of recreation.
About three and one-half years ago.
faced with the problem of not being
able to rent a satisfactory house and
being the father of three healthy chil
dren, Mr. Bridges bought a lot In the
above locality and decided to erect a
tenthouse while preparing his pros
pectlve home. Having been born and
raised in England, where dwellings are
for the most part constructed of DricK
and stone, he decided on a concrete
block house.
Lack of Training No Bar.
During this time Mr. Bridges was
proofreader on The Oregonian. and was
not familiar with even the rudiments
of masonry and concrete construction,
but this lack of training did not deter
him.
He bought a block-making machine
and started in to Investigate how
others worked and went around among
the people whom he saw mixing con
crete in quest of the necessary informa
tion. Disgusted with his efforts in this
direction, he obtained a textbook on
concrete construction from the Public
Library and went ahead, although he
admits that there is no royal road to
working in concrete; on the contrary,
it Is pretty strenuous.
Mr. Bridges excavated a large part of
his basement and built the wall of
blocks 28x8x12 in dimension. De
sirous of getting into the house as
soon as possible, our amateur mason
contracted the work of putting up the
rough frame-or the house. The labor re
quired in this job cost him lo0. later
he- also contracted the plumbing,
wiring and plastering. But aside from
these auxiliary services, he nimseu
placed in position every one of the
thousands of concrete blocks that go
to make up the house as it stands to
day. He put in his own concrete steps
and walks, laid the floors on the in
side of his house and did the interior
finishing.
Actual ( out ISOO.
The house complete as now finished
actually cost Mr. Bridges $1S00, includ
ing the cost of the furnace and all ma
terial, as well as all labor, contracted
for. This of course does not include
The home looks like a stone-built
structure. In the steel casts made from
plaster of paris moulds provided by
Mr. Bridges, the concrete was moulded
in sizes varying from 20x14 inches to
8x3 inches. The building contains eight
well-arranged rooms and is of two
stories, with full basement.
The house is now free from debt, and.
although Mr. Bridges smilingly con
fesses that the annual tax levy has not
as yet been paid, he gave adequate as
surance that it could and would be ac
counted for speedily enough.
.It took approximately three years of
personal effort to construct the Bridges
home, and it was practically completed
several months ago, although its
builder and owner lias not yet ceased
to find opportunity for further work
that might be spent profitably on it.
Mr. Bridges was born in Aylesbury,
Buckinghamshire, in the Midlands of
England. When he was 3 years of age
his father died, leaving his mother
with four children. At the age of 10,
having passed the necessary grades,
he was allowed to quit school and
started to work.
Even then, or as early as he was
capable of serious thought, he had an
ambition to come to the Pacific Coast
of the United States, about wtyfcjb. he
had read interesting stories of the Inr
dians and of pioneer achievement.
At 15 he entered a seven-year appren
ticeship as printer with the firm of
Maxell, Watson & Viney, one of the
largest printing and publishing houses
in the world, which operated a branch
of its London plant at Aylesbury.
Ambitious to get ahead, the young
apprentice commenced the study of
Greek, Latin and French under the able
guidance of Rev. C. W. Pearson, vicar
of the Church -of England in his lo
cality, and the knowledge thus gained
has proved of inestimable benefit to
Mr. Bridges in his profession.
Deciding to come to the United
Slates, Mr. Bridges, with his wife and
two children arrived in Portland during
the Lewis and Clark Fair, in 1905.
"We were much impressed with Port
land' from the very start," said Mr.
Bridges, "because it so much resembled
London, geographically. You know
the Thames runs through London much
the same as the Willamette River di
vides Portland, one being about the dls
tance from the Atlantic as the other
is from the Pacific.
"But things didn't pan out as I-figured,
and for once In my life I be
came discouraged. After a week or two
in Portland we became restless and re
solved to go'back, although our natural
impulse and desire was to settle in
Portland for good. I knew my old po
sition was waiting for me, as the man
ager had guaranteed that when I left,
so I went to the Portland bank, which
held my draft for $1000 and told the
cashier that I wanted to have the draft
transferred to London, as I Intended
to return home. He dissuaded me from
my determination to return to England.
Learning that I was a proofreader by
occupation, he suggested that I try my
luck at The Oregonian, where the su
perintendent gave me every considera
tion and encouragement.
"I 'was new to newspaper work but
the boya were good to me and helped
me to make good.
"That, was 8V4 years ago and I have
been working for The Oregonian ever
since."
Concrete House Is "Secret."
Notwithstanding- Mr. Bridges' impor
tant connection as head proofreader
with The Oregonian, nobody on the
paper knew much or anything about
his concrete house until a few days
ago and then only because a picture of
it chanced to be seen by one of his as
sociates. -
Shortly after his arrival here, Mr.
Bridges bought an acre on the Mount
Scott carline, on which he built a
house. Later he traded this for a dairy
ranch at North Beach, Wash.', but he
found he couldn't run a ranch and read
proof at the same time, so be sold the
stock on the place and rented the ranch
until four years ago. when he sold the
entire place. He put this money right
back into other property, whic-h has in
creased considerably in vllue.
Mr. and Mrs. Bridges have five child
ren: Bernard, aged 11; Clifford, aged
9; Margaret Hope, aged 6; Grade, aged
314, and Muriel Cornwall, aged 7 weeks.
The two boys are now attending the
Glencoe School. Grade's pet name is
"Gipsy," in consideration of the fact
that she was born in a tent house.
"My wife is deserving of the larger
share of the credit due on this house
proposition," explained Mr. Bridges.
"For she was perfectly willing to live
in the tent house and put up with all
the Inconveniences that that life.meant.
It was not particularly an . ideal life.
but it certainly was healthful, not to
say interesting, especially when the
silver thaw struck us, but we look
back upon our experiences now with
a good deal of pleasure.
Work Made Recreation.
"Many people have remarked at my
work on the house and speak of it as
a big task, but I do not view it in that
light. I associated the Idea of recre
ation with it, and a profitable recrea
tion at that, and got lots of real fun
and enjoyment out of my experiences.
My duties in the proofroom being
necessarily very strenuous and exact
ing, my work on the house gives me
the needed rest and relaxation, in
short 'helps a fellow to keep young and
healthy minded.
"I will admit that when I started to
lay the blocks I was a little nervous
as to whether my efforts would meet
with the sanction and approval of the
building inspector, and one day after
I had got considerable of the work
done a man came along who Informed
me he was the building- inspector. I
immediately felt a cold -shiver run
down my back. He remarked, "Are
you doing this by the day or by the
contract?' I replied 'By the day or
part day.' He said, 'Isn't a man
named Bridges building this house?" I
replied, "Yes." 'He's with The Orego
nian, isn't he?" 'Yes,' I said. I then
said, 'How does this strike you is
everything to your satisfaction?" He
replied, 'Everything is O. K., and it's
going to look fine.' I felt considerably
relieved and Invited him to lunch with
us, when he remarked, "I believe you
are Bridges himself." I said, "You've
got it right." "But," said he. 'I thought
you were a newspaper man." I said.
'That's right, too.' At which we had
a hearty laugh and are pretty good
friends. .
Labors Not Overdone.
"I make It . a special point not to
overdo things, but to work just as I
feel disposed. - Furthermore It gives
one something worth while to work
for. There's a whole lot of real satis
faction in actually building your own
home, especially when one's wife en
ters into the spirit of the thing. And
then there are the children doing it
for them. Yes, it is quite worth while."
A glance at Mr. Bridges' face, show
ing healthy color, good nature and en
thusiasm, lends full support to his
contention that his out of door "recre
ation" has exerted a beneficial effect
on his health and he Is satisfied that
his effort in building his own .home
has been altogether worth while and
Its own reward.
In indifferent health at the begin
ning of his building operations, Mr.
Bridges has improved in this respect
to a marked degree, which he at
tributes largely to the healthful, not to
say remunerative, exercise obtained in
his house-building hobby. Personally
he considers his work In no degree ex
traordinary, admitting that it is square
ly up to the individual himself whether
he makes good in any endeavor he
tackles in this great Pacific Coast
country of splendid opportunity.
BRISK TRADE EXPECTED
REALTY BROKER PREDICTS ACTIV
ITY IN LOCAL MARKET.
4 '.
Improved Condition Generally . and
Easier Money Cited as Harbinger
of Better Timea.
That the local real estate market will
be featured by a steady gain' through
out the present year, culminating in
the Spring of 1915 in a movement
strikingly like the strong demand ob
served here and elsewhere on the Coast
Ave years ago, is the belief of H. O.
Peckwith, -Vice-president and general
manager of the Fred A. Jacobs Com
pany. . .
Mr. Beckwith is firmly convinced
that the period-of rest which has been
pronounced during the past year or so
Is at an end, and that Portland and vi
cinity may look forward confidently to
an Immediate and marked improvement
in the realty and building world. - From
a National standpoint, Mr. Beckwith
believes that the opening of the Alaska
steamship line, the passage by Congress
of the Alaska railroad bill, and the
settlement of the currency question
will prove of tremendous value in
bringing about a general revival of
business: locally, however, he is of the
opinion that the announcement of the
forthcoming expenditure of l,50(r,000
by the Meier & Frank Company in a
big building project was the push nec
essary to staKt the ball rolling.
"During the past 60 days Portland
real estate has been in better demand
than fjr any period during the pre-
lj l
Oregonian
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Thousands are clamoring for it. Thousands already
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vlous 18 months," said Mr. Beckwith.
"In this statement, I am 'backed up by
all of the older and better established
realty firms and subdivision operators
in the city. . We And that there is plen
ty of money here to buy well built,
moderately priced cottages and bunga
lows. The report comes to me from
other subdivision firms, and I know it
is true with the Fred A. Jacobs Com
pany, that there is a much better de
mand for vacant lots in the suburban
district than there has been for a long
time.
"Another indication of a general im
provement is the fact that in all lines
of business better collections are re
ported. There is no doubt that money
Is more plentiful."
Grange Opposes 8-Hour Law.
ALBANY, Or., March 14. (Special.)
Believing that an eight-hour law
having application to farms, dairies
and other agricultural pursuits would
be an injustice, ' the Linn County
Pomona Grange has passed a resolution
protesting against such a regulation.
It is recited that such a law would be
wholly Impracticable to the conditions
peculiar to farm Industries. .
MILL PLANS ARE DRAWN
TWO-STORY BRICK STRl'CTl'RE
WILL, RISES IX ST. JOHNS.
Nev Bnlldlne 1VI1I Be I nit of 75O,00O
Plant That Is to Replace Factory
Recently Burned.
Lewis I. Thompson has drawn plans
for the erection of a two-story brick
building to be. used by the Portland
Woolen Mills'at St. Johns for the hous
ing of its scouring and carbonizing de
partments. Two weeks ago today,
early in the morning, the former scour
ing plant was burned. By 7 A. M. the
following day, the wires and motors
were installed and the second day fol
lowing temporary machinery was op
erating amidst the ruins of the build
ing. Now, a completely new structure
will be completed within a month.
ThcXnew building, which is to be but
a unit of the present $750,000 plant
will cover a ground space of 75 by 95
feet and. cost about $7000. A freight
elevator, an electric wiring conduit, a
new dryer and carbonizer will be in
stalled. Contracts have been let for
immediate construction.
Mr. Thompson is also completing
plans for a handsome $3500 country
Summer home to be built for Mrs. Jo
sephine C. Childs on the Oregon City
carline. about 10 miles out of Port
land and overlooking the Willamette
River. It will be of colonial design.
The house will be confined within one
story and contain five rooms.
Rates Ordered lteduc-cd.
ALBANY, Or., March 14 (Special.)
Through a provision in the franchise
giing the city power to regulate rates,
tht City Council has ordered the Ore
gon Power Company to reduce the elec
tric light rate in this city from II to 7
cents per kilowat hour and the mini
mum meter rate per month from $1 to
75 cents. This provision had been for
gotten for years, but was unearthed
recently.
The tiucen bee la.vs 200 eggs a day.