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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1904)
A RESUME Rcaf Estate Section THE WEEK'S BARGAINS IN REAL, ESTATE Real Estate Section PORTLAND REAL ESTATE WAS NEVER LOWER IN PRICE NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY IT. PORTLAND AND OREGON ARE ON THE EVE OF A GREAT EAL ESTATE BOOM I V PORTLAND, OREGON, SATURDAY -EVENING, FEBRUARY 20, 1901. OF St. Johns-Its Marvelous Past Its Great Future ST. JOHNS Ir a striking example of the influence of transportation facilities in the development of a . : . town..- Two years ago the place had hot yet emerged from '4he sleep which had possessed the ..village, since the' city of Portland was first founded. Two years. ago there was to be found in the place only a few scattered houses, with no "manufactures or business in terests.. no employment was to be had in the place, and a home had not been built for 10 years preceding. The little village occupied a desirable point on the Willamette river at the very gateway to the Portland harbor, Along the water front was a two-mile stretch a-up i i: ' iikttK X" :v- a"' -. .Jiffy I of splendid . manufacturing sites, totally undeveloped, fronting on a harbor a half mile wide in which the. river channel was 40 feet deep and possessing .excep tional; advantages for the construction of mills, factories and docks at a low cost, affording the finest opportunities for river and ocean commerce but lack ing rail facilities, the one key necessary 4o unlock the great wealth of commercial possibilities which centered at St Johns. O. . V. Takes Xd. The opportunities which the place af forded for the extension of commerce and manufacture was recognised by the Oregon Railroad & Navigation company. In the winter of 1902 the O. . R. & N. Co. built its railroad along the harbor at t Johns, completing the road .JoApril ef that year, and opening the place to- a great commercial future, t At tmcerlmsiiresriifginr "ttrtterctuft- and .manufacturers were quirk, to see the ad vantage -which the place possessed. It as found that ' plants could be con structed at St Johns fronting, on deep water with the use of minimum quan tity of piling. It was found that in the b'llldlng of plants and in the construc tion of yards for milling Industries from (1,000 to $10,000 per acre could be saved st St. Johns In, the the Item of piling alone. The first plant to be constructed sfter the completion of the railroad was the veneer and basket factory of the Portland Manufacturing- company, ., and since Its construction there ' has never beea-a period of three consecutive months in which some new industry has not en tered the place. So that now, although less than two years have elapsed, the town possesses, beside the veneer and basket factory, three saw mills, an ex- ' fHERE has never been a time In I the history of this city thathe -1 outlook for a profitable-season . in the realty market was so bright as It Is at the present time.,- Every day there is an increase In the number of inquiries for property .from easterners and this class "of . people promise to be among the larger buyers ' of reel estate In this locality, during the , earning year. .; ' r . ; There is" not a single section of the . city or the stste of Oregon that has not shown a wonderful Improvement In real ' estate .vslues during the past ; year. Every where property Is being more, eagerly sought after and the prices paid sre considered quite satisfactory by the sellers. - . ' i Every kind cf property, city property,, suburban property, farm property and business locations, is showing an up ward tendency in values. On the main the advance In prices will average about 10 per cent, although , In some cases property bought a year, ago m tills city , has sold for double the amount paid. The principal movement In the realty market during the year has been in homes, places which were not too far distant from the car lines , and that , could be purchased at a ptce that was within the means of the average wage- earner. - The extending of the city's streetcar lines to sections that were re mote from the business section of the city a few years ago has caused an' In creased demand for property. There is one noticeable thing In the realty marketthat the city Is showing a decided growth, toward the northward. This seems to be the history of every city which Is located on the rivers. The towns are first built as far inland as navigation can proceed iand' then by easy stages it reaches down the stream. This is true of Portland in every par- . tioular. The first selections In this city - were to southern Portland., while now - that portion still retains its distinction as being the southern boundary.'. Now Portland bas spread until It reaches nearly as far north as the Columbia river and ns far east as Mt Tabor. There Is at the .present tlm st great deal of agitation toward taking that -suburb and- possibly Montavllla Into the city's limits. . ;. r There has been a great deal of talk among people about watting until after the Lewis and Clark fair ia over before mtiklng purchases of real estate because, they say. prices are Inflated and they will surely go down, with a dull thud after the fair's gates sre shut This does not seem -to be the case, for the ; proposed holding of the fair In this city has not. as yet made , any decided change in. the call for real estate and even property close to the fair grounds lies' not shown great increase in. values. If the present demand a or property, was r T7 , , :, .. , . : - e . . , . , - ,.,-.,-.,,,,,,,, i . & Real Estate1 Dealings (pleasure Portland's Growth - : celsior mill, the Column Manufacturing works and the great dry dock of the port of Portland, now under construction, which, when completed, will cost not less than 1450,000, while a " ship-building com pany has purchased a site and will be gin the 'construction of Its plant at once. The growth, of the business1 Interests of the place has been nothing short of, miraculous, and the supreme advantages which the place possesses over and above all other on the Portland harbor were 'fully attested by the port of Portland, when after the most careful consideration Of air locations for the construction of Its dry dock, by which is to be fostered the entire marine commerce of the 'city of Portland, St Johns was selected as the. best point at which to build. This tn itself is a prophecy concerning the com mercial future of the town; for where the . dry dock is placed, there shipping must congregate. ' - Targe Increase ia Population. Simultaneous with the development of the town in the business way came greater impetus for the' building of homes, development and Improvement ofland and the Increase of the popula- tion of the town. During the. past two years "the town has more than quad- rupled in population' ana more than 200 acres or iana rormeriy coverea wun . brush have, been cleared and are now occupied : by gardens, lawns and homen. An electric Sine has been built connecting this -suburb with Portland proper, and another line from Portland, having Us designation at' at-gobnsr ra wowwmg -pushed rapidly to completion. The school building which had been trught to be sufficient to accommodate the needs of the place for many years to come has -already "become Inadequate for the in-. , creased population and an extension has been ordered by the school board. . A City By Itself. The rapid growth of the place in all lines was so evident that the legislature of the state of Oregon, at Ha last ses sion, granted to the town a .charter, making It a municipality under which It might conduct its own government and levy Its own taxes. Through this measure the town has become exempt from paying the tax rate of the city of . Portland and is permitted to keep Its own taxes low and to appropriate such money as is raised by this means to the improvement of St Johns Itself. all brought about by the holding of the Lewis and Clark centennial In 'this city during the coming year, real estate men say that that property which is located so near to the grounds would be show ing a much larger gain In values than it -is now. From the real estate' records the In ' formation - Is gleaned that . much the larger per cent. of the sales of property UlJoih!Htf!n.?L! Lh,1" oeen made either ior residence or ware- bouse purposes. Many new and costly residences have been-constructed near the fair grounds during the past season that -kind of" property now. ThewsW dences which were erected were among the best in the .county and cost, on an average of not less than 312,000. The Inquiry for warehouse property MtolftorVvlXteto havw ns hsnltht 5f!2 "SfL-1:? 2r ?uf2!??iS view. There seems to be a general feeling among the warehouse men to go- to the west side of the river where they can get the proper terminal : facilities, put up substantial buildings and not pay. more than their entire year's profit for Insuring their stocks. Several com- panies .now located along the bottom lands of tbe east side between the Mor rison and Madison ' street bridges hav already, secured sites In the northern portion of the west side. ' Taking -everything into consideration the unfavorable weather, the strikes among , the building trades : and the strikes of . other trades, all of which usually bas a bad effect on realty trans- actions, the totals of the sales for the year 190 were highly satisfactory to tbe various dealers of the city. The transactions for the various months Of 190S show: , .. a , . January . ... 615.924 581,970 2M-?M 743.278 576,571 667.H 691,338 391,133 10,613 6x1,479 671,012 461,6r February ... March ... 4,., April May . June ...... July ....... August . . . September October November , December . ,'i " Total- for year...., .$,914.2(9 In this connection it may be well to compare the building operations. of Port- Innd ,Ior the year 1903 with those of 8t Paul. Minn., a city which the government census in 1900 gave 13,085 as its popula- t Ion. while that of Portland was given at 90,426. Since that time this city has shown a very : wonderful growth and probably the same thing can be said of fit. Taul. , The permtts tsitued In Portland each month during 1903 were: i, : - January .,.. I ?, " - , 2Ai'4 I. " r , - . , , VENEER AND BASKET The residence -portion i of St. Johns From the land occupied by the resf- jje 150 feet sbove the Willamette 'river dence district the outlook is beautiful, and from this nor t Ion of tha town the'To the rlht stretches the Willamette land slopes gently, away to the Wllbun- ette on one side and to the Columbia slough 'on' the others 'it has therefore a. perfect drainage . system r r . r t Sr1 .J ' ST. JOHNS LUMBER COM PAN 7. . , ;: y ' .- " . ' . Never In the history of Portland has there been such a favorable outlook for real estate as there is 4 today. The population of the city is showing a very large Increase- and homes are becoming more scarce as the season progresses. There Is scarcely a vacant, office room to be found in any of the modern buildings, and the demand from this source Is very large.. New and larger buildings are wanted to meet the require- mentB of a growing population, and a consequent growing: business Interest , Rents in Portland are far below 4 what they are in other cities of this size, and all indications at 'present point to almost a double advance. Business locations are being: sought after and 'high fig urea are offered as bonuses. Warehouse men are look- . , , . , , . . , , . - . . . . f?r Property, and buy of quarter blocks for this purpose have been very frequent during the past year. A comparison' of the building: permits and, real estate transfers of Portland and those of St. Paul show that . this city Is far in ther lead, despite the fact that the population, of the latter city Is much larger. Portland, ;h?fever, Is growing, and some day in the near future hopes to distance Its Middle West friend. Building of many new branches by the streetcar companies has a good effect by building up the suburbs. ' . ' ' 4 . w.w. W'W 7 ?:ww7 wwwww,w . fr Marshall-Wells Hardware company of corner Park' and Washington streets, VaFC.h m-on Pluth. six-story building, corner Fourth. W00. This property was purchased April - - at.et Fifth .and Pins , streets, 190.000. : This few months ago for I35.0OO. jjay - June 7.".'.";'. July August September '., 280,210 .. '208,292 .... . 3T3.M7 .... 898,800 467,338 nrtnber 357,223 November . 170,430 December .199,579 Total for the year $4,014,779 The permits Issued for new buildings In St.' Paul' during the same period were: t." February '' March April "".!.' May "v" juna "" juiy """ August " September " October ... ; $ 5S,s0 91,865 Z10.467 685,084 364,724 429.750 342,940 317,945 345,545 472.720 November - 207,160 December "119,215 ' ''.' i Total for the year ...... ..i.;.. $3,643,775 These figures show that during 1903 the building operations in this city amounted to $4,014,779. while those of St. " Paul amounted to $3,45.T73. a gain of $309,004 In favor of the year's operations' In-this city - - - -- : - t Among the larger building permits is- sued during 1903 were: . , 'United States government for repairs to the postofflce building, comers Fifth, Sixth. Morrison and 'Tamhlll streets, $150,000. v . - . , ..' , Henry Welnhard. seven-story brick building, corners Fifth, Fourth and Oak streets, $500,000. 7 ' 8. A. and "E. C Brown, five-story brick building, with Steel frame. Sixth street, between Alder, arid Washington atrett. $30,000. This store building wlj,l be used by Olds. Wortman ft King ss en annex to . - belr department store. i j Fldelltjr Investment company, for th FACTORY OF THE PORTLAND MANUFACTURING COMPANY. and on the. left lies the main portion of Portland, while below the town is the broad harbor. .The tftwn possesses an excellent water system, churches, 4 ' tfyfa?-' 5l 's , building la now nearlng completion. It will , be one of the handsomest . ware- houses for a hardware firm west of the Rocky mountain'. Pacific Coast Biscuit comiunv. ' five- story annex to its former factory, 'on. northeast corner Twelfth and Davis streets, $30,000. . , M. Lawrence; three-story brick building, corner of Tenth . and Morrison . streets, $20,000. - . L. B. Stearns, four-story brick, north- east corner of Sixth and Morrison streets, $75,000. American Can company, factory build- Ing corner Twelfth' and Front streets, $44,000. The company is a manufacturer of tin cans on a large scale. L. Therkleson, three-story brick build- ing, southwest .corner Park and Alder streets. $20,000. ' Repairs , to Dekum building, corner Third and "Washington streets. $75,000. This building was badly damaged by fise early In the year. RusselJ . Blyth, three-storf brick. building, corner Sixth and Oak streets, $65,000. 8. M. Cohn, three-story brlclt building . southwest corner cf Tenth and Washing- ton streets, $:).000. . ,; - J. 8. Cook, three-story brick building, corner First and Oek streets, $35,000. D. O'Reilly A Co., four-story brick building,-Ninth and Irving streets, $80, - 000. . Portland Gas 'company, gas, tank to supply east side, corner Third and Bast Ankeny streets, $20,000. United Carriage company, three-story trick stable, corner Eleventh and Mor- rlson street. . SZ5.W. . Edward tloiman. two-story undertaking parlor. Third and Salmon streets, $1- ooo. r , , Among some of the prominent buildings to be erected during the present year are: Blailer Bros.t' Xour-itory brick bulldingy if ,1: stores and a school which is partially supported by the bequest of James Johns, the founder of the town, who left his entire estate for the benefit of the . school . fund. Betweoa St. Johns and Portland a boulevard 100 feet wide follows the line of the bank of the river, affording one of the finest drives in the city. On account, of the magnifi cent scenery to be viewed from this boulevard U promises some day to be one of the -greatest- residence" streets of Portland. .. ., .. -, ,' .,.,.! . It IS confidently.' expected that in the course of time the Northern Pacific rail road will pans through St. Johns. Al ready this line has been built lrom Se attle to Vancouver. Congress bas au thorised the construction of e. hrldge from Vancouver across the Columbia, and whin this bridge is built and the line of the Northern Pacific company thrown across it. It must of necessity pass through St. Johns tn order to reach Portland. When this has been accom plished St. Johns, will have shipping fa cilities which cannot be equaled, in any part of Portland, and It is safe to pre dict that manufacturing ' property, will become more valuable at (it Johns than at any other point on the Portland harbor,- excepting within the . Immediate terminal yards. ...... Growth Brought By Business. ' The growth of, St. Johns baa been pro- The Congregation Ahaval Shelom will soon start work on Its new temple of .worship on Park and Clay streets. The permit for the structure has not yet been issued but the estimated coat la about .XX- The Men's Resort will bnll.l hanitunm home at the corner of Fourth ami Burn- side on a lot donated by the Ladd estate at the cost of $10,000. The excavation work will soon be begun. - Some of the largest transactions made in the realty market during the past several months are: Property of , Congregation Ahaval Sholom, Sixth street between Pine and Oak street, to Grlndstaff ft Blain, $17,501). The same property was sold this week for $20,000 and within 20 minutes after the sale the firm was offered $2,000 ad- dlttonal for the property by another buver. Edward B. Graves, receiver to Ira M. , Cobe, several parcels of suburban real estate. $37,000. - Ancient -Order United Workmen tem- pie. corner Second and Taylor streets. to German Savings A Loan society. $40,- 000. The same orterrffnsf erred to the same society 75x100 feet, block 23, city, for $7,00Q. , J. W. Caruthera" and wife to A. J. Gelsy, lot 17. block 35, Raleigh addition, $30,000. ; ' .- Alliance Assurance companv to Ernest Miller, west ,70 feet, aorth half lot 6, block 1. city, $12,000. t ,v Saving tt Loan society to 3. H..Mc- Clung, lot 1, block 50, Couch addition, " $22,500. . . . William M. Ayer and ethers to Thom- ss Scott Brooke, north half lot f block 3.teliv.' $26 00Qi' v 1 . The Title Guarantee A Trust-company to Msry I Rice, lots to IV block 16. lots a to 8. block 15, Holladay Tark ad- flltlon, $12,B0. ' i . . tiermaa Bavlni & Losa society ta duced by Its business Interests. Its population has increased In wonderful proportion,, and yet this development has been brought about by utilising only a few thousand feet of this water front age, more than a mile .nd one-half of which la yet unoccupied. "As this re- -malnlng water frontage Is gradually utilized the town cannot fall to grow continually in population and wealth until it becomes a large city. Indeed, the river frontage at 8t. Johns will fur- nlsh room for enterprises sufficient to furnish employment to tire Inhabitants of a town of 40,000 Inhabitants; but, the Willamette' river frontnge is not' ' the. only .resource which St Johns possesses. si ;? v! Hi 'At j: if ?: as';;: 5 u-xu Kisdk : .v&C? ' :'';;' f:i-'fi i v ;i is;. j; ,i ';. ;''; ft h . V V-. ';?'!:!f;:?::;Sl:W 1 I;-''?;;?'::;-:i,;:;;;W& it .,,:..,rAi;::j;.; 4,; ' i S$l''s':'''':''-:"'S'!''''1?''tVi;UiJ'' ' -:. ' C I .S.UJw."''''- S:w''53-sv';;s- rT-, ..... ' f -; :';Ci'C.' .. ' ' f;;ij.:i: ;;. r i . it-il'l-,' .... :..:.;... . i.'C, ;.:. .::;.: .. .; .1. ... v.-'' . ;.., -. .. ... ;: i .f . ; . ';'; v.V-s .'v. -. .. " .. ' - ' and which will ultimately add to Its growth. Mors Water Front Almost parallel with the Willamette river, one and one-half miles to the north, stretches the Columbia slough, in reality a river by itself, being several hundred feet ln'width and deep enough at present time for river vessels. It is today more desirable In many ways for manufacturing purposes than in that portion of the Willamette' river which is above the bridges in Portland. . Al though the Columbia slough lacks the broad harbor and the deep channel found On the Willamette river aide of St. Johns, it nevertheless affords to the northern boundary line of the suburb a great amount of very desirable manu facturing property,, which in Itself wilt some time support a large population 'and contribute materially-to the future of 8t Johns. St. Johns is destined to become the manufacturing suburb of Portland. Every boat which enters the Portland harbor must pass by its door. Already the Upper part of the Portland harbor is overtaxed, and ships unable to, find anchorage there, can find no other safe or desirable place than St. Johns. In deed, future milling and manufacturing enterprises must locate at St Johns, for at no other point on the Portland har bor can be found suitable place for building, at moderate cost where facili ties for 'both marine and railway ship ment can be obtained. bomber Hills Smploy Xondxeds. One of the principal business interests In St Johns at the present time is large lumber manufacturing plants. Here every day many hundreds of. men Oregon Water Power Railway com pany, northeast corner First and Alder streets, $40,000. v E. R. Plttelhau to Rudolph Becker, lot 8, block 207, city. $10,000. i John Smith and others to E. Henry Wemme, lots 2, 1, 4, block 72, city, $36,- ooo. ' : ' E. Henry Wemme, same property, to H. L. Plttock and others, $40,000. Samuel A. Miles to Samuel Swanson,'' a parcel of land In Pleasant View addi tion. $12,000. Eastern V Western Lumber company to Portland General Electric company.' fraction block 31 and north 40 feet block 37, Sherlock's addition, together with ri parian water and wharf rights, $16,000. J. Frank Watson to Western American company, lots 1 and 2, block 85, city, $20,000. Clara A. Fechhelmer and others , to E. 8. Jackson, parts lots 1 and 2, block! 85. city, $20,000. , In the suburbs the growth of realty sales have been remarkable durlnrg the past year. Of the various sections the new city of St. Johns fs perhaps in the lead. During the year several new en terprises employing a. large number of men were . secured for this place and this caused a considerable demand for homes for workmen. There Is a proba bility of the early building of a new electric car line Into that section and this will probably boom i real estate values. ' , ,, There Is a proposition on foot to en large the Columbia university at Uni versity Park and this la causing a stir in realty circles through that neighbor hood. , , jt ' Out in the extreme southern portion of the city the Oregon Water Power ft Railway company has, during the past year, bought a considerable portion of City View Park and this has been placed on the market Quite a large number of sales have been made and where once stood nothing but tmpty ground large number of modern dwellings are now clustered. There s eome, talk of the railway company putting Its new car shops on this tract. ' Throughout Sunnyside the sales have been many and today that section Is one of the heaviest populated of any of the east side tracts. The Improving of the car service by both the City Suburban company and the Oregon Water Tower A Railway company has done much for this section of the city , , , All through the , Peninsular, through Upper Alnlna and the Williams avenue tracts the sales during -the year-have broken all records. Improved car serv ice is also the ne In this section. -A pew town has bcrn put' on ''the map by tho Oregon 'Water tw'er k Railway company, called Otacada... The company Is building a hu r-o modern hotel there. are employed and for the most part they reside within the corporate llnjlts . of the new city. Cone Bros., wh formerly owned the; Portsmouth mill, have recentlycompleted a large, plant at St. Johns which cost over f 30,000. Several more lumber firms are contemV plating the erection of mills In St. Johns during the coming' year. " - Will Improve tjha Streets. : The 8t. Johns city cbuncll is composed; of the most prominent men in the city and of late this body bas vacated streets along the waterfront so that the manu facturing interests of the new city, should not be interfered with any mors; than possible. ' The council has recently come to then conclusion that St. Johns is to be on( of the large cities on the map of Orei gon and general Improvements all over the town are planned. Streets will b Improved and put Into shape for large) and heavy traffio and new thoroughfares will be opened up., . . ' . During the vast year the business In terests of the town have been more than doubled and now the stores there com pare with any similar town in the state. One large department store has already been opened in St Johns and is said to be doing a good volume of business."- The Industries of St Johns at the present time are: ' Peninsula Lumber company," Central ' ' Lumber company, George W. Cop Lumber company, St. Johns Lumber company. : Porch and Column company, Portland Manufactur ing company. . Veneering . factory and Excelsior MUla, besides the dry dock. - Real estate operations in the vicinity of St Johns have been very active dur ing the past - two years and section where dense forests stood several years ago are now cleared, have good houses and wide streets. Oak Park, across thai railroad track from Cedar Park, Is per haps one of the best, examples. Here the forests were so thick that, it was all a person could do to travel through them. Now Oak Park in studded with the homes of the men who work In the mills. Most of the bpraes have pretty .gardens connected with them and tha transformation from a gloomy forest to a place where many homes abound Is a sight that causes wonderment to the old-timers fit that section. The, power plant of the company Is alsij located near the new 'town., ? - Real estate men in this city consider the improving of the streetcar service the real cause for the Vapid develop ment of east side property in sll sec tions ana tney say tnat tne present year will show the sales larger than ever. There waa renewed aeK'l t ih. real estate market during the past week, the transactions for the first four days showing a grand total of $230,698 as against $111,358, a gain this week oC $109,340. . r, The building operations during ths first four days, of the week amounted to $46,114, as against $45,700 the same period during the previous week. This shows a gain of $414 in this week's op erations. , The transactions In sum mary: ....,",, ;..., -v.-.--" Permits. Trartsfers. Monday ....... ..$ 8,076 $131,394 Tuesday 18,139 62.87T Wednesday 7.400 ' 27.400) Thursday ........ 14,600 1 9.027 Total four days. $46,114 Last week, four days ......... .45,700 $220,691 111.358 Gain this week... .$414 - $109,340 . "Portland can no longer be called a town." says a prominent real estate man. "as it is a large city. Prices here are lower on the average than in any other city of its size. Take, for example, our sister city of Seattle. There yo will find real estate and rents almost double what they are here, and are still raising.; .- , : "Too late the general public will real ize this fact and then there will be the usual res ult-a rush to buy and a con sequent raise In price. situation is not understood and the public tn gen eral will hold off as usual until th sre .forced! ,td pay for: their waiting. Prices will rise, and rise rapidly. But why should they not do so? There sre thousands of opportunities here for In vestment, where from to: I percent k even more can be realised pet tin investments where our eastern bruthron are satisfied with J or perhaps i Vt cent net r ""The I. wla and Clark approprlnti'-ti, which: will be given us by congress In a few days, will also have a tiiden'sr t', stir the market up and advance pn--. There Is a feeling among the gem-i.tl puhllc that after tlie fair 1 over .i i. will fall and that It would hn l,-n..;- t , wait until the-A to liuy. l.hU H S . greatest of all mlstakei". If i li i t r the geheral bustneea: Is !: 1 r floattiig; P"puiatt"ii and my ',-: ! apparen.tly.ff.il: a while afu-r- it , i. .. It will not rliy ! Imslnem Uut ) l. i-;.; K U i ; ' ' . ftan-1.: