J
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THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY - MORNING,., DECEMBER 27, . 1908.
ilOtlDAYS: J0?;N0T: GHEGCi VACTSVSTY DIM TOE- REAL ESTA1
mANSFERS
OVER
HALF
Nevv'Christmas Record; Is Established in
Unprecedented Volume of Realty Trans-
m ' ''I1.' iit''i 1-1 'I f ;
fers for. theWeekj Good Promises in
Healthy Tone for Coming. Year.
Contrary to- all expectations, , and ,a
complete reversal of all former Christ
mas week records, "the local realtymar
ket last,. week, was on? of th'a .most ac
tive throughout' the whole year Trans
fers filed1, far' record' for; the first four
days of the week' . aggregated nearly
$600,600 'in': value, while other ! transac
tions' were completed,: the transfers not
going on record, which reached , the to
tal of $200,000. Realty brokers, , with
out exception, were prepared for a week
of unusual dullness, but" reports from
many sources show that 'many-dealers',
offices were. overrun with. both, inquirers
and purchasers. - , ' " . ' J
Upon "the. whole, the .market' has a
decidedly ' healtllv tone, ana when com
pared with the stagnant hesitating, dis
couraging; conditions of one . year, ago,
gives promise of an activity during the
coming year that will at leant equal the
splendid record made ln .Portland , in
the nrstThalf of 1907.;-, , . K-r-.
::"- Tar Ahead of Last Tear,,,
Tfie" volume-of sales and Inquiry 'dur
ing the past week was so far ahead of
ttie same period , last year that . It la
difficult to make a comparison. - Thin,
too, at a time when; the holiday spirit
Is supposed to have put out of commis
sion all serious thoughts of larre-buni-ness
affairs, gives some idea of what
may be expected when the holidays are
no more and men once more turn their
attention .to the ordinary daily,, routine.
From ' the way matters- are shaping
themselves. It is impossible 'to escape
the conviction that 1S07 is going to be
a record breaker In realr estate trans
actions. . , - ; i -..rf ,.,) 5
: v Outlook I. moseate., ;i :
. E. J Daly; one-of the heaviest 'oper
ators ,in- Portland -realty, both -as a
broker and dealer, sizes up the situation
J! follOWS .-,-' hi'ls ' t -.
"The real estate, outlook to i me uls
rosier than, it has! ,evet been since 1
. have been In business. As an illus-i
tratlon, I . sold Thursday afternoon,;
after banking hours, and at a time when
every one Fs supposed- to the paying
strict attention to the Tuletlde celebra
tion, three pieces of real-estate, to one
' outfit, th : aggregate . amount 7. being
f 97.000. In addition to this X have sev
eral other? good deals on'. -, ' (
"One recent arrival 'Informed me yes
terday that after Jooking all over the
Vnited State he came to the conclu
sion that Portland's future' was better
than any place he knew of, therefore he
would Invest ' !a recent Inheritance,
amounting- to' about $100,000. in Port
land realty. ' If the public at large felt
the same way I do about Portland's fu-.
ture, they would very -quickly get their
money : up on real estate, while It ia
yet to (be had at such reasonable ; fig
ures. J think. Portland will double in
population within JO years. If such'
is the case, real estate values , will
easily double. ' One thing that' greatly,
retards values in this city -l the mis
erable condition of the , streets, 'Which
in many romlnent parts of the city art
veritAhlA" murihnles.- . .
"Vvnat must a tourist,3 after' alighting J
from ' the train at the new North Bank
urpui, -ilium ui t-it . . a , iiu)jc
every reader of this will go dbwn there
and take a look for himself, and draw
his own conclusions. I have never seen
a city of the siae" of Portland -where
the property-owners had so little civic
pride on the street ouestlon and, I am
sine It is a very short sighted policy,
even from a. selfish' standpoint.- One
thousand "dollars syent in a fine per
manent . street ' improvement- enhances
til
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Urllon of i?tetl Frame, Melr'&-Krank Bnildlngr. -
AG6S
EGATc
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the property value at . least four times
that amount." .' ' :-
- While no . definite . announcement of
the .transaction have been made, it is
understood that Mr IMly anrl "associ
ates , purchased- citv property last week
Jo the Value? of nearly' $76,000.
' - : .i Hnry Closet Big Seal, - -Charles
K.' -ienry &" Sdn closed a
deal Tuesday of last week for the sale
of the quarter block 'the ; southeast
comer of Thirteenth and Gllsan streets.
The property ' was purchased by John
Kiernun from "Dr. Andrew C Smith, the
consideration..- involved' i being . .. $30,000.
Mr. Klernan '.will proceed at once with
the erection .of a brick, building , on the
site, tenants having, already been secured;.-
- j ' ' - ..
The same firm of brokers, associated
with D. '8. (Stearns, have also sold a
half - block on Thirteenth " and ' Petty
grove to California capitalists for $40,
000. This property will also be Im
proved in the- early spring:
- E. K. 'Merges closed a deal-Thursday
afternoon for the Gaston homestead on
King's Heights. . This property com-
S rises, air of block 11 and a part of
lock 13, in 'Kings addition, and lies
between -- Salmon, - Stout- and -Main
streets, and' is one of the finest' unim
proved residence sites In this 1 aristo
cratic King's Heights " district. The
price paid for the property was $65,000.
Humason ft Jeffrey negotiated the sale.
' M. B. Wakeman has sold one half
of block' 42, Wheeler's addition, to T. 8.
and O. W.'Weit for $25,000. No an
nouncement has been made as to what
disposition will be made of the prop
erty bv the new purchasers, but as It
was secured for an investment, it is al
together proba.ble hat It will 1 be Im
proved at an early date,
' ' Sal oa Saat Bide. .
Fred H. Strong hasx-oncludeM the pur
chase of a quarter block in block 124,
East Portland, located In the east side
warehouse district. The property was
sold by Jasper C.'McGrew for '$30,000.
"The Moy Back Hin Investment com
pany has takn title to several parcels
nf t.itv anA uViirhn nronertv. a Dart of
which is In Couch addition and other
parcels III Corona Far. Tne price m
vni) -. in 'the various transactions
amounted to $40,000. B. .M. Hawley has
pu'rchased from J., D, Morris one lot n
Washington addition, . and four lots in
Ivanhoe, total ; consideration $8000.
.1 n Mnrria - hns also sold Ho D. E.
Oilman a lot In Washington addition for
vcnn ' , .. . : : , r ...
. Moy Back Wing has sold to the Mer
chants Trust company a large number of
parcels in iiowe s aamtion, consiaeration
$12,600. I I . Matlock - has purchased
from David Cole,-the "quarter block on
the southwest corner of East Third and
Oregon streets for $15,000. ' --
-The imnroveid quarter block- on the
southeast corner of East Couch and East
Seventh streets has beep purchased by
Huldah: G. Holmes from,. Fred J. Bailey
for $10,000.
, ' ' swiss to Build Hall.
, : The Swiss Hall association, a recently
oraaniaed buildinr corporation, has pur
chased one and a fraction lots on Third
street, between Jefferson and Columbia
streets, on wlUch.it la proposed to erect
a hail for tne use or tne hwiss resi
dents of the city. The propirty was pur
chased from H. 8. Simon for $21,000.
C B. Woodworth has completed the
deal lor a 20 acre tract near An eta park.
The property was purchased from Al
bert Fehrenbach for $11,000.
.1. K. Whitney has sold to Minnie A.
Osborn. a houae and lot on the northeast
corner of East Sixth and Halsey streets
for $6500. . .. ; i .
Otto J. Kraemer has purchased from
the Colonial Investment company, a
w nil, i l
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handsome ; residence site on Fadham
sites, paying for it $5000.
I.,. If. McDanlel has purchased a house
and lot on the northeast corner of East
Twelfth and East Oak streets, consider
ation $6600. -'.'',',''.
Charles W. Boost has sold , to Antonio
nani, tnree jots on tne soutnweac cor
ner of Clinton and East Seventeenth
streets.'" The property is Improved with
modern cottages and was sold for $7(00.
William Reidt has sold to the Oregon
rteai jusiata company two tots on onoo
site sides of Grand avenue between
Multnomah' and' Wasco . streets for
J5000., .- t ,- ,-7. V;-,...- : .,; -,:.:
; Healthy Tone of Hark.' ..- . . -The
real estate "market is undoubtedlv
in a stronger nosftion than at any time
during the past few years. In fact the
iocri situation is very much Healthier
than It was during all of 1806, and the
first .half of 1907. when It was no un
usual thing for the dally sales to reach
$1,000,000. The larger interests are
quietly looking for investments in the
down town section, and they. are, making
no noise about their purchases. Much
the larger part ot the business is being
transacted ' through the offices of the
better known brokers and Instead of re
cording the deed for big considerations,
one and 10 aollars Is tine consideration
named generally. i
Office building space Is in as great de
mand as at any time-during the past
two or. three' years. Business in ll
lines Is picking up, even the hotels are
dolrtg almost as much baslnessv. as Is
done in the summer tourist season. -All
of this helps to convince the real estate
Investor - who i does his business on a
conservative basis that the opportunity
Is , here for handsome profits on care
fully selected Investments. '
TRUST COMPANY' .
1JEP0KTS SALES
The Columbia Trust company, 714
Couch ?. building, reports the following
sales: a:-, - s , !
Lots 1 and 2. block 29, Patton's Sec
ond Addition to'AIbina, A. Swanson to
Mary A. Hutton. . Consideration, $1160.
Lot 6, block 11, Hancock Street addi
tion, B. M. Lombard to A. B. Benson.
Consideration, $660. 1
First lot west of lot 2. block 9. Han
cock Street addition. B. . M. 'E.nmharri tn
Jean R. Mackensle. Consideration, $660.
tots zi ana zi, oiock , Hancock
Street addition. B. M. Lombard to
George B. Pratt. Consideration, $1560.
Ijois ib, i ana zo. oiock 6. Hancock
Street addition, and two lots across the
street. B. M. Lombard to George F.
&nowies. consideration, $3Zto,
Lot 16. block 6. Hancock Street ad.
dltion, B. M. Lombard to A. S. Wells.
Consideration, $660.
L,ots 16 and 16. block 8. Hancock
Street addition. B. M. Lombard to Daisv
Dougherty. Consideration, $1300.
ixt iu. diock a, central .Albina addi
tion, August Swanson to W. J. Register.
Consideration, $760.
Lot 12, block 6. Hancock'Street addi
tion. B. M. Lombard to W. a. Wrleht.
Consideration, $700.
Mrs. jaura snare to K. E. Pitcher,
283 Falling street. Consideration, S2000.
Five acre tract on peninsula, helng
the south half of lot 4, Glen wood park,
J. W. Becket to Russell Brothers. Con
slderatipn, $8000. - . .
This firm has sold $28,000 worth of
Broperty in the ;, Swinton tract since
'ecember 1.
BRICK APARTMENT
HOUSE IS SOLD
, The , three story brick apartnfent
house on the northeast corner of King
and Washington streets was sold last
week to a local capitalist for $66,000.
The property belonged to A. 8. Ellis and
was sold through the agency of E. J.
Daly. -
Mr. Daly also sold for 8. Morton
Conn the quarter block on the northwest
corner of , Johnson and Twenty-second
streets for $20,000. . Two handsome new
residences occupy this corner.
Twenty acres of land at Garden Home
was sold by Mr. Daly last week f con
sideration 87000.
- The half block on the west side of
Fifteenth street between Quimby and
Raleigh streets, was purchased last
week by E. J.' Daly from C. R. Wins
low. While the consideration Involved
In the transaction has not been made
lubllc. It Is understood to have been
n the neighborhood of $40,000.
BUYS STOCK RANCH
NEAR BROWNSVILLE
' William Roberts of Pendleton has
concluded negotiations for' the pur
chsse of "the fine stock ranch of C. C.
Calloway, located miles north of
LARGEST CUT STONE
BRIDGE COMPLETED
New Structure at Hartford, Conn:, Has Unique Honor
Far More Artistic and in Most Respects Larger ,
Than Historic Old London Bridge.
Scarcely a week- passes without, the
announcement of - the completion of a
new reenforced concrete bridge in some
part of the country, which is heralded
as either the longest, highest or costliest
structure of the kind In the world, but
the $3,000,000 Concrete and stone bridge
recently "completed across the Connecti
cut river at Hartford, Conn., really holds
the first place among , the . concrete
bridges In this country.
In a most recent number of Aetna,
the following description of this re
markable piece of bridge construction
was published: ' '
"The new Hartfordi bridge, crossing
the. Connecticut river at Hartford,
Conn., which was dedicated with Im-
rslng ceremonies on October , 7 and
takes rank as one of the greatest
stone bridges In the world, says the
Aetna. It. Is not he ' longest, for the
Cnnglrton viaduct In Kngland is con
siderably "more than twice as long, and
In length of span It is surpassed by
several bridges In this country. There
Is no other bridge, however, which has
so many Points of suDerlorlty over all
others. Taklna into consideration its
site or arcn. Its length, its oreacmi, its
perfection , of structure and Its sym
metry of outline, it may iustly be ro-
nouncea tne greatest or an its amp.
Bridge of JTIne Arches. ;
"The Hartford-bridge Is composed of
nine arches, witn ' maximum span or
119 feet and maximum clear holaht nf
arch of 46 fret. Is si reet wide and Its
total length Is 119Z.6 feet. Iondon
bridge, which has hitherto ranked first
among stone bridges, ' surpasses It in
onlv one - particular, maximum length
of soan. In all others -it l Inferior.
There are other bridges with greater
length of single span, but moat or tnse
are. ons span, structures and . very nar
row. - " ,
' "Not only is the Hartford bridge great
from the engineering standpoint, but
It Is very "beautiful In its massive sim
plicity. . Its foundations are of concrete.
Leete s Island granite, a stone of s a
rteutrsl . color, extends from the top of
the foundirtlons to the. springing line of
arc hen. The arches and all of the struc
ture above are composed of Stony creek
frranite, a stone of a light, slightly pink
sh hoe. .
t Big- Stone Is Used.
' "In spite ef the proverbial dryness
of statistics -some of the so called vital
ones of the bridge are of much Interact.
HISTORIC GASTON MANSION. ON. : ': , .
KING'S HEIGHTS' CHANGES HANDS
"if""""
- ?:: l::
The one transaction of more than or
dinary . Interest concluded during the
past week "in the realty line, was the
purchase by E. E. Merges of the fine
old Gaston homestead, .located on Kings
Heights. Mr. Merges , paid $65,000 for
this property and those familiar with
the prevailing prices in high class res
idence districts pronounce It a bargain.
Its dimensions are 269x208 feet and It
has a frontage on Salmon, Main and.
Stout streets.
For more than 40 years this place has
been the home of . the Gaston family
and they have-made of Ifthe most prom
inent lanamarK in tne western part ot
the . city. With the exception of the
Kamm home and the homes of the
Couch and Flanders families, probably
no other homeslte In the city has been
held In a single family so long. -
The donation land claim of which the
Gaston home is a-part" of No. 87 In the
grants of public lands In Oregon., It
was granted to Amos and Mellnda King
68 years ago. Mr. Gaston purchased his
homeslte from the Kings In 1868, when
that part of the city was trees and
stumps, and to reach it from the lit-,
tie town on the river bank one had to
follow a ' cow : trail. . The purchaser
thougtit he was 'buying far enough out
In the country so that he could keep
a cow, pigs and chickens and not dis
turb the peace of mind of his neigh
bors. , Mr. Gaston was frequently twit
ted by such friends ,as Colonel Chap
man and Captain Alnaworth -about se
lecting a home out in old Yamhill.
From the front porch of th Gaston
residence, one can see nearly the en
tire city of Portland, and can rcan a
landscape of 6000 square miles of farms,
forests, rivers and snow capped moun
tains, a scene unequalled anywhere in
the world for natural beauty.
Here a lifetime haa been spent In
collecting and caring for rare trees and
shrubs. Some of the trees-are now
more than . 100 feet high. There -arc
rare fruit trees from Rochester, N. Y.,
chestnuts, hickory nuts and walnuts
from the hills of old Belmont, Ohio, from
whence the Gas tons came to Oregon In
pioneer days. There is a chestnut iree
from France, a maple from Vermont, t
sycamore from Indiana, an evevrec"l
nut-bearing chinquapin from Mount
Hood, a madrona from Mount Shasta,
an aspen from Lake Wappato. manr-
Brownsville, Or. This ranch property
comprises 936 acres, and was sold for
$18,700. The" negotiations leading up
to the sale were conducted by Neal
Brown.-' - i
For Instance, the largest finished sione
used In the. construction of the bridge
weighed about 41 : tons. There are
about 100.000 cubic yards of masonry In
the structure, and' about 125.000 barrels
of cement were used In Ha building. The
foundations, of which the deepest point
Is about 60, feet below ordinary low
water, were made by the pneumalic-
camson process, ana tn Duiiaing inem
two of the largest. caissons ever known
were used. Each of them measured
46 by 131 feet. The bridge is designed
to carry a maximum load without prac
tical limit. It has a clear roadway of
80 feet, divided into two 10-foot side
walks, with a 80 foot roadway between
tnem. -, . - - f-" ; .
' Three Tears to Build.
"It has taken three years to build the
bridge and the jfst-of the, total bridge
improvement nas oeen anout sa.uun.oov,
Besidea the bridge proper the Improve.
ment . Inrluden two boulevard, one at
either end. The one at the western end
Is-a mtle lonr and the greater part of It
is an earth fill 70 feet wide and with a
maximum depth of fill of 30 feet, car
rying the. roadway over low meadows
wnicn are . suomrrged in time or hlgn
water. To alve relief durinr freshets.
a bridge has-been provided, which. Is
composed or elant 40 foot deck Dlate
girder spans, with a buckle plate floor
um n pnmi pavement. -
The boulevard st. the west end Is 0
feet wide and has Na total length of
1808 feet. - It runs parall"' e the river
tor J0 reet and then turns at right
angles to cross the railroad tunnel and
enter the bridge. -.,, I A
" " Foraa Wblla Park. '., . "V
"Urtslghtly tenements stood for many
years where this boulevard now runs.
Both 'boulevard and river front will be
skirted by trees and flowers, forming
a public park and a fitting approach to
the magnificent bridge. .
The bridge has been built under the
supervision of a commission composed
of representatives of the five towns In
terested. The head of this commission
is United : States Senator ' Morgan G.
Bulkeley. ' Edwin D. Gravea is the chief
engineer,-but illness forced him abont
three years ago to give up the active
work, which has been completed by John
T. Henderson, deputy chief engineer. ,
A patent haa been granted on sn
automatic crossing gate, operated by
compressed air. the. gate being raised or
v K,eaUia ef BAaalag ln
mm-.
.-,.y ' Uw
"sl? in i iirfotiYi i -
Gaston Homestead
nolias from Japan and holly from the
British Isles. - , t
Round a portion of the lot is a stone
wall, built of volcanic rock brought to
Portland from South America as bal
last. ' In' every way it Is a most inter
esting old home, and has long been one
of the show places of Portland.'
Mr. Merges; the new owner of "the
FROM BOSTON TO
MEOOfED
Love Causes Jliss Florence
McDermid to Forsake ,
: lEastiorWest,-
V ', i-
, (Special Dlpatch to The JeurniH " '"
Boston, Mass., Dec' 26: A romance
which dates bacMlo childhood days will
culminate when Miss Florence McDermld,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Mc
Dermld, Star avenue, Middleboro, Mass..
becomes the' bride of her school day
sweetheart. Wayland Chaee, formerly of
Middleboro, but now of Salem, Or. Miss
McDerinld will start alone the coming
week for Salem, where the groom-elect
Is a landscape engineer.
Both went , to school together nnd
graduated from the 'high school five
Bollam Investment
bu t ' " '
r XAl il T 'iM it
IB.' x ,'.. 1 1 t ::. r t. :.t :. y av a
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il i it II tWk- W : a : - PI i
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Purcrtased by E. E. Merges. '
TLt!.ie
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y; flma-itt'
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Another View of -Gaston' Homestead.
Gaston property, ' is a native son of
Oregon, and one of , the most success
ful of Portland's 'young capitalists. He
has already matured plans i for elab
orate improvements to be made on .the
property. . A landscape architect will
take the block in band and make of It
one of -the - most -beautiful., residence
sites In Portland. Mr. Merges has re
years ago. During their school days
their courtship was .all; sunghlna anS
when- the groom left for the far west?
they, were still, sweethearts. .Miss Mc
Dermld attended a Boston' business col
lege. Mr. Chaee is the Bon of Mr: and
Mrs. Fred P. Chaoe, Pearl street, Mid
dleboro, and a graduate of the Massa
chusetts Agricultural college at Am
herst. - , , . . ,
Upon the completion of his course he
went 'to the Pacific coast where his. venture-has
proven successful.- .
CHEWING' GUM CAUSES
YOUNG'MAN'S DEATH
j. (Special Dispatch to The Journil.) : . -Asbury
Park, N. J., Dec. se.-r-Archle
C Morris. '18 years old, son of the Rev.
and Mrs. Peter T. Morris, of Belmar, Is
dead of ptomaine poisoning, caused by
too - much use-of chewing gum, accord
ing to the diagnosis of Dr. Charles H.
Thompson, the family physician.- 1
The - young ,man had partaken freely
of canned corned beef shortly before
bis fatal illness, which began five days
ago, and Dr.. Thompson is of the opin
ion that j the : gum developed . the pto
maine. - , . '; i
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Company's New' Building at Fourth
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served about onr third of the place 4m1
will build there one of the handsomest
homes on : Kings Heights. The remain
der of the block will be divided int
three or four residence sites and snl
to men of means, who will mnke Im
provements in keeping ' with the im
portance of the - location- and with tha
homes of the surrounding owners.'
PLilil TO SLICE
Cottage Grove Men May Te
tition Legislature, to . .
; lrriew Count
. -, -- ,. v. , '-
' Ku'gene, Or., Dec. 26. Cotta'go Grov
business men will possibly ask the leg
lslature to form a new county from ths
southern portion of Ijne and the north
ern portion of -Douglas counties. For
many weeks the plan has been under
discussion In Cottage 'Grove. '
The. name of the new unit will prob
ably be Bohemia. If the, two old couti
tles fijrht the movement, the. Cottage
Gxove people believe that they will not
be successful fn the legislature, but that
recourse-to the Initiative at a future
election wilt be successful. -
r'.y
and'Ererett Streets
DOUGLAS
LANE
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