As many of you old timers know (before Barbur Boulevard opened in 1934) we rode to town on the former Southern Pacific "Red Electric" or took the bus up Terwilliger Boulevard Barbur Boulevard was built on the abandoned rail bed of the Red Electric line. In 1930 the railroad deeded to the city of Portland its right of way bet\veen Fourth and Sheridan Streets to the western city limits, then located approximately where the Burlingame Fred Meyer store now stands. Barbur Boulevard provided a significantly improved and new corridor for motorized traffic to and from Portland. The full value of the improvement occurred only in 1935 when the state extended the final three miles to the Multnomah County line at Tigard. Portland Mayor Baker eyed this route as the location of a brand new arterial highway that would relieve scenic Terwilliger Boulevard of its excessive traffic. The city named the new highway for A. L Barbur, the Commissioner of Public Works. Construction of Barbur Boulevard began during the Great Depression. Between the City of Portland and Multnomah County they employed about two thousand workers on the project over the duration of its construction. Much of the work was deliberately done by hand to provide as much employment as possible. Before the final three miles of Barbur opened, the Portland City Council zoned most of the land within the city that adjoined Barbur. The zoning allowed no billboards or commercial buildings from Sheridan Street to the Bertha-Terwilliger Boulevard intersection. It was very different between Terwilliger Boulevard and the Multnomah County line. This stretch of the highway quickly developed motels, service stations, buildings and restaurants. Few people driving on Barbur in 1934 dreamed that 30 years later, six lanes of Interstate 5 with mammoth interchanges, would be running on the same alignment. How ironic they might have found it, had they imagined that 80 years later the Metro­ politan planners would be projecting a light-rail line to run out in this vicinity. 2

Barbur Boulevard

By Charlotte Knox and Virginia Fredrickson.  Interview for article with Herdis B. McFarland.  Originally published in our November 1997 Newsletter.   As many of you old timers know (before Barbur Boulevard opened in 1934) we rode to town on the former Southern Pacific “Red Electric” or took the bus up Terwilliger Boulevard Barbur...

Multnomah, Oregon, ca. 1956, looking south toward Multnomah Boulevard Viaduct. Ed Colvin Photo. 0

Old Multnomah in Color

  I love these old color photos of Multnomah.  From left to right:  Hogan’s Tavern, OLCC #73 Liquor store (facade just barely visible to left of right telephone pole, siding same color as Hogan’s Tavern), Maxwell House Appliances, Multnomah Capitol Theater, Beardsley Auto Parts.     Detail from first photo showing...

Maplewood, Oregon School., ca. 1940. 2

Living on Maplewood Road

by Patti Waitman-Ingebretsen “The Ransom girl” In 1950, my parents, Don and Mildred Ransom, purchased a new ranch style home, built by the Orth brothers at 4608 SW Maplewood Rd., on the old Borsch Nursery property. My father hired a man with a horse and equipment to grade the embankment...

Capitol Highway looking east towards HIllsdale, ca. 1920. 3

Capitol Highway

The Road Through Multnomah When one thinks of Multnomah, one tends to think of the iconic image of the row of buildings at its core, as portrayed in our header, drawn by artist Kaye Synoground. We seldom think of the road that runs between those buildings. Capitol Highway, with its...

Multnomah, Oregon, ca. 1913. Intersection of present SW 35th Ave., and SW Capitol Highway. Lovejoy and Jackson Store center left, Bungalow Cash Feed Store in right. 0

Multnomah Beginnings

A Series of Historical Reprints By Marguerite N. Davis In the 1940s children’s author, historian, and Multnomah resident Marguerite Norris Davis wrote a series of articles on the history of Multnomah for the Multnomah Community Press., a newspaper covering events in Multnomah and other suburbs southwest of Portland, published from 1923 to 1951.   This...