Posted in Portland August 21, 2017 by Katherine Green

Here’s What Life In Portland Looked Like In The 1930s

Over 80 years ago Portland looked like a very different place. While much of the city was built, the sprawl of today was still decades away. Things may have looked different, but the people of Portland were surprisingly still doing a lot of the same things.

In 1935, this library, on the SE 80th, had just opened, giving the residents of Portland another option for sourcing books for entertainment.

While lodging options like the Australia Hotel, located at SW 1st and Taylor, were going strong...

Portlanders were still taking care of the world around us, as seen in this picture of a cleanup at Laurelhurst Park.

Shipbuilding was a big industry in Portland in the 1930s. Here our iconic St John's bridge is the backdrop for this massive building project.

When the Longshore Strike ended in 1937, Portlanders celebrated much in the same way they do today - at the bar, as pictured here at the Blue Bell Tavern in 1937.

Other industries like the Portland Woolen Mills were growing by leaps and bounds in the 30s.

Growth was steady, and citizens worked on new ways to conquer new challenges, as seen here in this 1930-era picture of striping the street.

As communities grew, citizens worked to keep up, as seen here in this photo where a resident is painting street numbers on the curb by hand.

And just like today, Portlanders were selling the wonderful produce of the Willamette Valley on street corners and markets city wide.

Do you recognize any of these sights around the city? While it may seem worlds away, it is still quite close to home and part of what has made our city what it is today.

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