interpretive bridge panels
large stand alone
small stand alone
quotations & poetry
exhibit locations
1. Lumber Mill Location: #1 Northeast Plaza Theme: Although it s now a quiet riverside neighborhood, the area at this end of the Sellwood Bridge once echoed with the screams of sawmills, the smack of lumber, and the whistles of trains. Title: Echoes of Industry East Side Lumber Company was established in 1902 by four local men just in time for a big building boom in the Portland area. It grew to include subsidiary Oregon Door Company and East Side Box Factory, becoming one of Portland s larger mills. By the 1920s, there were 300-500 employees at the mill, depending on the number of jobs the mill had. Many employees lived in Sellwood. Timber arrived via river or by interurban railroad. The original Sellwood Bridge included a fire suppression system under the east end, to protect the bridge from fires that might catch in the mill buildings below. By the 1930s milling operations had shut down. A huge fire burned many structures in 1940, but Oregon Door Company survived and continued into the 1950s. A building from the old mill remained until 2011, when it was demolished to make way for the new bridge s construction. Visible remnants of this industrial era include the Springwater Corridor, which lies along old rail lines that once served the mill. The rail lines are visible from some spots on the bridge.
2. Story of the River Location: #2 Southwest Belvedere Theme: As Portland has grown over the past century and a half, the Willamette has always been at the heart of work, play, and transportation. t ti Title: A River of Challenge and Opportunity In the early 19 th century, Euroamerican explorers, traders, and trappers came up the Columbia to the Willamette, where they found Native Americans using the river for transportation (they made dugout canoes and rafts) and for subsistence (fish, beaver, etc). Only about 10 miles south of Sellwood Bridge was Willamette Falls, one of the most important trading centers for Pacific Northwest tribes so this part of the river was very busy with boats going to and from the Columbia system. Euroamerican settlers--farmers and lumbermen--of the 1800s also found the river to be valuable for transportation, but for the types of transportation they used (large steamboats to ship grain, other produce, supplies, and passengers), the river s changing channel and annual floods were a big challenge. In the 1940s, the Willamette Valley Project created a system of dams, taming the river. Today the river remains a very important transportation corridor; at this point it is primarily pleasure craft but Today, the river remains a very important transportation corridor; at this point it is primarily pleasure craft, but just downstream large commercial ships still use the river (point out docks for pleasure craft visible from the bridge).
3. River View Cemetery-Historical Superintendent s Residence Location: #3 Near Funeral Home, off of Macadam Theme: This handsome brick building is just one of many structures at River View Cemetery that were designed by some of Portland s most celebrated architects. Title: Architecture for a Solemn Setting Funeral home: The Georgian-style building, once known as the Superintendent s Residence and now housing the funeral home, was designed by Ellis Fuller Lawrence, founder and long-time dean of the U of O School of Architecture. It was completed in 1913. (Lawrence also designed many other notable houses and buildings in Portland, including the Cumberland Apartments and Cooley House at Lewis and Clark College). The Superintendent s Residence replaced an older caretaker s cottage designed by Warren H. Williams. There was originally a widow s walk on the roof, removed sometime after 1987. Cemetery gates: Lawrence designed the original gates, which were removed in 1928. The replacement gates have an interesting story. While on his deathbed, noted architect Albert Ernest Doyle (Multnomah Falls Lodge, the Benson Hotel) described his concept for the gate design to his student and colleague Pietro Belluschi: a set of inverted Ionic columns, symbolizing death. Belluschi sketched the design that was eventually used for the new gates. Belluschi also went on to design the cemetery s Chapel Mausoleum and Office. Another generation: Richard Sunleaf, a student of Lawrence, Doyle, and Belluschi, designed additions to Belluschi s chapel.
4. River View Cemetery Location: #4 Near Cemetery Entrance, off Macadam Theme: One of Portland s oldest cemeteries, River View is also the final resting place for some very celebrated citizens. Title: River View Cemetery This exhibit will welcome visitors to respectfully explore the cemetery, and point out that tour brochures are available. History: the cemetery was established in 1882 as a non-profit cemetery association, on land donated by founders William S. Ladd, Henry W. Corbett, and Henry Failing. It was intended to be a major cemetery for the growing city of Portland, an improvement over the existing city cemetery, which was on the other side of the Willamette. A great deal of forethought went into the design of the grounds; it represents an era when cemeteries were conceived as beautiful, pastoral spaces in an increasingly urbanized world; in a sense, cemeteries such as River View were among the first public parks in US cities. Examples of significant interments: Virgil Earp, Henry Weinhard, Abigail Scott Duniway, Simon Benson, Dorothy McCullough Lee, Lyle Alzado [Sidebar]: William S. Ladd (one of the founders, also a Portland mayor), was buried here in 1893. In 1897, his body was stolen and held for ransom. When it was recovered, the family had his coffin encased in concrete to deter further crimes.
5. History of the Sellwood Bridge Location: #5 Northeast Belvedere Theme: The Sellwood Bridge, opened in 1925 and removed in 2012, was a venerable and notable Portland landmark: revolutionary in purpose, and unique in construction. Title: Spanning the Decades Before the bridge: This site was a Willamette crossing long before the bridge was built; beginning i in 1883 the ferry John F. Caples made regular trips across the river between a landing near River View Cemetery and a dock at Spokane Street. The ferry carried both passengers and vehicles. It operated until 1925, when the bridge was completed. Need for a bridge: By the 1920s, automobile use in the Portland area was booming. Existing ferries and bridges were not enough to support the increasing traffic. City leaders envisioned a new set of bridges for the automobile age; Sellwood was one of these. Construction of the bridge: The Sellwood span was part of a bond package that included three bridges (Sellwood, Ross Island, and a replacement for the 1894 Burnside Bridge parts of which were originally slated to help form the new Sellwood Bridge). Before construction had even begun, though, a bribe-taking scandal resulted in the replacement of the original design team. The new designer was New York engineer Gustav Lindenthal, who built on the existing plans, finalizing a four-span continuous sub-divided Warren Truss design. It was intended for auto use only; it was the first Portland bridge to be built without streetcar tracks. It was also the first fixed Portland bridge; built high enough for boat traffic to pass without t the need for a drawbridge. The design is an efficient i use of steel for the loads for which h it was designed, but unfortunately auto traffic would prove to be far greater than engineers may have anticipated.
6. Bridge Facts Location: #6 Under Eastern Terminus of Bridge Theme: The new Sellwood Bridge represents a great leap in strength, capacity, safety, and durability over a bridge that was inadequate and unsafe. Title: A Change of Guard Issues with original bridge: The original Sellwood Bridge was well-built for the automobile traffic of its day. In fact, it did not reach its design capacity of 15,000 vehicles per day until the 1960s. But ultimately it proved too narrow and too lightly built for modern traffic. In addition, it was insufficient for increasing pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The approaches on either side of the bridge (particularly on the west side) created tight turns and traffic problems. And the old bridge was not earthquake-resistant to modern standards. New bridge features: The new bridge incorporates an arch design that retains the height above the river. It s built to modern earthquake standards. There are new approaches that ease traffic congestion and increase safety. The bridge incorporates recycled steel and uses local labor in construction. It s built for flex use, safely accommodating different traffic patterns, plus bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
7. View to the North: Oaks Amusement Park and Portland Location: #7 Northwest Belvedere Theme: From this viewpoint, you can see a patchwork of Portland s history, including The Oaks Amusement Park, which opened in 1905 and still operates today. Title: A Grand View Amusement park history: Oaks Amusement Park was built by Oregon Water Power and Railway Company in connection with the great Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905 (this event was significant in Portland s greater history, heralding a boom in population and construction). OWPRC built the park primarily to boost ridership on the city s fledgling electric trolley system; special expedition trolleys packed with merrymakers would depart the city and arrive at the midway, greeted by carousel music, thrilling rides such as the Barrel of Fun, and Punch and Judy shows. When OWPRC was acquired by PGE in 1907, the company continued to operate the park, and it is still open today making it one of the oldest continuously-operating amusement parks in the nation. [Sidebar]: captions on other sites in this view: Yacht Club Ross Island Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge Tualatin [Sidebar]: captions on other sites in this view: Yacht Club, Ross Island, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Tualatin Hills, prominent city buildings (such as KOIN tower and Wells Fargo Center).
8. The Old Sellwood Bridge and the Community Location: #8 Southeast Belvedere Theme: For over 80 years, the old Sellwood bridge was enfolded into the lives of nearby communities. Title: A Bridge With Community Spirit Dedication ceremony: The bridge dedication was December 15, 1925 with a ceremonial turning over of the bridge from the contractor to the engineer to the county commissioner to the public. The ribbon-cutting was followed by a banquet celebration at the local Odd Fellows Hall. Stories of the old bridge [still researching; may include construction stories, stories of notable celebrations, funny or frightening stories that happened on or around the bridge]
9. Local Natural History Location: #9 Western Terminus of Bridge Theme: The Willamette River brings a little bit of the wild into the center of the largest city in Oregon. The city maintains natural areas along the river to help keep the Willamette healthy. Title: A Living River in Portland s Heart Nearby parks and natural areas: Powers Marine Park, located to the south of the bridge on the west bank, is part of a string of parks along the west side of the Willamette [include map of natural areas]. Powers was born at the same time as the old Sellwood Bridge in 1925, from land that had previously been part of the River View Cemetery and was given to the public for the bridge project and a park. Just to the north are Sellwood Park and Willamette Park, and the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. Stewardship: local natural areas include restoration and stewardship projects that are ongoing: enhancing habitat, removing invasive species. Examples include Stevens Creek restoration, and bank habitat enhancement at Powers Marine Park. --Riverbank restoration projects enhance habitat for Willamette wildlife. [Sidebar]: Wildlife you may or may not see but they are here! (salmon, sturgeon, migratory waterfowl)
10. Geology Location: #10 Western Terminus of Bridge Theme: The tall bluffs on the west side of the Willamette here at Sellwood Bridge are not stable and this instability is one of the important reasons that the old bridge was replaced. Title: A Slippery Slope Threatens a Bridge Original bridge design: The original Sellwood Bridge had significant problems with earth movement on the west approach, starting even during construction. At the time, knowledge of soil movement as it related to structural engineering was somewhat primitive. But it also seems that the original bridge designers and engineers did not do their homework by excavating and investigating g the nature of the material on that side. In addition, their choice of fill may have led to additional problems. In 1960-61, repairs were done to the west approach. In 1985, an investigation showed significant damage probably related to ground movement on the west approach, including cracked abutments and cross beams, and misalignment.
11. Sellwood Neighborhood History Location: #11 Southeast Plaza Theme: Now part of the City of Portland, the community of Sellwood was once a town in its own right, born as this part of Oregon boomed with industry and entrepreneurs. Title: Building a Community on the Willamette History of Sellwood: The area was named for Reverend (AKA Captain) John Sellwood, a pioneer Episcopal minister whose ca. 1850s land claim was located here. In 1882, Sellwood sold 321 acres to the Sellwood Real Estate Company, which platted it for development and sold lots. The company was also behind the establishment of a free ferry to make access easier for purchasers. The town was incorporated in 1887, and merged into the City of Portland in 1893. The town was well-connected to the larger city, through the ferry, an early interurban streetcar line (1892), and eventually the Sellwood Bridge. Residents worked in transportation, lumber milling (at the East Side Lumber Company under the Sellwood Bridge), and other local businesses; many lived here and commuted to other parts of the city to work. The town saw a slump during the Depression, but in the 1960s, there was something of a revival as new residents and businesses moved in. Today, Sellwood is a thriving and distinct neighborhood, with a small town center.