Clothes dry on a line in a vacant lot in front of a cast-iron building on the Allen and Lewis Block. Looking east from First Avenue. Half of a rooftop sign is visible, advertising Weinhard Beer since 1856.

Cast-iron buildings on Front Avenue at Ankeny, from First Avenue. Probably taken from the New Market Theater. From left to right: the Dekum & Reed block, the Johnson Building, and the Dodd Block. Automobiles line the streets. Sign advertises Gadsby’s Home Furnisher. Several storefronts are for sale or lease.

Power lines line the street outside of the Northwestern Electric Company building on N. Albina Street. Large grain elevators are at the end of the street, with the words “Santa Cruz” painted on one. Taken November 23, 1938.

Looking west at the Portland waterfront from the east side of the Willamette River. Several industrial buildings, with the west hills rising in the background. Wooden pilings in the Willamette River in the foreground.

Demolition of a building, likely the Miles Building, Pine Street facade. Bricks are loaded onto the back of a flatbed truck. Stacks of bricks line the sidewalk. Taken January 20, 1939.

Demolition of Barnhart and Miles Buildings, SW corner of Front and Pine Streets. Taken January 22, 1939.

Demolition of the Opitz Building on the SE corner of First Avenue and Pine Streets. Cast-iron details still stand amid the debris of demolition. Taken January 31, 1939.

Cast-iron details of the Dodd Block on the SE corner of Front and Ankeny Streets, viewed from the window of the Dekum and Reed Block on the west side of Front Avenue. Taken February 19, 1939.

Cast-iron details in the architecture of Cook’s Building, east side of Front Avenue, south of Ankeny Street. Reflection in the window shows sign for “Howe Scales.” Taken March 4, 1939.

A row of buildings on Front Avenue, looking south from the Burnside Bridge. Demolition of Dekum and Reed block, at right, has begun. Automobiles are parked on the street and the trolley tracks are visible. Taken March 4, 1939.

The Portland Hotel, also known as the Hotel Portland, constructed in 1890, looking west from Yamhill Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. People wait on the sidewalk at a streetcar stop. Taken March 8, 1939.

Looking east across SW Front towards Ankeny and Front Avenue. Demolition of Dekum and Reed Building behind the Skidmore Fountain. The pediment and cornice of the Johnson building across Front Avenue is still intact. Signs for Mutual Grocery and Gadsby’s Home Furnisher. Taken March 9, 1939.

Starr Block, Front Avenue at Pine Street. Taken April 10, 1939. Sign in window reads, “For Lease.”

Pioneer Courthouse from the courtyard of the Portland Hotel, showing north wrought-iron gate. Taken April 17, 1939.

The Allen and Lewis Block’s Couch Street facade, photographed from Front Avenue. Masts from a ship rise into the air from the Willamette River. View of the ship is blocked by piles of lumber on the waterfront. A large smokestack is also visible between two buildings. In the distance are buildings for Sears and Northwestern Ice & Cold Storage. Taken April 30, 1939.

The Great Light Way arch over the intersection of NW Third Avenue and Everett Street. The International Hotel, located at 324 NW Third Avenue, is in the background. A sign advertises room for $1.25 or $2.00 for two men. Also a sign for Hinode Pool Room. Taken April 30, 1939.

New Market Theater, from Second Avenue. Sign on top of building reads, “New Market Block. 1872.” Exterior of bottom floor is painted white. Taken April 30, 1939.

The Allen and Lewis Block’s Couch Street facade, photographed from Front Avenue. The back of a large billboard is visible on the roof. Masts from a ship rise into the air from the Willamette River. View of the ship is blocked by piles of lumber on the waterfront. A large smokestack is also visible between two buildings. Taken April 30, 1939.

Intersection of SW Third Avenue and Oak, looking north. Ainsworth Bank on left, Worchester Building on right. Large signs advertise the drugstore and various products sold there. The J.J. Jaffee Clothing Co. is across the street. A part of the Great Light Way arch is visible. Taken May 7, 1939.

The Crown Flour Mill is seen across the Willamette River on the industrial Portland Waterfront. Smoke rises into the air from smokestacks. In the foreground there is wood debris in the water.

An industrial elevator of the Municipal Paving Plant, a cement plant, sits on the banks of the Willamette River, with a view of the Portland Waterfront. Taken from the east bank of the river, looking west. The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company is also visible across the river.

Streetcar rails reach the end of the line on a wooden dock on the Willamette River. Ropes hang down from wooden beams. Across the river is the Union Pacific Railroad Dock.

The Hanley ship, part of the Weyerhaeuser Line, in the Willamette River. Taken from a nearby bridge. Portland Waterfront and west hills are visible in the background.

View from above of the Portland Lumber Mills in St. Johns. Piles of lumber are scattered across the grounds. A boat passes on the Willamette River, pushing cargo belonging to the Western Transportation Co. Taken August 4, 1939.

View from above of the Portland Lumber Mills in St. Johns. Piles of lumber are scattered across the grounds. Some logs are in the Willamette River. Taken August 4, 1939.

A Portland Railway, Light and Power Company railroad car, no. 906.

A crane sits on the dock over the Willamette River. Sign reads, “Fire Boat Connection.” Distant hills in the background.

View of steam plant from First Avenue. A McCracken Brothers truck is in the roadway.