Division Then and Now

I found this early 1900s photo of 60th and Division (looking east) on the City of Portland Archives website. The pump house and stairs are still there, but no trough for livestock and the reservoir is now a retirement home.

This once quiet country road is now a four lane highway that cuts South Tabor off from Mt. Tabor Park and makes access to West bound buses risky. Last summer during the Movie in the Park when we posted signs and escorted pedestrians at the 68th Street crosswalk even a City of Portland police car failed to stop. 

If you care about safety on SE Division, come to the open house on Wednesday, March 7th. Let's reclaim access to one of the loveliest public parks in the city and help make Division safer for everyone.

SE Division Street High Crash Corridor Safety Project


PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Drop by anytime between 6:30 and 8:30 PM

Optional Overview Presentation at 7:00 PM

Harrison Park K-8 School (cafeteria)

2225 SE 87th Avenue, Portland OR 97216

Nearby TriMet Transit Access: Bus Line #4

MAX Green Line (.6 miles to Harrison Park School) 

Then and Now

I stumbled onto some interesting South Tabor photos from the City of Portland Archives on a blog called Vintage Portland. The first one, taken from Mt. Tabor in 1909, is looking southwest toward the reservoir that was located at the corner of SE 60th and Division (now the site of The Courtyards Senior Apartments). The pump house is in the upper right corner of the photo. As you can see, Franklin High School has not been built yet and there are just few homes with agricultural land in between. The long wooden structure in the foreground had something to do with the construction of reservoirs further north on 60th. Click on the photo to enlarge.

The second photo is a 1912 view of Reservoir #1 located on the south side of Mt. Tabor above Warner Pacific College. Down below the reservoir SE 67th and a few homes can be seen. The developed area to the south of the open farmland is the Foster/Powell neighborhood. The South Tabor houses still exist, although the barns are long gone. The first house visible on 67th was my grandparents home from 1934 to 1960. I remember the barn from my childhood. The next house, located where the church now stands, was moved one block south to Taggart Street, turned 90 degrees and transformed into a duplex. It is still there.

This next photo is a similar view of South Tabor taken this year (no reservoir in the foreground). The steeple on the top of Trinity Fellowship at SE 67th and Clinton should help orient your view.

Less than 100 years ago our neighborhood was farmland with various crops, orchards, berry fields, and even a dairy. It is fascinating to compare the view then and now.