Move the Beavers to Lents? How 1950's.
A friend of ours whose family's roots in Portland go way back told us an interesting story recently about moving the Portland Beavers baseball team to the Lents neighborhood. Apparently that was the plan back in the 1950s, when the Beavers were planning their relocation out of their old stadium on NW Vaughn Street -- an all-wood, turn-of-the-century firetrap, according to our buddy.
Anyway, the move was supposed to be to the current site of the Eastport Plaza shopping center, which is just a stone's throw from Lents Park. Back in the day, there were even signs posted prominently on the Eastport lot that said "Future Home of the Portland Beavers." For some reason, it didn't happen -- the Wikipedia entry for the team blames the Korean War, and other, unspecified factors -- and in 1956 the Beavers relocated to their present home at Civic Stadium, which had previously been called Multnomah Stadium and today (at least for the moment) bears the name PGE Park. The Eastport Plaza retail center opened in 1960.
There's a nice profile of the Vaughn Street facility here.
| Posted at 12:39 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
Odd - as you stated, the Wikipedia piece says the new 82nd & Holgate park was announced in 1953 & didn't happen because of the Korean War, but the war was over (pardon me, the truce was in effect) by then, & other war-delayed developments were back on track by then, too. For example, the story goes that Portland was to get TV in 1950, but the issuance of new licenses was put on hold due to the war (and, no doubt, to allow the FCC or its predecessor to straighten out compatible color broadcasting). KPTV finally went on the air in 1952, I believe, & we were the last 'big city' to get the blessing of TV. Had the present crop of boobs been running City Hall back then, I'm sure the taxpayers would have ponied up big bucks to assure the wealthy station owner a sure thing as he bravely invested some small amount to put PDX in the ranks of TV Cities.
Posted by Lalawethika | May 23, 2009 1:11 AM
Crop of boobs! Crop of boobs! That's it!
(The title of my figment/unwritten book, that is!)
Can I use it, oh sharp-quilled blog archer?
Ah, the blessed wisdom of crowds...
Posted by gonetorio | May 23, 2009 7:07 AM
Actually, it was supposed to be at what was then a huge vacant lot on the corner of 82nd and Powell... on the Northwest corner. Now there's a strip mall and grocery store there.
Posted by Dwight | May 23, 2009 7:11 AM
Jack,
I love it when you put together these posts on Portland history that's difficult to find elsewhere. Especially, when it's providing historical context for today's debates and events.
Thanks,
Joey
Posted by Joey | May 23, 2009 10:52 AM
(and, no doubt, to allow the FCC or its predecessor to straighten out compatible color broadcasting).
JK: No,There was a freeze in new licenses to straighten out an interference problem.
Thanks
JK
Posted by jim karlock | May 23, 2009 2:37 PM
Actually, it was supposed to be at what was then a huge vacant lot on the corner of 82nd and Powell... on the Northwest corner.
I guess there is a difference of recollection about that. Both the Wiki entry and my old-time Portland buddy are saying Holgate. You couldn't tell by me -- my folks were taking me for walks past Ruppert Stadium back then.
Posted by Jack Bog | May 23, 2009 3:28 PM
JK - Thanks for the info. But something also happened during those three years to save us from CBS's color system with spinning discs in our TV sets!
Posted by Lalawethika | May 23, 2009 4:31 PM
WW's Beth Slovic offered this piece on the 15th:
http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2009/05/15/when-the-portland-beavers-last-tried-to-move-to-lents/
Once a mall, never other than a mall? But malls have fallen out of favor of late; their numbers across the country are in decline, not growing.
Ever a farm again? Metro and City Hall, as currently constituted, would insist on housing: density is the shibboleth among the current generation of circular-thinking "planners." There appear, that is, to be no caps on density nor limits to the ignorance, among our elected and appointed public officials, of the social downsides of density.
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | May 23, 2009 6:12 PM