Mayor: Hey, the photographer for the postcard company is going to be here tomorrow to take some shots of our town.
City manager: Well, let’s spruce it up a bit – we can get some paint from Johnson’s old farmhouse – make ‘er look nice.
Councilperson: Um, the photographer came yesterday.
Postcard photographers were like Google Street View [...]
Archive for the ‘Oregon Roadside’ Category
Halfway, Ore., renaming and branding
Posted in Oregon History, Oregon Roadside on June 12, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Lane County Roadside Dog Mystery
Posted in Oregon History, Oregon Roadside on May 6, 2009 | 18 Comments »
Larry and Jennifer from Travel Lane County passed on an email to Lost Oregon that they received from someone looking for more information about a wonderful dog stand photo they recently found. Here’s what we know:
It’s called “The Dog.”
It’s [or was] on US 99 in Lane County, Oregon.
The photo was taken in 1935.
Anyone have any [...]
Have a bitchin’ summer
Posted in Oregon History, Oregon Roadside, tagged oregon 101, oregon tourism, travel oregon on April 28, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Long before Twitter, the web and [really kick-ass!] online campaigns from Travel Oregon, we had brochures, postcards and word of mouth [now called "viral" by the marketing crowd] to get folks to visit our fine state.
Frankly, if I got any of these postcards from friends I’m not sure my first thought would be, “Honey, look [...]
Oregon Coast – 20 Miracle Miles
Posted in Oregon History, Oregon Roadside on March 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Now that Oregon’s summer is slowly [very, very slowly] starting to make its entrance in a few months [anywhere from early June to mid-July if we're lucky], it’s time to start thinking about trips to the coast – where it’ll undoubtedly be raining the weekend the plans are booked.
That’s OK though. I find places like [...]
Oregon Centennial Expo, 1959
Posted in Design and Architecture, Oregon History, Oregon Roadside, Portland History, Portland kitsch on February 15, 2009 | 11 Comments »
Man, sesquicentennial fever has gripped Oregon. Officially launched on Saturday with a kick-off party in Salem and lots of museums and organizations offering free admission, the party is just getting started – year-round events are planned all year to get people of all ages involved in the history of their state. And if the economy [...]
Lost Oregon Video
Posted in Design and Architecture, Oregon Roadside, Portland History, tagged kellogg bowl, lost oregon video, milwaukie on October 13, 2008 | 6 Comments »
So, I’m doing a bit of an experiment with my new Ultra Flip video camera. I’m shooting and editing small films [nothing more than 120 seconds] of mid-century, historical and not-yet forgotten buildings and sites around the Portland metro area.
I might even work up to doing interviews and – gasp- edit them into the [...]
The United States of Charles Phoenix
Posted in Design and Architecture, Oregon History, Oregon Roadside, Portland History, tagged charles phoenix, mcm league portland on October 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The cool kids at Portland’s Mid-Century Modern League shot me over a press release announcing a show they’re putting on. It’s a retro slide show performance by “pop-culture humorist” and author Charles Phoenix, celebrating 50s and 60s tourist traps, theme parks, car culture, space age style, parties, holidays and more. Phoenix also promises to bring [...]
The “Bates Motel” on Caruthers
Posted in Oregon History, Oregon Roadside, Portland History, tagged bates motel, caruthers, psu on October 6, 2008 | 5 Comments »
A reader writes:
Back in the late 80s/early 90s, when I was attending PSU, I used to park down toward the end of Water Ave. and walk up the hill on Caruthers to get to my classes. (The uphill trudge was hell, but the parking was free.) Along the way, there was a house that apparently [...]
