Historic Hood River
Historic… New Orleans
Notes
The only link to Hood River is that this stereo card is in our collection, but it tells an important story about the earliest “sky scrapers” in our cities. For centuries building height was limited by how thick the masonry walls had to be at the base to support the structure, and the difficulty accessing upper reaches of tall buildings. Otis’ elevators solved one of the problems, and early cast iron construction addressed the other. The 1859 “Moresque Building” in New Orleans was a beautiful example of the sorts of things that could be accomplished with these two inventions. Unfortunately cast iron construction doesn’t fare as well as steel in a fire, as was demonstrated when this building burned/melted in April 1897.
I recall from an architecture class in college that the great Chicago fire of 1871 marked the dividing line between the eras of cast iron and steel skyscrapers. Most large cities still have a handful of cast iron buildings left, and I always enjoy coming across one. There are plenty of examples in New Orleans, but sadly, perhaps the city’s most spectacular example didn’t make it.
L.E.
Very interesting. Thanks Arthur.
Jeffrey W Bryant
Early downtown Hood River had to deal with fire insurance related issues. Most of the original wood buildings were replaced by brick or concrete structures.
Melody Shellman
It reminds me of an article in Oregon Art Beat I saw a few years back about Portland’s cast iron building fronts, now long gone, which were captured in photographs during the Depression. https://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregon-art-beat/article/minor-white-cast-iron-portland-victorian-era/
Ellen Shapley
Book: "The Grand Era of Cast-Iron Architecture in Portland" by William Hawkins. Great history of the CI era. Loads of photos and illustrations. Portland once had 180 to 200 building with CI used structurally or ornamentally. All were located within 3 blocks of the river. Around 20 still standing…the largest collection outside of Soho NYC.