Historic Hood River
Sharpen Your Eyeballs
Notes
This is a detail from a Jack Wilson image of the Hood River White Salmon Interstate Bridge, circa 1950. I’ve zoomed in so you can see the detail of the waterfront which has changed so much in the intervening years. This is the period between the flooding of the old waterfront by the Bonneville Dam impounding Lake Bonneville in 1937 and the construction of the Hood River Harbor and the rest of the Port district starting in 1962.
To get your bearings, the very right edge of the image at the river’s edge shows the old water tank for steam locomotives which was the end of Second Street. It is right in front of the Hood River Garage building (now home to River Daze Cafe). To its left is the Union Pacific rail depot. To the left of the depot is a white blocky building which I believe is the Safeway building (now Pietros Pizza) but it is too big, extending to where the old Mt. Hood Hotel was (but should be gone by this era). Not sure what was there in this era. The building behind it is the 1913 Annex to the Mt. Hood Hotel (now Hood River Hotel). To its left back down at the tracks is the old Mt. Hood Railroad depot. From there we see various industrial uses around the tracks and the waterfront which have all changed with the Port project and I-84 widening.
Tags: bridge, depot, Hood River depot, Hood River White Salmon Interstate Bridge, Wilson
L.E.
I would never have guessed this is Hood River. It looks too flat.
I see a church steeple up the hill.
I am guessing this is a spring photo? River looks high.
What is the large white square building on the left side, but the Hood River.
One more question…is that the Butler home sitting on the hill on the left side?
Buck Parker
The steeple is probably the old St. Mary’s at the top of 7th Street, then known as Catholic Hill.
Arthur Babitz
I believe the large white building on the left side was the Hood River Distillers building on State Street east of Front Street.
Will
Looking at the linked picture of the harbor – what projects produced the fill needed to construct the modern day waterfront?
Arthur Babitz
Will, I haven’t verified this but my understanding is the port was constructed with an outer rim of rock from the Dalles Dam excavation, with fill dredged from the river channel making up most of the mass.
Pat A
Arthur just beat me on the dredge fill.
Large Rock from the Dalles dam project would have been barged down river.