Historic Hood River
What’s in an Image?
Notes
Hood River city staff recently asked me if I had any evidence for what the grade was of the Hood River News/ Old Safeway parking lot across from the library. It seems pretty obvious someone dug a big hole, but how much earth did they remove?
We have lots of images tagged “State Street” but none of them really showed enough detail of this particular parcel. Fortunately we have a fine aerial view which we previously dated to circa 1949, based on the construction of the Elks Lodge. I’ve zoomed in to the area in question. The very lower right corner shows the Elks Lodge, mostly complete. State Street cuts a diagonal slightly above center, with the old telephone building on the SW corner of 6th and State (now the Dean Building housing county administration) at the top end and the Riverside Congregational Church (south side State at 4th) toward the lower end.
Between those two buildings are two full blocks of houses which were cleared to create the Safeway building and parking lot. You can see that the slope generally matches the surrounding streets, but you also have a clear shadow line between the street and sidewalk as well as the sidewalk and the houses which show retaining walls which grow as you go down State Street towards the Riverside church. While we don’t know the exact height of these walls we can make a rough guess at the grade relative to the street. A lot of houses and an awful amount of dirt were removed to create the building and the parking lot we see today.
Which brings up an interesting question: Where did all that dirt go? The earliest image I can find which seems to show the Safeway building is this one from the mid-1970s. Perhaps it was used as fill down at the Port? Hopefully we’re in a date range some of you might remember!
Jeffrey Bryant
When I had a paper route for the Oregon Journal in 1967 my route took me down State Street, turned at the phone company, then down Sherman and back up Oak Street. None of the buildings at the Safeway site were on my route, so I’m certain they were gone by then.
L. E.
Interesting. Even though it is obvious, I never thought about loads of dirt being removed from that area.
I have seen shopping carts roll down that parking lot, rapidly picking up speed. I once saw an old pick up roll down, but the driver was able to jump in and get it stopped before a big disaster happened.
rachell lindley
My husbands grandparents owned one of the houses that needed removed for the Safeway. It was located directly across from the library and was moved up Sherman (!!!) to its new location on State. We owned the home for a few years after them. It was I believe the only home that was relocated rather than torn down.
Jeffrey Bryant
According to the 1950 Census, Hood River Precinct, ED 14-12 – 400 and 500 blocks of State (odd) and Sherman (even)
515 State – Julian, Earnest – Library janitor
505 State – Wilvo (?), John F – fruit house brushing table
505 State – Stephens, John R – Auto salesman
505 State – Tostevin, Rosa M – Domestic work
501 State – Klahre, James E. – Diamond fruit General Manager
419 State – Beltz, Hannah C. –
415 State – Olson, Lewis E – Cemetery sexton man
409 State – Shoemaker, Vernon D – Postal clerk
401 State – Woodford, Lumman K – Office building janitor
410 Sherman (or Eugene) – Gibbs, Lucinda M
My Mom was friends with the Klahre’s daughter and spent some time at their home in the early 1950’s. The 1973 telephone directory shows Frank B. Lindley living at 803 State Street. This could have been the old Klahre home. She does not know where they moved the dirt.
rachell lindley
Jeffrey- it was the Beltz home that was moved. Frank & Priscilla bought it from the estate (they had no children)