A Brief History of Ben Holladay
and Other Interesting Historical Persons, Dates, and Events
by Emily Young (2017)
Our Holladay Park was named after Ben Holladay (1819-1887) who planted the trees. Here is a history of Ben Holladay.
By the spring of 1864, Ben Holladay had acquired a dominant portion of the stage, mail, and freighting business between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City. He controlled 2,670 miles of stage lines and was among the largest individual employers in the United States. Holladay sold his routes to Wells Fargo Express in 1866 for $1.5 million and moved to Oregon. He became involved in a competition to build a railroad south along the Willamette River. In 1868 ground was broken for routes along both the east and the west sides of the river. Holladay’s “Eastsiders” completed 20 miles of track before the competition, which subsequently sold out to him. Holladay won a federal subsidy and built the Oregon and California Railroad as far south as Roseburg before the Panic of 1873 financial crisis stopped the effort. In 1876 Henry Villard took over the railroad. At his peak, Holladay entertained lavishly and spent a great deal of money in an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In contrast to his youth growing up in a log cabin, by the age of 50 Holladay maintained mansions in Washington D.C., on the Hudson River in New York, and in Portland. He also kept an elaborate “cottage” at Seaside, Oregon.
There are two wonderful books on Ben Holladay:
Holladay must have had lots of influence since we have many significant properties named after him.
Legacy Holladay Park Medical Center (Emanuel), Holladay Park Post Office, Holladay Park Plaza, Holladay Park Church of God, and NE Holladay Street. Also, Sullivan’s Gulch tax properties are identified as Holladay Park Addition by the county and state.
Other interesting historical persons, dates, and events for Sullivan’s Gulch:
Please email me if you have photos and/or information about Sullivan’s Gulch history.
Emily Young at [email protected]
By the spring of 1864, Ben Holladay had acquired a dominant portion of the stage, mail, and freighting business between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City. He controlled 2,670 miles of stage lines and was among the largest individual employers in the United States. Holladay sold his routes to Wells Fargo Express in 1866 for $1.5 million and moved to Oregon. He became involved in a competition to build a railroad south along the Willamette River. In 1868 ground was broken for routes along both the east and the west sides of the river. Holladay’s “Eastsiders” completed 20 miles of track before the competition, which subsequently sold out to him. Holladay won a federal subsidy and built the Oregon and California Railroad as far south as Roseburg before the Panic of 1873 financial crisis stopped the effort. In 1876 Henry Villard took over the railroad. At his peak, Holladay entertained lavishly and spent a great deal of money in an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In contrast to his youth growing up in a log cabin, by the age of 50 Holladay maintained mansions in Washington D.C., on the Hudson River in New York, and in Portland. He also kept an elaborate “cottage” at Seaside, Oregon.
There are two wonderful books on Ben Holladay:
- Ben Holladay, the Stagecoach King: A Chapter in the Development of Transcontinental Transportation, 1940 & 1968 by
J. V. Frederick - The Saga of Ben Holladay: Giant of the Old West, 1959 by Ellis Lucia
Holladay must have had lots of influence since we have many significant properties named after him.
Legacy Holladay Park Medical Center (Emanuel), Holladay Park Post Office, Holladay Park Plaza, Holladay Park Church of God, and NE Holladay Street. Also, Sullivan’s Gulch tax properties are identified as Holladay Park Addition by the county and state.
Other interesting historical persons, dates, and events for Sullivan’s Gulch:
- It is said Ben Holladay planted the first trees for Holliday Park in the 1880s. He also built two large hotels in the area where the park bearing his name is now located.
- The oldest house is a surviving Victorian cottage on NE Weidler, built in 1886.
- Holladay Park was commissioned by the Lloyd Corporation and Pacific Power & Light in 1964, and a concrete fountain featuring music and lights was installed in the park. Designed by Jack Stuhl, assisted by Ted Widing and Phillips Electrical, the musical fountain was a favorite gathering place for park visitors. It was replaced in 2000, in conjunction with a major renovation of the park, by a spouting fountain designed by Tim Clemen and Murase Associates. Holladay Park was made the official park of Sullivan’s Gulch in 2000. Pat Svenson was an important SG neighbor who made this happen. I knew Pat for many years and she was instrumental in helping with many issues in Sullivan’s Gulch. Her obituary is online, but it does not mention her neighborhood activities. (neighborhood activism does not appear often in obits)
- Three cast-bronze sculptures by artist Tad Savinar were added to the park as a percent-for-art project in 2000. Entitled Constellation, the project illustrates the connection between the personal front yard garden and the civic park garden through three distinct elements: a vase of cut flowers, an abstract molecule containing elements of a good neighborhood, and the figure of a home gardener, shears in hand. The objects in the molecule were selected by the Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association and the gardener was modeled after Carolyn Marks, a longtime Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood activist.
- First home demolitions in Sullivan’s Gulch and surrounding areas happened in the mid 1950s and 1960s and resulted in the many apartments we still see today.
- Lloyd Center opens in 1960.
- The Fontaine was built in 1963.
- Holladay Park Plaza first phase construction in 1968.
- SGNA Articles of Incorporation were filed with the city and state in 1980 to make Sullivan’s Gulch an official neighborhood with its own neighborhood association. Find it on the SGNA website under the Board menu about SGNA.
- Fred Meyer moved from the Hollywood District to Sullivan’s Gulch in the early 1990’s. The Fred Meyer store replaced the Hyster plant that was on the current property. Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association was very active and helped make the move more friendly by aggressively getting streets blocked at 28th so that racing through the neighborhood could not happen.
Please email me if you have photos and/or information about Sullivan’s Gulch history.
Emily Young at [email protected]