The History of Sullivan’s Gulch
by William Elder (2006)
with gratitude to the Oregon Historical Society
with gratitude to the Oregon Historical Society
At the beginning of the 21st century residents of Portland have different perceptions of what Sullivan’s Gulch is when asked. For some it represents the gulch itself while for others it is a small and unique neighborhood. The truth is that both are correct. The modern day Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood is defined by NE 15th to the West, NE 28th to the East, NE Broadway to the North, and I-84 to the South, which runs through what is the gulch.
Sullivan’s Gulch has transformed itself many times since gaining its name when Timothy Sullivan and his wife settled there in 1851. This was the same year that the city of Portland was officially founded. Timothy Sullivan was an immigrant from Ireland who had traveled to Tasmania. There he met his wife Margaret and they married before traveling to the United States. Once here in the U.S. they submitted a claim for land in what was an area well outside of early Portland’s city limits. Their total claim was for 320 acres, and was bound by the modern day streets of NE 18th, NE 28th, NE Halsey, and SE Stark. The gulch then was a dense fir forest like much of the area around Portland at that time and people of the period recalled how wild the wilderness was outside of Portland’s limits. (Snyder)
As Portland grew and the cities of East Portland and Albina were founded in 1870 and 1887 respectively, locals would travel to Sullivan’s Gulch as a picnic getaway. Sullivan’s Gulch still had its fir forests even as the areas around had been cleared for farming and housing. Visitors who traveled up the gulch from the banks of the Willamette River would find a nice spot near the Sullivan’s cabin where they could spend the day. At this site, where present day NE 19th would meet the southern slope of the gulch, there was a small waterfall referred to as Sullivan’s Spring, and a pond. (Journal 1950) At times when the Willamette River would flood, the water would back up into Sullivan’s Gulch to what is now NE 15th. When the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co built its railroad through the gulch in 1881 the lower part was filled in to prevent flooding.
In 1871 George Weidler, John H. Mitchell, and Samuel M. Smith platted the Holladay’s Addition named after Ben Holladay who they were associates of. This was the area just north of Sullivan’s Gulch. Just a few years later Irvington would be platted and the two neighborhoods would grow with a small commercial area between them on NE Broadway. (Staehli 1975) The remainder of the 19th century would show development in the Holladay’s Addition, but the influx of new residents brought into Portland by the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition ensured large-scale commitment to development in the neighborhood. This was a time of prosperity in Portland and followed the unification of the cities of East Portland and Albina with Portland in 1891. As the city experienced one of its largest building booms, trolley lines and bridges expanded to service the East Side of Portland. (Abbott 1981)
Holliday’s Addition began to fill with large homes to accommodate many upper class and wealthy residents that sought some distance from the central city. This was made possible by the streetcars that served the suburbs of Holliday’s Addition and Irvington. One line ran down Multnomah St. from Grand Ave. and turned north on NE 15th, while another ran down NE Broadway to NE 22th where it too turned northbound. Like our modem-day suburbs, Holliday’s Addition had pockets of homes surrounded by blocks of undeveloped land. This would not last for long as the area continued to attract residents. Holladay’s Addition continued to prosper during the early 20th century, and with the growth in use of the automobile, NE Broadway was widened. Eliminating the tree-lined parking strip in order to accommodate the additional traffic transformed the appearance of the street. The neighborhood went from sleepy storefronts and homes to a bustling commercial strip.
It was around this time that people first proposed putting a road through the gulch. In 1927 a letter to the Oregon Journal stated that a road would be much better than ponds for boys to drown in, but Sullivan’s Gulch would survive a little longer before the building of the freeway in 1955.
While NE Broadway was a hub of activity, the gulch was still largely undeveloped and rural in appearance. George Hoerner recalled seeing the boy drown that was referred to in the letter to the Oregon Journal. He also can remember the good time that he and his friends had as boys in the gulch. They would play in the pond and roam trails around the gulch, all against their parent’s wishes. (Oregon Journal 1957)
Bob Frazier was another boy who lived in the neighborhood at this time. Some of his fondest memories were of the No. 17 train that ran through the gulch or using his air gun to try and shoot one of the many pheasants that made the gulch home. Like Hoener, he too recalls the ponds that were in the gulch. Frazier also remembered some of the trees that grew in the gulch that he and his friends would use to hang rope swings from. (Sunday Journal Magazine 1952)
Sullivan’s Gulch offered children a source of recreation, even as the city grew up around them. In many Ways residents had the best of both worlds; the amenities that NE Broadway provided with the access to downtown and open space that the gulch provided as a retreat from development.
The Great Depression would change the role Sullivan’s Gulch had for the community. Like many cities in America, Portland would get its own shantytown or “Hooverville” as they were mockingly referred to as. These communities rose out of a need for housing by those who had been evicted from their residences or were unable to find any employment during the Depression. The Shantytown in Portland was located from under the NE Grand viaduct to a little past the NE 21st viaduct. Although it was made up of makeshift shelters, Shantytown had its own mayor, board of commissioners, and single phone connection. With a population of 333 people the leaders were responsible for enforcing a no-liquor policy and working with local businesses that wanted to donate food and clothing to the residents. In May of 1933 Shantytown’s population had declined to around 140 individuals as many had moved on or found employment through the networks created in the community. (Oregonian 1933) The end of Shantytown came in 1941 when what was left of the community burned down.
By the end of World War II, America had become a mobile society centered on the automobile. To meet this need for mobility and the expanding city limits, Portland looked to plans that had been considered by the Highway Commission in 1926. With the completion of the Banfield Freeway in 1955, Sullivan’s Gulch was transformed forever. The open space that George Hoemer and Bob Frazier had enjoyed as kids made the project that much easier to accomplish. In 1946 The City Club of Portland issued a full report on the advantages of building a highway through the gulch. Reasons cited were its limited development, topography, and a pre-existing rail line. The estimated costs were $8.75 Million. (City Club of Portland 1946) In the end the final costs for the 14-mile freeway would total $15.5 Million. (Oregon Journal 1957) No longer would kids play in the gulch or golfers use the Lloyd golf course that was located between NE 12th and NE 21st. Instead people would soon have a new destination in the area.
In 1905 Ralph B. Lloyd came to Portland and shortly after bought his first piece of land in Holliday’s Addition. After returning to Portland in the 1920’s from a business opportunity in California, Lloyd again started to buy up land in Holliday’s Addition. In 1930 Lloyd announced he was going to build a 24-story hotel in the area, but the Great Depression put a halt to his plans. Over the next two decades the area would be transformed from neighborhood to business district. Lloyd died in 1952 before seeing his dream of a hotel being built on his land. The Sheraton Hotel (now the Doubletree) opened in 1957, shortly after the Banfield was completed. (Oregonian 1975) From 1958 to 1960 work progressed on The Lloyd Center mall and when it finally opened it was billed as the largest shopping center in the world. (Oregonian 1999) Local residents and the rest of Portland now had a modern freeway, hotel, and mall all next to what would soon become the Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood. Another draw to the community before the completion of Tom McCall Waterfront Park was the Rose Festival amusement rides that were located in what is now the Lloyd Center Cinemas parking lot.
In 1979 a few residents of the area got together and with the help of the Office of Neighborhood Associations created the Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association. The creation of the association gave the community a sense of identity and gained great participation from residents. (SGNA 1999) Today Sullivan’s Gulch is a unique mix of businesses, apartments, single family historic homes, and some high-rise condominiums. All combine to create one of the most diverse communities in Portland. It is certainly a sight that Timothy Sullivan could never have imagined back in 1851 but a place that he would definitely be proud to call home.
Sources
Abbott, Carl. The Great Extravaganza. Portland OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1981
City Club of Portland. “Sullivan’s Gulch Highway Project” 1946
Frazier, Bob. Column. Sunday Journal Magazine 27 January 1952
“Lloyd Center sprang from 100 years of dreams” Oregonian 27 July 1975
Snyder, Eugene. We Claimed This Land: Portland Pioneer Settlers. Portland OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1989.
Staehli, Alfred. Preservation Options For Portland Neighborhoods. Portland OR: Alfred Staehli AIA, 1975
“How Gulch Got Name” Column. Oregon Journal 26 February 1950
“Mayor of Shantytown Happy as Men Pack Up and Leave for ‘somewhere’” Oregonian 11 May 1933
“Old Sullivan’s Gulch Is Gone — But Memories Linger On” Column. Oregon Journal 24 November 1957
“On one city block, Portland’s past and future meet” Oregonian 23 August 1999
“Our Banfield Cost $1,000,000 a Mile” Oregon Journal 24 November 1957
“Shantytown Takes Stride Ahead Under Guiding Hand of New Mayor” Oregonian 27 February 1933
Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association. “History” Swenson, Dr. Patricia L. 30 March 1999, http://WWW.sulivansgulch.org
Sullivan’s Gulch has transformed itself many times since gaining its name when Timothy Sullivan and his wife settled there in 1851. This was the same year that the city of Portland was officially founded. Timothy Sullivan was an immigrant from Ireland who had traveled to Tasmania. There he met his wife Margaret and they married before traveling to the United States. Once here in the U.S. they submitted a claim for land in what was an area well outside of early Portland’s city limits. Their total claim was for 320 acres, and was bound by the modern day streets of NE 18th, NE 28th, NE Halsey, and SE Stark. The gulch then was a dense fir forest like much of the area around Portland at that time and people of the period recalled how wild the wilderness was outside of Portland’s limits. (Snyder)
As Portland grew and the cities of East Portland and Albina were founded in 1870 and 1887 respectively, locals would travel to Sullivan’s Gulch as a picnic getaway. Sullivan’s Gulch still had its fir forests even as the areas around had been cleared for farming and housing. Visitors who traveled up the gulch from the banks of the Willamette River would find a nice spot near the Sullivan’s cabin where they could spend the day. At this site, where present day NE 19th would meet the southern slope of the gulch, there was a small waterfall referred to as Sullivan’s Spring, and a pond. (Journal 1950) At times when the Willamette River would flood, the water would back up into Sullivan’s Gulch to what is now NE 15th. When the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co built its railroad through the gulch in 1881 the lower part was filled in to prevent flooding.
In 1871 George Weidler, John H. Mitchell, and Samuel M. Smith platted the Holladay’s Addition named after Ben Holladay who they were associates of. This was the area just north of Sullivan’s Gulch. Just a few years later Irvington would be platted and the two neighborhoods would grow with a small commercial area between them on NE Broadway. (Staehli 1975) The remainder of the 19th century would show development in the Holladay’s Addition, but the influx of new residents brought into Portland by the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition ensured large-scale commitment to development in the neighborhood. This was a time of prosperity in Portland and followed the unification of the cities of East Portland and Albina with Portland in 1891. As the city experienced one of its largest building booms, trolley lines and bridges expanded to service the East Side of Portland. (Abbott 1981)
Holliday’s Addition began to fill with large homes to accommodate many upper class and wealthy residents that sought some distance from the central city. This was made possible by the streetcars that served the suburbs of Holliday’s Addition and Irvington. One line ran down Multnomah St. from Grand Ave. and turned north on NE 15th, while another ran down NE Broadway to NE 22th where it too turned northbound. Like our modem-day suburbs, Holliday’s Addition had pockets of homes surrounded by blocks of undeveloped land. This would not last for long as the area continued to attract residents. Holladay’s Addition continued to prosper during the early 20th century, and with the growth in use of the automobile, NE Broadway was widened. Eliminating the tree-lined parking strip in order to accommodate the additional traffic transformed the appearance of the street. The neighborhood went from sleepy storefronts and homes to a bustling commercial strip.
It was around this time that people first proposed putting a road through the gulch. In 1927 a letter to the Oregon Journal stated that a road would be much better than ponds for boys to drown in, but Sullivan’s Gulch would survive a little longer before the building of the freeway in 1955.
While NE Broadway was a hub of activity, the gulch was still largely undeveloped and rural in appearance. George Hoerner recalled seeing the boy drown that was referred to in the letter to the Oregon Journal. He also can remember the good time that he and his friends had as boys in the gulch. They would play in the pond and roam trails around the gulch, all against their parent’s wishes. (Oregon Journal 1957)
Bob Frazier was another boy who lived in the neighborhood at this time. Some of his fondest memories were of the No. 17 train that ran through the gulch or using his air gun to try and shoot one of the many pheasants that made the gulch home. Like Hoener, he too recalls the ponds that were in the gulch. Frazier also remembered some of the trees that grew in the gulch that he and his friends would use to hang rope swings from. (Sunday Journal Magazine 1952)
Sullivan’s Gulch offered children a source of recreation, even as the city grew up around them. In many Ways residents had the best of both worlds; the amenities that NE Broadway provided with the access to downtown and open space that the gulch provided as a retreat from development.
The Great Depression would change the role Sullivan’s Gulch had for the community. Like many cities in America, Portland would get its own shantytown or “Hooverville” as they were mockingly referred to as. These communities rose out of a need for housing by those who had been evicted from their residences or were unable to find any employment during the Depression. The Shantytown in Portland was located from under the NE Grand viaduct to a little past the NE 21st viaduct. Although it was made up of makeshift shelters, Shantytown had its own mayor, board of commissioners, and single phone connection. With a population of 333 people the leaders were responsible for enforcing a no-liquor policy and working with local businesses that wanted to donate food and clothing to the residents. In May of 1933 Shantytown’s population had declined to around 140 individuals as many had moved on or found employment through the networks created in the community. (Oregonian 1933) The end of Shantytown came in 1941 when what was left of the community burned down.
By the end of World War II, America had become a mobile society centered on the automobile. To meet this need for mobility and the expanding city limits, Portland looked to plans that had been considered by the Highway Commission in 1926. With the completion of the Banfield Freeway in 1955, Sullivan’s Gulch was transformed forever. The open space that George Hoemer and Bob Frazier had enjoyed as kids made the project that much easier to accomplish. In 1946 The City Club of Portland issued a full report on the advantages of building a highway through the gulch. Reasons cited were its limited development, topography, and a pre-existing rail line. The estimated costs were $8.75 Million. (City Club of Portland 1946) In the end the final costs for the 14-mile freeway would total $15.5 Million. (Oregon Journal 1957) No longer would kids play in the gulch or golfers use the Lloyd golf course that was located between NE 12th and NE 21st. Instead people would soon have a new destination in the area.
In 1905 Ralph B. Lloyd came to Portland and shortly after bought his first piece of land in Holliday’s Addition. After returning to Portland in the 1920’s from a business opportunity in California, Lloyd again started to buy up land in Holliday’s Addition. In 1930 Lloyd announced he was going to build a 24-story hotel in the area, but the Great Depression put a halt to his plans. Over the next two decades the area would be transformed from neighborhood to business district. Lloyd died in 1952 before seeing his dream of a hotel being built on his land. The Sheraton Hotel (now the Doubletree) opened in 1957, shortly after the Banfield was completed. (Oregonian 1975) From 1958 to 1960 work progressed on The Lloyd Center mall and when it finally opened it was billed as the largest shopping center in the world. (Oregonian 1999) Local residents and the rest of Portland now had a modern freeway, hotel, and mall all next to what would soon become the Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood. Another draw to the community before the completion of Tom McCall Waterfront Park was the Rose Festival amusement rides that were located in what is now the Lloyd Center Cinemas parking lot.
In 1979 a few residents of the area got together and with the help of the Office of Neighborhood Associations created the Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association. The creation of the association gave the community a sense of identity and gained great participation from residents. (SGNA 1999) Today Sullivan’s Gulch is a unique mix of businesses, apartments, single family historic homes, and some high-rise condominiums. All combine to create one of the most diverse communities in Portland. It is certainly a sight that Timothy Sullivan could never have imagined back in 1851 but a place that he would definitely be proud to call home.
Sources
Abbott, Carl. The Great Extravaganza. Portland OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1981
City Club of Portland. “Sullivan’s Gulch Highway Project” 1946
Frazier, Bob. Column. Sunday Journal Magazine 27 January 1952
“Lloyd Center sprang from 100 years of dreams” Oregonian 27 July 1975
Snyder, Eugene. We Claimed This Land: Portland Pioneer Settlers. Portland OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1989.
Staehli, Alfred. Preservation Options For Portland Neighborhoods. Portland OR: Alfred Staehli AIA, 1975
“How Gulch Got Name” Column. Oregon Journal 26 February 1950
“Mayor of Shantytown Happy as Men Pack Up and Leave for ‘somewhere’” Oregonian 11 May 1933
“Old Sullivan’s Gulch Is Gone — But Memories Linger On” Column. Oregon Journal 24 November 1957
“On one city block, Portland’s past and future meet” Oregonian 23 August 1999
“Our Banfield Cost $1,000,000 a Mile” Oregon Journal 24 November 1957
“Shantytown Takes Stride Ahead Under Guiding Hand of New Mayor” Oregonian 27 February 1933
Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association. “History” Swenson, Dr. Patricia L. 30 March 1999, http://WWW.sulivansgulch.org