Snow Flake Sodas

Pacific Coast Biscuit Company, 1890

"The Home of National Biscuit Co." advertised their soda crackers on the north face of the Pacific Coast Biscuit Company building at NW 11th and Davis. It appears this was painted over with red paint some time in the past; that layer is largely gone and may have served as a protection for the underlying advertising.

"Harmony U-Park-It Garage" offered monthly rates sometime in the past, but rudely covered part of the Snow Flake box. It makes for an interesting history of the building however.

There's also a ghost structure shooting up at a steep angle; perhaps a roofline from a no longer existent adjoining building.

To find this, stand at the entrance to the Bearing Service Co. building at NW 11th and Davis.

2007:

The Milwaukee Road

Prael, Hegele Building, 1906 (Maddox Building)

This should probably be titled Maddox Transfer & Storage Inc. but I'm overloaded with warehouses already and this gives a nod to the Pearl District's roots as a railway hub as well as warehousing and storage area.

This many-layered sign spans decades; the Maddox/Milwaukee Road signs look like they may go back only to the 1970s or 1980s, and they've been cut into for window space. I've seen old photos that show this building face at various times said, "Oregon Transfer Co.," "Pihl Transfer Co.," and "Keith - Wallpaper - Keith." Still a pleasure to look at though.

See this from the corner of NW 12th and Hoyt.

2006:

Occidental Warehouse & Transfer Co. Part 3

Yet another view and set of signs on the old Occidental Warehouse and Transfer Co. building on NW Glisan between 11th and 12th. The pre-demolition photo shows the major structural cracking the building had suffered, necessitating its removal, along with the signs. RIP.

The 1998 photo shows the squeaky-clean Mckenzie Lofts building that replaced it and the low brick building next to it.

The third photo shows the top of the building from a distance. The Gregory is now where the Tire Factory once stood.

See also Occidental Warehouse part 1 and part 2.

1996:

1998:

1996:

Gray-McLean Co.

At least I think it says Gray-McLean Co. It's suffered a lot of damage in the hundred years or so it has been exposed to the weather. The sign has taken a bit of a beating along its left side, and some overall fading, in the last ten years but otherwise is still hanging in there. It's still a nice one to spot if you know where to look; this one is not easily seen by the casual Pearl stroller. Stand on the raised sidewalk in front of Cargo at NW 13th and Flanders and look south.

1996:
2007:

Carton Service

I suspect this sign, along with the rest of the building, was given a reddish patina to give it a softer aged look. It's nice to see the sign still there, even if the owners did remove some of the paint in the process, although it looked like a modern re-paint anyway. It certainly harkens back to the area's industrial roots and its many warehouses. See this on the corner of NW 13th and Hoyt.

1996:
2006:

Simon Building

Simon Building, C. 1907

Trees are growing up to obscure the view, but this building on the corner of NW 13th and Glisan is nicely restored and the signs are weathering well. Each floor had a painted band advertising products; restaurant, steamship & institutional supplies, and kitchen equipment, including silverware, glassware, sinks, dishwashers, mixers, choppers, waffle irons, toasters and slicers. 19th Century one-stop-shopping!

1996:
2006:
It's best viewed from the parking lot across NW 13th.
2007:

Occidental Warehouse & Transfer Co. Part 2

"Every Package Tightly Sealed" is my guess as to what this originally said. This was on the west-facing wall of the Occidental Warehouse building. A couple of years later the Gallery 114 parking area faced a newer, yet less interesting, wall. This is on NW Glisan between 11th and 12th.

1996:
1998:

Pacific Coast Stam...

Pacific Coast Stamping? Pacific Coast Stamp Works? We may never know. This nice lettering was uncovered during the 1997 refurbishing of the building on NW Everett between 11th and 12th. Its old character was lost in 1998 when a bland steel-grey paintjob covered it up again.

1997:
1998:

Holman Warehouse

The roof and part of the sign had already been removed by the time I took this photo in 1996. A few days later and it was gone forever. The 10th@Hoyt apartment building now occupies the spot.

1996:

Occidental Warehouse & Transfer Co.

The Occidental Warehouse and Transfer Co. sign was on the south-facing side of the building that took up the quarter block on the southwest corner of NW 12th and Glisan. It was demolished in 1996 to make way for the Mckenzie Lofts (and Starbucks).

The peaked building front in the foreground is the AIA Center for Architecture building, formerly the S.K. Josefsberg Studio.
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1996:

2006:

Here's a view looking northeast from the corner of NW 12th and Flanders. The white brick building in the foreground was also demolished, making way for the Mckenzie Lofts which take up the western half of the block:

1996:

Pep Plant Food

It's probably a good thing this building on the southwest corner of NW 13th and Marshall was torn down March 12, 2007; from the looks of it, it was only a matter of time before it became a large pile of bricks on its own.

"Pep Plant Food" and "Feed Concentrates" signs were still very visible on the east face, while other signs (above second and third floors) were too faded to read or had been painted over in the past.

2006:
The front (north) was in much the same condition.
2006:
Years of weathering rendered the south-facing backside indecipherable.
2002:
This block and the adjacent block to the east (NW 12th to 14th between Lovejoy and Marshall) is to become a Safeway store, retail, parking and residence buildings.

The Modern Confectionery Co.

Modern Confectionery Building, 1907

Both the building and sign are aging well on the corner of NW 13th and Hoyt. "The Modern Confectionery Co." and "Famous Brand Hams and Bacon" have suffered only minor fading over the last decade.

1996:

2006:

Beaver Apartments

As with my previous Merchants Shippers Association post, the East-facing side of the same building advertised "The Beaver" apartments and its "newly furnished" rooms. "Electric Lights, Hot Water & All Modern Conveniences." "Rooms 50c, 75c & $1.00." You can't find a deal like that any more.

The sign was actually on the building adjacent to The Beaver Apartments, which occupied the East side of the block at NW 12th and Marshall. The Beaver Apartments building was demolished long before the sign was.

1998:

Merchants Shippers Association

The Merchants Shippers Association warehouse covered the western half-block on NW 13th between Marshall and Northrup. It was demolished in about 2005 to make way for The Wyatt, the largest mixed-use residential project in Portland's Pearl District. The new three story retail building on the southwest corner used recycled red brick from the original building so look closely for specks of paint and you may find all that's left of these signs.

1998:

Machine Work and Painting

Machine Work and Painting was covered by the single-story Metropolitan Presort building on the corner of NW 9th and Glisan for decades. Demolition of the Presort building in 2006 revealed this sign. By 2007 it was covered up by new construction, it's brief time in the sun over.

2006:

National Lead Co.

This great old ad suffered major damage when the building owner cut a window hole through the area but otherwise left it intact. It's suffered some deterioration and fading over the years but still remains a nice example. View this on the corner of NW 13th and Glisan.

1996:

2006:

Collision Auto Works

The Collision Auto Works sign was in pretty bad shape in 1996 when the first photo was taken. By 1998 it had suffered some pretty serious tagging damage. Stand on the corner of NW 12th and Everett and you can see what's left; the graffiti is covered over so the original ad is just about gone from view.

1996:

1998:

2007:

I don't expect the West Bearing & Parts shop to be there much longer. It's empty and property values are just too high for a worn out old one story building.

U.S. Royal Master

This was a beauty. It was on the corner of NW 10th and Flanders. It came down in about 1998 with the construction of The Gregory condo/loft building.

1996:

Pacific Coast Biscuit Company

One of the oddest ads featured a giant swastika on the side of a parking garage on the corner of NW 11th and Davis. Originally an ad for the Pacific Coast Biscuit Company which was housed in this building, this startling 10-foot symbol of their Swastika Biscuits eluded the attention of passers-by who kept their eyes to the ground. I can't make out what was painted in the large block at lower-right. Multiple paint coats over the years made it unreadable.

In 1996, the building looked like this:


"U-um - but they are good - so deliciously crisp and fresh. These are the biscuits sold under the 'Good Luck' seal. Aren't the grahams of this brand wonderfully good for children?

"Swastika Crackers are good for everybody. Honey and graham flour, that's about all there's in them. We use a package a day. You'll enjoy them." -1916 newspaper advertisement.

The building is sanitized now, even the neighboring building that housed part of the brewery (the blue part in the photo above) was replaced with a shiny new building, cutting off most of the view of the garage from its old vantage point.

2006: