Portland Then/Now: Southwest Park Avenue & Taylor Street

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Byron Beck, GoLocalPDX Features Editor

SW Park

SW Park Avenue and Yamhill St., 1964. City of Portland Archives. A2010-002.982

SW Park

SW Park Avenue and Yamhill St., 2014. Photo by Byron Beck.

Recently GoLocalPDX shared photographs of Southwest Yamhill Street in 1964 and 2014.

The following photos show a different perspective of Southwest Yamhill Street from the corner of Park Avenue looking west in 1964 and 50 years later in 2014.

THEN: The sign above the gentleman's head is for Embers, a nightclub and one of only a handful of gay-friendly watering holes in Portland at that time.

On the upper left side is the five-story Pythian Building, built in the early 1900's and which still stands today. In 1964 the main floor was the site of Semler Hearing Aid Service.

NOW: The building currently being constructed on the right will soon be the Park Avenue West Tower. This 30-story, 546,000 square foot mixed-use development is Portland’s newest tower and will include 13 stories of office space, 15 floors of residential units, and feature unobstructed, 360-degree views from virtually every floor. When it is completed, Park Avenue West will be Portland’s third tallest building.

Located on the eastbound MAX Light Rail Line, the Pythian Building is surrounded by restaurants (two Elephant's Deli locations) shops (Nordstroms and The Real Mother Goose) and Directors Park. For many years the Pythian's primary tenant on the first floor was Art Media. It is now home to Japanese-based outfitter Mont Bell. The Pythian is also home to various arts and culture outlets including Conduit Dance.