The Oregonian Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Oregonian Building |
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The Oregonian Building circa 1912
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| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Type | Primarily office |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| Location | 135 SW 6th St. (old system) 537 SW 6th Ave. (new system) |
| Town or city | Portland, Oregon |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 45°31′12″N 122°40′42″W / 45.519992°N 122.678415°W |
| Opened | 1892 |
| Demolished | 1950 |
| Cost | $690,000 (equivalent to $22.5 million in 2022 ) |
| Owner | The Oregonian Publishing Company |
| Height | 194 feet (59 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Brick over steel frame |
| Floor count | 13 (9 in main portion) |
| Floor area | Approx. 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | James W. Reid and Merritt J. Reid |
| Architecture firm | Reid Brothers |
The Oregonian Building was a famous building in downtown Portland, United States. It was the main office for Portland's biggest newspaper, The Oregonian, from 1892 to 1948. This building was special because it was the first steel-framed building ever built in the Western U.S. When it opened, it was also the tallest building in Portland until 1911.
Besides the newspaper's offices and printing machines, the building also became home to Portland's first commercial radio station, KGW, in 1922. This radio station was owned by the same company that owned The Oregonian. Later, in 1933, another radio station called KEX joined KGW in new studios inside the building.
Sadly, a fire in 1943 forced the radio stations to move out. The newspaper company sold the building in 1947 because they needed a bigger place. In 1948, The Oregonian newspaper moved to a brand new building, which was also called the Oregonian Building. The old 1892 building, with its famous clock tower, was empty for about two years. It was then torn down in 1950.
Building History and Design
The Oregonian newspaper started way back in 1850. In 1878, its offices moved into a new brick building. This building, and the one before it, were both called the Oregonian Building. This tradition continued with the next buildings too.
In 1890, the Oregonian Publishing Company started building a much larger headquarters. They needed more space because the newspaper was growing fast. The new Oregonian Building was located at the corner of Southwest Sixth and Alder streets. The main part of the building was nine stories tall, about 134 ft (41 m) high. But it also had a tower that went up another 60 feet. This tower had a large clock with faces on all four sides, located above the 11th floor.
The building's total height was 194 ft (59 m). This made it the tallest building in Portland until the Yeon Building was finished in 1911. It was also the "first steel-framed skyscraper west of Chicago" when it was built. The building covered an area of 100 by 100 feet (30 m × 30 m). It had about 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of floor space, including the basement.
The building was designed by two architects, James W. Reid and Merritt J. Reid, from the Reid Brothers company. The design style was Romanesque Revival, which is a type of architecture that looks back to old Roman styles. Above the clock, there was an open area called a belfry with balconies, where the clock's bells were kept. The clock itself was made by E. Howard & Co. and cost $1,845.
The first two floors of the building were covered in red sandstone. The floors above were covered in buff brick and terra cotta. The main entrance, on Alder Street, was made of light-rose marble. Inside, the first floor and main stairway used a lot of Italian white marble.
The newspaper staff started moving into the new building in January 1892. However, some parts of the building, especially the upper floors, weren't fully finished until 1893. New, modern printing presses were put in the building's basement. This meant they didn't need to move the old presses. After the building was finished, some of the extra space was rented out to other businesses. These included a drug store, a shoe store, and offices for companies like Equitable Life Assurance. When the building first opened, it was a bit outside the main business area. But over time, downtown Portland grew westward, and the building became more central.
From 1892 to 1902, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's official weather recording station for Portland was located in the Oregonian Building. The U.S. Weather Bureau was in the building's tower.
The Oregonian also owned another newspaper called the Evening Telegram. This paper was published from the 1892 building until it was sold in 1914. The Oregonian Building lost its title as Portland's tallest building in 1911. That's when the 198-foot-tall (60 m) Yeon Building was completed.
In the early 1920s, a jewelry store on the ground floor had to move. The newspaper needed the space for a huge new three-story printing press. This new press started working in 1923. In 1930, a giant neon sign that said "The Oregonian" was put on the building. It was 90 ft (27 m) tall and 11.5 ft (3.5 m) wide. The company that made it thought it was the biggest sign of its kind in the U.S. at the time.
KGW and KEX Radio Stations
In 1922, the Oregonian Publishing Company started Portland's first commercial radio station with regular broadcasts, called KGW (620 AM). This made The Oregonian the first newspaper on the West Coast to own its own radio station.
The radio studios were on the 11th floor, in the building's tower. The transmitter (the equipment that sends out the radio signal) was on the 13th floor, above the big clock. The first test broadcast happened on March 23, 1922, and regular broadcasting began on March 25.
At first, the aerials (radio antennas) were attached to a flagpole on the roof. But later that year, the station got bigger and more powerful equipment. In October, an 86-foot-tall (26 m) antenna tower was built on top of the Oregonian Building's tower. Another 98-foot-tall (30 m) tower was built on top of the nearby Northwestern National Bank Building. KGW's antenna was then connected to a cable between these two rooftop towers. In February 1926, KGW moved to bigger studios on the 7th and 8th floors.
In 1933, the newspaper bought another radio station, KEX. It moved KEX into the Oregonian Building in 1934. At that time, KEX was the most powerful radio station in Oregon. It broadcast at 5,000 Watts. KEX moved to the 7th floor and shared space with KGW. Both stations were connected with NBC at that time.
Sadly, the broadcast studios were destroyed in a fire in 1943. Both radio stations had to move to other buildings, though the transmitter stayed. They never returned to the old Oregonian Building. However, in 1948, KGW (which was still owned by the newspaper) did move into the new Oregonian Building.
Moving Out and Demolition
In 1892, The Oregonian newspaper printed about 13,000 copies daily. By 1940, this had grown a lot: 138,472 copies on weekdays and 167,210 on Sundays. The Oregonian had once again become too big for its space. So, in 1944, the company started planning for a new building. Just like in 1892, this move was also a chance to get newer, more powerful printing presses.
The new Oregonian Building, built in 1948, was located seven blocks south of the old one. It faced Southwest Broadway and took up an entire city block. The newspaper staff moved to the new building in June 1948. The new printing press started working on June 7, 1948. At the time of the move, 842 Oregonian employees worked in the old building. The old Oregonian Building's large clock was turned off on July 30, 1948, and never worked again.
The old building and its land were sold in December 1947 for $800,000. This was to a company called Store Properties, Inc. However, after the newspaper and other businesses moved out, the building stayed empty. In 1950, its new owners decided to tear it down. The demolition took six months and was finished in November 1950. In 1951, a new two-story retail building was built on the site.
The large clock from the tower was sold to an engineer. He moved it to Oregon State College and used it to teach students. But by the late 1950s, the clock came back to Portland. It joined the collection of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). It was still in OMSI's collection in January 2019, but it had recently been moved from its long-time display area.
See also
In Spanish: The Oregonian Building para niños
