Swimmers at Windemuth. Angelus Studio photographs, 1880s-1940s, University of Oregon, Oregon Digital. PH037_b012_AG00052
News just in from the Oregon Encyclopedia that our entry on Portland’s once-great swimming platform afloat in the Willamette River known as Windemuth, and its on-shore predecessor Bundy’s Baths, has been published. Here’s a link, go take a look. If you haven’t seen the Oregon Encyclopedia before, better bookmark it. The OE is a great source of information on all things Oregon.
We’ve written a few other OE entries that may be of interest, including the Alameda neighborhood, the Tillamook Burn, a short bio on State Forester J.E. Schroeder, and the Tillamook Forest Center.
Prior to the mid-1920s, during days like the recent heat wave, this stretch of the Willamette River just downstream from Ross Island was a haven for Portlanders trying to stay cool and have fun. In July 1924, swimmers were ordered out of the river due to serious health and water quality conditions due to the accumulation of raw sewage routinely discharged into the river. An eerie parallel to the recent blue-green algae outbreak in the same area.
If you’re hungry to read more about Bundy’s and Windemuth, check out our past posts on the topics:
100-year-old photos of the Willamette River in downtown
Lost Windemuth: The Swimmerless River
Bundy’s: Portland’s favorite swimming hole
Visualizing the landscape of Bundy’s
Alameda Old House History 
Wow, I have never heard about either of these venues. so it was exciting to read about both of them (and to see the great photographs). Once again, thank you.
As ever, good work.
Thanks!
Thank you for capturing this fascinating piece of history for your readers. I love the Willamette and wish I had more confidence in its cleanliness. I loved reading about the swim clubs and activities back in the 1800s and 1900s.