Looking southwest at the corner of NE 24th and Fremont, early 1920s. Note delivery bike visible behind power pole. OrHi 49061.

In collaboration with the Alameda Neighborhood Association, I’ll be presenting a local history program Wednesday, March 1st from 7:30-9:00 p.m. at the Fremont United Methodist Church (2620 NE Fremont), and you’re invited (RSVPs required, see below).

Using early maps, documents, photos and newspaper accounts—and memories collected from past residents—we’ll explore how forests and fields defined the landscape of Portland’s eastside. Then, as a young city sprawled across the river, the rural landscape was replaced by a grid of neighborhoods, a busy streetcar system and tens of thousands of new residents. Successive waves of homebuilding and change in the decades that followed shaped the neighborhoods we know today.

This illustrated one-hour program explores the early years of Alameda, Beaumont-Wilshire, Sabin, Vernon, Concordia, and Cully as we examine connections between past, present and future.

To reserve your spot for the March 1 program, e-mail the Alameda Neighborhood Association at alamedanewsletter@gmail.com. Reservation deadline is February 24th. Doors open at 7:00 and the association will have light refreshments on hand.

The Alameda Neighborhood Association is a neighbor-led board that advocates for smart policies, takes action on neighbors’ concerns, facilitates communication about neighborhood issues, hosts events to bring residents together and publishes the quarterly newsletter AlamedaPDX.