The Development, Heyday, and Recession of Milwaukie’s Downtown

Modern day Milwaukie, Oregon, sits beside a wide curve in the Willamette River less than 10 miles south of downtown Portland.  The site of the town was originally home to the Clackamas Indian Tribe, who thrived off of the salmon from the river and the currant and salmonberry bushes that grew in the shadows of pine, fir, cedar and oak trees that covered the landscape. The first non-native inhabitant of Milwaukie was Lot Whitcomb, who in 1845 traveled from Wisconsin to Oregon to establish a sawmill after he read reports of dense woods in the area. His sawmill turned out to be a great success, and soon a community began to grow in the area.  He named the new city after Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As Whitcomb continually made efforts on behalf of Milwaukie to compete with growing Oregon City and Portland, he soon set his sights on building steam ships. He commissioned his first ship in in 1850, naming it ‘Lot Whitcomb’ after himself. His ship connected passengers and goods from Oregon City all the way to Astoria, and contributed substantially to the prosperity of the young town. By 1850, just a few years after Whitcomb arrived, the town boasted over 500 citizens.

During the late 19th and early 20th century, Milwaukie’s economy grew from the development of the sawmill, steam ship travel, ship manufacturing, flour and grain mills, leather trade, agriculture, as well as small businesses to help sustain the growing city. In 1892, an electric railway was constructed that connected Oregon City to Portland, featuring a stop on Milwaukie’s Main Street. The streetcar brought Milwaukie into the 20th century, along with four-lane McLoughlin Boulevard, which replaced Front street in 1937. These transportation developments contributed substantially to the shifting and focusing of Milwaukie’s downtown to Main Street.

In the 1940’s until the 1970’s, Main Street was a lively downtown area that provided a wide range of services to the people of Milwaukie including grocery, hardware, furniture and departments stores as well as many restaurants and cafes. Main Street area was a cultural center for celebrations and parades, such as the Milwaukie Centennial Parade of 1950 and the Milwaukie Boy Scouts Parade of 1948. Local businesses such as Olsen’s 5 & 10, Perry’s Pharmacy, Hamilton’s Home Furnishings, and Milwaukie Pastry Kitchen, the first African-American owned bakery in Oregon, were celebrated and advertised in local newspapers. New buildings like the Victory Theater (now Wonderland Cinema), the KeyBank building, and City Hall were constructed during this time, adding a sense of vibrancy and prosperity to the downtown area.

 

Since the 1980’s, Milwaukie’s Main Street has had a similar fate to many other small towns’ downtown areas. Small businesses were out-priced by larger stores on the peripheries of the city, forcing them to relocate or close. The tax assessment record for 10851 SE Main describes the building as being in a state of “heavy economic obsolescence reflected in low rents”.  Many of these spaces that used to provide retail goods for local citizens  now provide low-rent spaces for contract services like commercial windows, dentistry, or attorney’s offices.

However, from steam ships, to electric trolleys, to McLoughlin Boulevard, Milwaukie has thrived on up-to-date transportation systems. In 2015, local transportation provider Trimet installed a light rail train that connect Portland to south Milwaukie, stopping at Milwaukie Main Street Station on the way. The station is south of the historic downtown area on the corners of SE 21st Avenue and Lake Road, and the surrounding blocks have seen a significant increase in businesses, including the ever-present Portland food cart hub. It is evident that this new transportation system will bring renewed interest and investment in Milwaukie’s downtown. This new attention calls for a look into the history of Main Street and the merits of its architecturally rich built environment, which showcases the full spectrum of 20th century commercial architecture. Take a Virtual Tour of Main Street Milwaukie  to learn more!

 

Sources

Newspaper clippings from the Milwaukie Historical Society.

Olson, Charles Oluf. The History of Milwaukie, Oregon. Milwaukie: Milwaukie Historical Society, 1965.

Tax Assessment Records from the Clackamas County Assessor’s Office, c. 1990.

Unknown. As We Remember It. Milwaukie: First State Bank of Milwaukie, c. 1958.

 

Photographs from Hannah Wells, Milwaukie City Hall Recording Office.