1932_ExistingTransitRoutes.jpg

A superb diagram of streetcar lines in Portland’s central business district, produced for a City Planning Commission report on street and waterfront development. The date of January 20, 1932 corresponds to the day that Harland Bartholomew presented the plan to the City Council.

Of note is the extension the Williams Avenue line all the way through downtown and out to NW Portland via Washington, 16th and Thurman.

At this point in time, there were only two bus routes that entered the downtown area – Sam Jackson (JP) and Powell Boulevard (PB), which was the replacement service for the Brooklyn streetcar line. The diagram neatly groups the lines by the bridge that they use to serve downtown, as follows:

Broadway Bridge

Broadway (BW), Mississippi Avenue (MA), St. Johns (SJ)

Steel Bridge

Alberta (AB), Irvington-Jefferson (IJ), Vancouver (VC), Williams Avene (WA), Woodlawn (WL)

Burnside Bridge

Beaumont (BM), Rose City (RC)

Morrison Bridge

Montavilla (MV), Mount Tabor (MT)

Hawthorne Bridge (all standard-gauge lines)

Hawthorne (HA), Mount Scott (MS), Richmond (RM), Sellwood (SW), Woodstock (WS), all interurban lines

West on NW 16th Avenue and Thurman

North & South Portland (NS), Williams Avenue (WA)

West on NW 19th Avenue and Glisan

Willamette Heights (WH), Westover (WO)

West on Burnside

Council Crest (CC), Twenty-third (23)