[An historic souvenir photo album featuring 124 original silver gelatin photographs meticulously documenting the transformation of the Port of Astoria into a major deepwater shipping terminal,

Item Details

[Astoria, OR]:, W.W. Clark [Contractor & Construction Co.],, [1914-1916]., Hardcover Post-binder

N/A, VG

Oblong 4to. 12 x 8.75 in. [88 leaves (unnumbered).], with 124 mounted silver gelatin photographs, sized from 5 x 7 in. up to 8 x 10 in., nearly all w/ specific location, details, and dates w/in negatives at lower fore-edges, w/ most leaves featuring 2 photos mounted to horizontal orientation on each recto. Original half-calf Pacific Stationery & Printing Co. post-binder, two brass screwposts at gutter margin (occasional rippling & thumbing to fore-edges of album leaves, a few photos w/ slight over-exposure, minor bumping at corners), still a VG exemplar, w/ ownership marking on ffep.

This apparently unique souvenir photo album was prepared by the famed contractor carefully visually documenting the modernization and infrastructure of the Port of Astoria, Oregon, following its establishment just four years before in order to provide critical infrastructure to compete with Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma as fast expanding deepwater commercial ports. These images depict the driving of the first pilings in January, 1914, arrival of the Dredge Washington in September, 1914; the massive construction project and logs in order to build first Pier 1, as well as the firewall, foundations for bulkhead, sheet piling, anchors, new slips, and construction equipment. By December, 1914 the photos indicate the beginnings of the construction of Pier 2; steam cranes and equipment working on the bulkheads, beginnings of the tile walls; and panoramic birds-eye views from the nearby hillsides of the progressing work.

By February, 1915 Clark’s crews had begun erecting the brick masonry buildings on Pier 2, using terra cotta brick tiles supplied by the National Fire Proofing Co. in order to cut down on fire risk from  the tremendous amount of timber used in construction. Other photos show the laying of water supply and sewage pipes, power, three rail tracking for trolleys & rail lines on Pier two; installation of Fenestra Steel Monilor Sashes for windows in warehouses, and a marvelous shot of the “Chief” pile driver for the J.A. McEachern Co. Contractors driving the last brace pile May 2, 1915. Following the photo series detailing the fill sand behind the piers from dredging near Alameda Ave., there are photos showing the rock delivered through the dredge as well, the Herringbone tracks added for rail access to the massive warehouses, and finally views of the finished piers, Port of Astoria, with shipping docking alongside. The album closes with the significant project for introducing the massive grain elevator silos, flourmill, and other attributes to contribute to the project. 

At the outbreak of World War I, Astoria had improved its commercial maritime shipping capacity, improved infrastructure tremendously to take advantage of shipping, but in 1919 following World War I, shipbuilding companies, and other export industries suffered along with the rest of the Pacific Northwest in a deep economic depression, as well as plunge in demand for logs and overseas shipping demand. Although logging and salmon canning would continue to be vibrant, the Port of Astoria never achieved close to the volume of any of the other Pacific Northwest deepwater ports, including Portland, Tacoma, or Seattle. Clark (1863-1935) was perhaps one of the most significant large project contractors in the West Coast. He constructed the Bell Street Terminal in Seattle, WA; oversaw the laying of tracks for the Great Northern RR, and Milwaukee RR West of the Cascades; built the bridges on the Pacific Highway Cut-off between Everett, WA & Marysville, WA, and also oversaw for the Moran Brothers shipyard in Seattle the construction of the Battleship Nebraska BB-14, a 14,948-ton Virginia Class battleship.