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| Irvington History Pages | ||
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The trolley car made Irvington.
Before automobiles provided nearly universal mobility, the 5 cent
streetcar fare offered ordinary citizens the opportunity to live more
than walking distance from their work, and opened up the
"suburban" areas of Portland east of the Willamette River to
settlement. From its late 19th century beginnings, Irvington was
planned as an upper middle-class residential area. Deed covenants
set minimum values for new homes and imposed other restrictions.
The result was slow but steady growth, and an unusually high quality of
design and construction throughout the area. The full
story of the Irvington Neighborhood is told in Roy E. Roos' book The
History & Development of Portland's Irvington Neighborhood. Mr.
Roos
covers not only the general history of the neighborhood and a number of
its prominent citizens, but also includes detailed lists of homes with
their dates of construction, architects, builders, and early
residents.
At left: the Broadway Trolley in Irvington, 1905 (collection of the
Webmaster)
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In the ICA Business website there is much more information on Irvington's history. |
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