Forgotten Places

[Brooksie]

Recently I had been thinking about a place that I had eaten at in the early 90's it was a big huge old time Ferry Boat, turned into a restaurant parked on the Willamette River and it was called the River Queen so I wondered if it was even around and I decided to investigate. I found out it is several miles out of town just sitting around and decaying and it is for sale. Originally the River Queen started out as the SS Shasta and was from San Francisco and was used as a Ferry Boat that was built in 1922.

Here is a link with pictures, the history and all about it now: http://www.evergreenfleet.com/shasta.html

Here is a picture of the River Queen when I went there to eat:

This thread is for others to share places (art deco and golden era) that they remember at some point in their lives that are no longer around. I tried to find a thread such as this and did not find it so if there is one please merge it.

Brooksie

 

[Brooksie]

Next forgotten place

This next one has not been forgotten by everybody because it is a chain so rather than it being forgotten it just does not exist any more at least here in Portland -

Trader Vic's Tiki Bar & Restaurant opened in Portland Oregon in 1959 it was located in the Benson Hotel at 309 SW Broadway. I am not exactly sure when they closed here, possibly late 90's or early in 2000.

Durring the Tiki Culture fad of the 50's and 60's as many as 25 Trader Vic's restaurants were in operation around the world. In the 80's & 90's the chain began to shrink as a new generation of people had little or no connection to the restaurants tiki theme. Poor locations or less trendy addresses took a toll on the chains popularity. Many of the locations have since closed, however Trader Vic's is experiencing a resurgence. Currently twenty-five locations exist around the globe today equaling the previous chain record plus more will be opening soon.

Here are a couple of pics -

This is a postcard from the Portland location

Here is a match book also from the Portland location

If anybody knows of any forgotten places or places that do not exist anylonger please share. I know of some others in my area but it would be nice to see some others from different parts of the USA or world.

 

[Big Man]

Great idea for a thread. :eusa_clap

One place that comes to my mind right off is the old S&W Cafeteria in Asheville, NC. The S&W opened in 1929 and remained in operation in a beautiful Art Deco building until 1974.

During the 1960's, our family went to Asheville about once a month and we always ate at the S&W. I have very fond memories of going through the big brass revolving door, passing by a huge set of scales where my Dad and I would always check our weight (Dad weighed around 320 and those were the only scales where he could weigh), and walking down the line of little "key locks" (don't know a better way of describing it) when the men would place their hat and lock it securely. Then we'd head down the serving line where there would be the greatest assortment of food possible (hey, it didn't take much to impress a kid back then ). At the end of the line there would be waiting several uniformed people who would carry your tray to the table. I recall we always got the same lady to carry our tray and developed a long-time friendship with her (sending her Christmas cards well into her old age).

The old S&W building stood mostly vacant on and off from 1974 until just recently. My wife and I were in Asheville a month or so ago and, to our great surprise, discovered the building now housed a very up-scale restaurant. One day when I win the lottery, I'll go there to eat (yeah, it's that up-scale). [huh]

This grand old building and the old S&W Cafeteria hold so many fond memories from my childhood. Even though the cafeteria that sold "good food at a reasonable price" is long gone, the building still has the same look inside and out. It is, indeed, a grand old building.

 

[Brooksie]

Thank you Big Man for contributing, it is great to find out about the history of this grand old building and also it is nice that you shared the memories you had of the place.

Brooksie

 

[Brooksie]

Yet another forgotten place in my neck of the woods: Vanport.

Vanport City used to be right in between the Portland city boundary and the Columbia River. It was constructed in 1943 to house workers at the war time shipyards in Portland OR and Vancouver WA. Vanport was home to 40,000 people, making it Oregon's second largest city at the time.

Vanport was dramatically destroyed at 4:05 PM on May 30, 1948 when a 200 ft (61m) section of dike holding back the Columbia River collapsed during a flood, killing 15. The city was under water by night fall leaving its inhabitants homeless. The city was never rebuilt and no longer exists.

Vanport flood of 1948

Brooksie