On March 24, 1924 KFOH began operation on 1060kc. KFOH was owned by The Radio Bungalow (Eric H. Chambers). Studio & transmitter were located at 1209 S.E. Taggert St.(41st & Taggert). The apparatus was the old KGN, formally 7XF.(Oregon's first broadcasting station). Mr. Chambers second business, a retail radio shop "The Radio Doctor" was also located at The Radio Bungalow. Programming included: music, market reports & general entertainment. KFOH's short history ended on May 27, 1924, when it's license expired.

I suppose it doesn't really matter but, in the interest of accuracy, how can 1209 SE Taggart be on 41st and Taggart? Wouldn't it be on 12th and Taggart? Was there a change in the streets at some point in the past?

I wondered about that my self! Unless the numbers were changed, or run the other way. I was tempted to drive out and see. It could have been a type-O on the stations part or the GOV.

Taggart is somewhere around the 3000 block so that wouldn't work either.

There is another stretch of Taggart from 38th to about 46th. Then it picks up again at 62nd. I know there was a major reworking of street names and numbers in the early '30s when the quadrant system as we know it today was established throughout the city. How this might have affected Taggart I don't know.

When I said that Taggart was around the 3000 block, what I meant was that is its designation. Division is usually 2500 with Powell at 3500 and Taggart falls somewhere between them.

I haven't had a chance to look up the exact details since the thread started, but here's the general story:

When Portland was originally numbered, there were about 4 blocks per 100 numbers, unlike today's 1 block per 100. It wasn't changed until a "Great Renumbering" sometime in the late 1920's and early 1930's. This also renamed some streets, since there were some duplicates as towns named Portland and East Portland and Albina and St. Johns and Sellwood all merged into one at various times between 1902 and 1930 or so. So 100 SW Broadway would have been 4 blocks from 200 SW Broadway, and so on.

Hope this helps some.

Bryan

Thanks Bryan, now we're up to 48th and Taggart. We're getting closer. By the way, if you use this system and assume it's actually on 41st Avenue rather than Taggart, instead of Burnside, that would put the dividing line somewhere in Vancouver.

If I can put in a word about former address plans...

Whilst the address 1209 is correct for the block of Taggart Street in the year 1924, the directional is actually an anachronism. The following information was gleaned from a slim but valuable volume called "Portland Names and Neighborhoods: Thier Historic Origins", by Eugene E. Snyder, and published by Binford and Mort:

There were approximately 20 "house numbers" available per the block. Bryan's post has the major points correct as to what happened and why renaming/renumbering happened in Portland, so I won't go over that again here. The highest house numbers could be found at the city limits in Sellwood...which were in the 1700 range on the numbered (north-south) streets.

Up until the Great Renaming (approx. 1933-mounting new signs and house numbers employed many Depression-era unemployed), Portland didn't even have the same system of directionals.

The area south of Burnside and west of the river carried no directionals at all. Notably, numbered streets were "Streets", not "Avenues" as we have today. Typical addresses would be "240 Broadway" (which was 7th St before the Broadway Bridge was built), 150 Alder Street, 50 3rd Street.

The area north of Burnside and west of the river carried no directionals on the named streets (which were actually just lettered [A St, B St, etc...] for a time), but all numbered streets that extended north of Ankeny/Burnside were *suffixed* North.
What we call NW 19th Ave today was 19th Street North.

Moving East of the river, things get a little more complicated. When the City of East Portland was merged into the greater municipal entity, most downtown street names were extended to the corresponding streets on the east side (which before were lettered A, B, C, etc). Thus, East Stark, East Morrison, East Yamhill, and so on. Similarly, numbered streets ranging away from the river were prefixed East: East 7th Street, East 12th Street, and so on.

North of the extended address baseline, however, things started to sound really odd. Whilst any (what we would today call) NW street name was extended across the river, they are still simply prefixed East (East Irving, East Glisan). As on the west side, however, the numbereds running north of Burnside became *suffixed* North, while retaining their East *pre*fix. Thus, what we know today as, example, NE 12th Ave, would have been called East 12th Street North.

Moreover, any street name not extended from the city center (and here's where Taggart comes in) carried *no* directional, prefix or suffix, at all. Killingsworth Street was just that, as was Division Street (Section Line Road), Holgate St (not boulevard), and our old friend, Taggart.

This radio station's address would have been expressed as "1209 Taggart St". No "SE". At least not yet.

One wonders what such a person would think of our sprawling address system today, which encompasses all three Oregon-side Metropolitan counties.

Ever wonder what the biggest-numbered avenue in the greater Portland area is?

It's east of Sandy, north of Highway 26, off Coalman Road via Baty Rd. It's SE 502nd Avenue. You can find it in the Thomas Guide.

I've always wondered what the biggest numbered street was around here. You don't see five thousand ave very often I do want to know who came up with our numbered system. I like it. I've never lived anywhere else, but I imagine it's not as straightforward in other cities like it is in Potown.

Don't know who changed the Portland addresses but it took place in 1932.

Prior to the number system change:
20 numbers per block.
Ankeny was starting point for numbers on N-S streets. The river and Interstate Ave were starting point for numbers on E-W streets.
West side streets did not use SW, NW or W prefix/suffix.
N-S numbered streets on west side north of Ankeny just had N for suffix (Example 10th St. N.).
N-S numbered streets on west side south of Ankeny had no directional prefix or suffix (Example 10th St.).
N-S numbered streets on east side south of Ankeny has E prefix (Example E. 39th St.)
N-S numbered streets on east side north of Ankeny had E profix and N suffix (Example E. 39th St. N.)
E-W streets on west side had no prefix or suffix.
E-W streets on east side also has no prefix or suffix EXCEPT if same street was on both sides of river, then it had East prefix.

The area South of Division and East of 41st had a different system of 100 numbers per block, and used SE Suffix. Also, the E-W streets are called "Avenues" in this SE area and had numbers instead of names. Example is Taggart which becomes 28th Ave. SE. (east of 41st St.).
If you lived on 50th a bit south of Powell, you might have been at the corner of 50th St. SE and 50th Ave. SE.!
Confused?
There were many other rules also.
The St. Johns area also had its own numbering 100 per block.