10/07/2026
This c.1900 wrought iron bench is one of our favorite pieces from last week’s purchase of old Portland historic pieces!
The gentleman we purchased it from recounted going to the steel scrap yard with his dad when he was a kid (c.1960) and seeing a huge mangled pile of the benches. His dad paid the crane operator to pull the best one off the pile and they took it home. He seems to recollect that the city may have pulled them out of Washington Park during a revamp.
The bench has its original maker’s tag showing that it was made by Portland Wire & Iron Works which was located roughly in the area of Burnside and Front Street (we found three possible addresses.
There’s a great historic picture of the business when it was at 84 N Second St (and Everett) at oldoregonphotos.com