Built 1872
50 SW Second Avenue

Architects: Piper & Burton
Cast-Iron Manufacturer: Unknown

Regarded as among the most significant of the remaining buildings representing the early history of Portland, New Market was once heralded as “the” high class theater north of San Francisco. Once the hub of social and daily life in the region, the theater was built for $100,000 by prominent entrepreneurs Captain A. P. Ankeny and Andrew Watson. The lavish 1,200 seat theater was housed on the second and third floors and the building included the covered 200-foot arcade and public market on the main level. The market was lined with 28 marble produce stalls. Much of the exterior that includes both brick and iron work is intact and well preserved. The massive iron columns range from restrained classicism with Corinthian columns with double scrolls and acanthus leaves (upper portion) to geometric eclecticism (lower portion). The work is intricate and well crafted but the iron manufacturer remains a mystery.

Photographs by Kevin Costello