Ankeny Arcade

Ankeny Arcade. . Dedicated to the memory of Captain Alexander P. Ankeny (1813-1891), promoter of civic amenities and a driving force behind Portland’s early development. Development with profits from wheat and timber during the Gold Rush Era, the City of Portland flourished here in the Skidmore/Old Town Area. By 1860, the early wood-framed buildings were being replaced by “commercial palaces” of brick and cast-iron., To businessmen, cast-iron construction was of obvious advantage, Prefab cast-iron pieces could be erected more quickly by fewer workers and at a lower cost. Massive brick building fronts could be replaced with narrow cast-iron columns, allowing more daylight into interiors. Decorative cast-iron also offered boundless opportunities for business owners to reflect material successes., Captain Ankeny, a representative of this trend, built numerous grand brick and cast-iron buildings, including the Ankeny Block which stood on this site. It was the largest brick building in the state at the time of its completion in 1869. Across First Avenue, the New Market Theater, the city’s most colorful and venerable landmark, remains as a tribute to Ankeny’s development prowess. , Beginning in the 1940’s with the improvement of Front Avenue and the creation of Harbor Drive, scores of cast-iron structures in the area were demolished. In order to enhance Skidmore/Old Town, which was officially designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1978, and to display cast-iron artifacts from the buildings which had been lost, the Portland Development Commission erected Ankeny Arcade in 1978.