7815 NE Glisan – Montavilla News

On Wednesday, August 23rd, crews working for the owner of 7815 NE Glisan Street removed the entire sidewalk in front of the 100-year-old building. Over the next few days, cement masons will reconstruct all 50 feet of the pedestrian zone, including a single curb cut providing access to the driveway along the property’s eastern edge.

Recently, Portland City officials identified possible trip hazards requiring repair on this section of sidewalk, and they notified the building’s owner that he would need to address those issues. Root growth from mature street trees planted in the landscape/furniture zone caused the sidewalk to lift and crack in some places, creating an uneven surface. City code requires landowners to maintain the sidewalk adjacent to a property, while city-contracted crews often perform corner reconstruction. The city does not require complete walkway replacement for most tree root damage, and many people in similar situations opt to repair just the damaged segment. However, the building’s owner, Chris Chase, chose to invest in the public space leading to his business. “We had the option to replace those damaged squares, but I decided that while we were ripping everything up, we might as well re-do the whole thing.” Chase bought the property in 2018 to house his business, Otter Wax, making several internal investments in the century-old building. The sidewalk and driveway ramp replacement will cost this business just under $13,000.

Sidewalk repair is an infrequent expense for Portland commercial and residential property owners. A concrete sidewalk can last approximately 80 years in the right conditions. However, street tree growth can shorten a walkway’s lifespan, especially when planted in smaller tree wells. Urban arborists believe the standard six-foot-long opening is insufficient for many street trees. Recent guidelines for curbside planting include expanding tree wells into the parking lane or removing concrete between tree cavities to create a long curbside planting strip. Both street tree planting methods provide more space for tree root growth, reducing the need for roots to grow below the cement structures.

Regardless of new design options, existing street tree owners and those with property along narrow roadways have fewer options. In those situations, people and businesses must budget for eventual sidewalk repairs. Building owners often cite repair costs as their reason for not planting street trees, and that perspective can contribute to a declining urban canopy. Only a limited number of people will need to fix a sidewalk during the time they own a property. However, if the work is required, it can be a financial burden with some challenging logistics. Chris Chase is happy with the contractor he chose for this project, Pearl Construction, and feels the process is manageable when dealing with the right people.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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The building at 7815 NE Glisan Street does not bear the name of its original owner. However, for over a quarter-century, William Miller’s building stood at this location. Miller built several buildings for his plumbing business on the property, and his store would have been a landmark on Glisan.

The recorded history of the building begins in 1909 with Sandborn maps show the structure labeled as Plumbing. It is smaller in scale than the building seen today, indicating that the current building replaced it. The original address was 209 E Glisan; it soon changed to 1957 E Glisan. The first evidence of this building belonging to William Miller comes from an advertisement in The Oregon daily journal of May 15th, 1915. In the posting, Wm. Miller is selling a horse and accessories at 1957 E Glisan Street.

209 (*1957) E Glisan – Portland Digital Sanborn 1909*

A vendor advertisement in the Morning Oregonian for July 5th, 1920, lists Miller’s shop. In the ad, Wm. Miller is within a list of distributors for Superbo automatic water heaters. Miller placed his own advertisement in The Oregon daily journal of June 8th, 1921. There he promoted his reasonably priced and durable sewer line work. However, the ad contains a typo that hopefully yielded a discount on the price he paid the newspaper.

Portland Maps indicates the existing building’s construction year as 1923. The October 1922 plumbing permit for the building shows Wm. Miller as both the owner and contractor for the new building’s sewer line connection. By the 1928 Sanborn map’s creation, the building consists of a two-story store with “Some Paints” noted on the map. Paint supplies at the location could indicate that Miller had expanded his operation into a more generalized building material store.

*1957 E Glisan – Portland Digital Sanborn 192*8

William Miller changed pace by 1930. That year a plumbing permit indicated the location became a Soda Fountain shop, and Miller was not the contractor doing the plumbing work. Finally, by 1940, Miller no longer owned the building. December of that year, a plumbing permit indicated that Golden Age Products Co. owned the building, and it was in-use as a Clinic.

For many years businesses used the storefront at 7817 NE Glisan, while people lived above at 7815 NE Glisan. Most recently, Glisan Street Saddlery had a shop on the first floor. Now the whole building is used by Otter Wax, a maker of all-natural Fabric Care, Leather Care, and Apothecary products. It is just another example of the 100-year-old retail legacy along Glisan that owes recognition to the people who created it.

UPDATED – Added information about new building owners Otter Wax. Added original building image.