Existing comment:
1949
Suburban Strip: Sandy Boulevard, Portland, Oregon
Free and Ample Parking
Beginning in the mid-1920's, and accelerating after World War II, many grocery stores, car dealerships, and other businesses moved out of the city to the suburban strip. There they created a bustling scene where car-owning consumers could buy almost anything they needed. By moving commercial life out of the central business districts, suburban strips contributed to the economic decline of downtowns. As more people moved into the suburbs, the strips also became centers of social life.
Like many cities that boomed during World War II, Portland, Oregon, developed suburban strips. Lined with stores that appealed to the car-owning middle class, Sandy Boulevard grew rapidly in the late 1940's. In 1949, Wallace Buick moved from its downtown location to Sandy Boulevard, and became one of the many auto-related businesses there. Portland residents increasingly shopped on suburban strips like this. Before long, many of them moved from downtown neighborhoods to new suburbs. |