SW Broadway downtown was a one-way street until it reached Columbia Street in 1950 (here looking north). South of here Broadway was still two-way. A little more discussion about changing to a one-way grid is here in this earlier post.

(City of Portland Archives)

It’s hard to believe anything on this bit of NE Union Avenue could still be standing but the little shop on the right, with the distinctive facade, is still on the east side of Martin Luther King Blvd., just south of Shaver Street.

(City of Portland Archives)

The Mortgage Corner

Housing starts jumped in April and building permits hit their highest level in nearly six years, offering hope the weak housing market could be stabilizing, according to the US Census Bureau’s April report on housing starts. This means more homes will be available to make up for the current inventory shortage, the lowest inventory of homes for sale since early 2000.

Groundbreaking for homes surged 13.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.07 million units, the highest since November 2013, the Commerce Department said. Ground-breaking for single family homes rose 0.8 percent, while starts for the volatile multi-family homes segment surged 39.6 percent.

The housing starts report suggested building activity would likely continue to rise for some time, according to Inside Debt, as permits to build homes jumped 8.0 percent to a 1.08 million unit pace in April. Permits for single family homes, however…