Dirigible Lands on Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 1905

This Sept. 26, 1905, photograph shows 18-year-old pilot Lincoln Beachey flying the “City of Portland” dirigible aircraft over the Oregonian building in downtown Portland as a promotional stunt to attract visitors to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Beachey flew the gas-filled balloon on a two-mile course through the city, landing once on the Chamber of Commerce building, and dropping leaflets on the Oregonian and Evening Telegram buildings.

The leaflets urged the newspapers to help attract a record number of visitors to the fair on “Portland Day,” which was September 30. Promoters hoped to attract as many as 100,000 people on that day, which was meant to commemorate the city and the efforts many of its citizens put into organizing and hosting the exposition. While the numbers fell short of that goal, ticket takers counted a record attendance of 85,133 people.

Members of Portland’s business community worked with the Oregon Historical Society and politicians to plan the Exposition, which they hoped would bring more people, money, and business to the city. Oregonian editor Harvey W. Scott, who served as an early president of the Exposition committee, espoused his belief that the fair would help promote Portland as a commercial gateway for commercial trade between the Pacific Northwest and Asia.

Beachey, who made several more flights during the fair, later switched to airplanes and became famous for his daring feats at fairs and expositions. He pioneered stunts such as looping the airplane, flying upside down, and steep diving. Beachey died in 1915 during an exhibition flight at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, his hometown, when his plane crashed into the ocean.

Written by Kathy Tucker, Cain Allen, © Oregon Historical Society, 2002, 2004.