Portland Oregon Fire Hydrants, Source Material, Part 2

© 2002-3 Allen McMillan Revised January 01, 2003

Water Bureau Subject Files, City Archives - Continued


- Section 6 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 14/5   Hydrants, 1914
  • Undated - "Tabulated Statement of Bids on 600 Hydrants (Opened January 31st, 1914.)" A two-page document compiled by D. D. Clarke summarizing 15 bids received for 600 fire hydrants:
    • M. L. Kline, Portland, Oregon. "#6 Kupferle Eclipse"
    • M. L. Kline, Portland, Oregon. "Roe-Stephens 'S' Compression"
    • Columbian Iron Works. Chattanooga, Tenn. "Columbian"
    • Rensselaer Valve Co. Troy, New York.
    • John Wood Iron Works. Portland, Oregon.
    • The Chapman Valve Mfg. Company. Indian Orchard, Mass.
    • Washington Pipe & Fdry. Co. Tacoma, Washington.
    • Coffin Valve Company. Boston, Mass.
    • Phoenix Iron Works. Portland, Oregon.
    • Eddy Valve Company, By-Power Equip't Company of Portland, Ore.
    • Helser & Unden Machine Wks. Portland, Oregon.
    • The Florence Iron Works, By-R.D. Wood & Company, Philadelphia, PA.
    • Crane Company, Portland, Oregon.
    • Darling Pump & Mfg. Co. Portland, Oregon.
    Unknown why Darling Pump & Mfg. Co. is listed as being in Portland. Possibly they had an agent in Portland that was handling the contract.
  • January 31, 1914 - Unsigned copy of a "Night Letter" sent to the City Engineers of Minneapolis MN, Vancouver B.C. and Kansas City MO inquiring about the reliability and operation of Columbian Iron Works hydrants. Also requesting comparisons to the Corey and other types.
  • February 3, 1914 - Responses from the City Engineers to the Night Letter above. Minneapolis and Kansas City both reported satisfaction with the Columbians but could not compare them to other types. Vancouver B. C. replied that they "use only Ludlow type hydrants manufactured locally to our specification." A copy of the city specification was included (below).
  • February 3, 1914 - Letter from F. L. Fellowes, Supervising City Engineer, Vancouver, British Columbia. Essentially the cover letter for a set of Vancouver B. C. hydrant specifications which, he says "we drew up last year in consequence of the trouble that we experienced in keeping the hydrants of the ordinary Ludlow type in order".
  • Undated - "City of Vancouver - Waterworks Department. Specifications for Hydrants." In much the same way that Portland later adopted the Rensselaer "Corey" hydrant as its city specification, the Vancouver B. C. specs are very explicit: "Hydrants supplied under this specification must be of the 'Ludlow' type with rubber faced slide gates'".
  • February 5, 1914 - Unsigned letter from Engineer Water Board to F. L. Fellowes, Supervising City Engineer, Vancouver B. C. thanking him for his reply and the enclosed specifications.
  • February 3, 1914 - Three pages of a letter to the Commissioner of Public Utilities, Will H. Daly concerning the bids taken on 600 fire hydrants. The end of the letter seems to be missing, but it's likely from the Water Bureau Engineer. The letter explains that:
    • The low bidder (#6 Eclipse) is out of spec and much lighter weight than the hydrants currently in use in the city.
    • The second lowest bidder (Columbian) has been recommended by other water utilities (above) but is a type unknown to Portland and requires special tools to operate.
    • The third-lowest bidder (Corey) is already very common in Portland and have given good service. The writer recommends the city purchase the Coreys.
    • Since all three of the lowest bidders are from outside of Portland, another section of the letter lists bids received from local firms. Those three firms are John Wood Iron Works, Phoenix Iron Works, and Helser & Unden Machine Works.
    The letter mentions that the John Wood Company furnished hydrants to the City in 1912. This statement contradicts the 1913 audit, but it supports certain other documents which indicate John Wood Iron Works was awarded that contract and not Oregon Foundry.
  • Undated - "Hydrants." This is a near-duplicate of a document in Section 5 (14/4 Hydrants, 1913) except that 1) it lacks dates, 2) there are some differences in abbreviations, and 3) two more companies appear at the end of this list that are missing from the other. The bidders were:
    • Smith & Watson Iron Works
    • Crane Company
    • Washington Pipe & Foundry. Co.
    • J. W. Blair
    • John Wood Iron Works
    • Coffin Valve Company
    • Roe-Stephens Mfg. Co.
    • M. L. Kline
    • Chas. C. Moore & Co.
    • F. T. Crowe & Company
    • Phoenix Iron Works
    • Hesse-Martin Iron Works
    • Independent Foundry Co.
    • Gilbert Hunt Co., Wall [SIC] Walla
    • Power Equipment Co., Board of Trade
    • American Foundry. Co., St. Louis
    • Eddy Valve Co.
    • Chapman Valve Mfg. Co., (A. J. Warren, San Francisco, Calif)
    • U. S. Commerce Co. (Board of Trade)
    • Columbia Iron Works, Chattanooga, Tenn.
    • Dunham, Carrigan & Hayden Co., San Francisco, Calif.
    • Darling Pump Mfg. Co. (H. M. Williams, 304 Ry. Ex.)
    • Rensselaer Valve Mfg. Company (512 Colman Bldg., Seattle)
    • Portland Equipment Co.
    • Oregon Brass Co.
    • H. A. Heppner & Co. (for Columbian Iron Works, Chattanooga)
    • Helser & Unden Machine Works, Portland, Ore.
    • The Florence Iron Works, By R. D. Wood & Co.
  • July 30, 1914 - Letter from D. D. Clarke, Engineer Water Bureau, to B. F. Dowell, Chief Engineer, Fire Dept. The letter concerns proper operating procedures for fire hydrants. The Water Bureau was hoping to reduce/prevent water hammer, leaks, false readings on break gauges, waste, and other problems caused by improper hydrant operation.
  • October 2, 1914 - Typed Hydrant Specifications in a Kennedy Valve Mf'g Co. folder of sorts. "A Set of Specifications for our 'Newtype' Hydrant."

- Section 7 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 14/7   Hydrants, 1916-1918
  • January 10, 1918 - Unsigned letter from "Engineer Water Bureau" (D. D. Clarke?) to Mr. B. F. Dowell, Chief Engineer, Fire Dept. The body of the letter is quoted below:
    "It has come to my notice today that the Fire Department set a Smith & Watson hydrant at East 30th St. and Long Avenue in 1915, and that they are now installing, or about to install, a Helser & Unden hydrant at 3rd and Davis Streets."
    "Unless you have some reason, unknown to me at this writing, we would much prefer that you notify this office of replacements of repaired hydrants. As to setting new hydrants, I think all of the orders should emanate from this office."
    This document is the earliest mention of a Smith & Watson hydrant yet found. It also points out another source of inaccuracy in city records.
  • January 10, 1918 - Another unsigned letter from "Engineer" to John M. Mann, Commissioner of Public Utilities. It re-explains the matter above and asks that all hydrant installations be cleared through the Water Bureau. It refers to copies of letters sent to Chief Dowell (above) and General Foreman Gray (not present).
  • September 4, 1918 - Unsigned letter from "Engineer" to John M. Mann, Commissioner of Public Utilities. The Engineer was attempting to establish which department (Fire or Water) should be responsible for billing a taxi company for damage to a hydrant. He says:
    "The old Water Board was somewhat lax in forcing the Fire Department to pay in such cases. In my opinion it is a just claim and it should be up to the Fire Department to settle the account."
    He mentions that the Fire Dept is in charge of maintenance on hydrants. A hand-written note in the bottom margin says that the hydrant was replaced by a "3 way Ludlow".

- Section 8 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 15/1   Hydrants, 1919-1923
  • November 25, 1919 - Hydrant installation records for fiscal 1919. 37 hydrants total (36 "Columbian"s and 1 "Corey").
  • February 10, 1920 - Unsigned (copy?) letter from "Engineer" (Clarke or Randlett?) to Commissioner of Public Utilities John Mann. The Engineer lists all hydrants currently in stock and requests that 50 more be ordered to cover expected demand. The inventory consisted of:
    • 6 x 4-Inch "Iowa" Hydrants
    • 2 x 6-Inch "Iowa" Hydrants
    • 29 x 6-Inch "Columbia" Hydrants
    • 19 x 6-Inch "Corey" Hydrants
    • 35 x 6-Inch "Mathews" Hydrants
    The letter also notes that "Of the foregoing only the "Columbia" and "Corey" hydrants are really serviceable for average conditions, the other hydrants being used for special cases only." The Iowas and Mathews hydrants were probably purchased by the Fire Department prior to 1904 or "inherited" from other water utilities since there are no records of the Water Board purchasing or installing either type between 1904 and 1920. The hydrants in stock had probably been removed from their original locations. Installation records for 1921 show approximately 50 "Mathews" hydrants installed that year. Possibly the 50 that were requested turned out to be Mathews anyway? There are no known examples of Mathews hydrants in Portland currently.
  • Undated - Unsigned two-page letter from "Engineer Water Bureau" to "The Purchasing Agent, City of Portland, Oregon". Concerning bids for fire hydrants opened February 27, 1922. The Engineer, who seems to be speaking on behalf of the Fire Department, feels that all of the low bidders' hydrants are unsuitable for Portland's needs and recommends purchasing "Corey" hydrants instead. The Coreys ($52.75 each) were the fourth lowest bid after the Kennedy New Type ($44.54), John Wood Iron Works ($48.25) and Ludlow Slide Gate hydrants ($51.50).
    A third (attached) page shows the tabulated bids on a handwritten list. The handwriting is difficult to read, but the bids from Phoenix Iron Works and John Wood Iron Works are both described as being "Mathews Type Smaller" which means (presumably) that they are small hydrants which mount in frost jackets. There are a total of 13 bidders listed, but it's hard to tell how many were manufacturers and how many were agents/resellers.
  • May 22, 1922 - "Specifications for Fire Hydrants". Although these specifications don't explicitly refer to the Corey hydrant as the preferred design, they are considerably "tighter" and very few hydrants other than the Corey could meet all the requirements. Most significantly, a very high standard is set for avoiding friction loss (which was the main advantage claimed in the Corey patent all along). In order to meet these specifications, a solid sphere 2-3/8" in diameter must be able to pass through a 6"-valve hydrant when opened all the way. A simple feat for the Corey valve, but impossible for most compression hydrants. A slide gate hydrant might manage it, but the specifications stipulate that only compression type hydrants are acceptable. A hand-written note across the top of the first page of this document reads "Rensselaer Valve Co Fire Hydrants".
  • June 23, 1922 - Letter on Rensselaer Valve Co. stationary from the Sales Manager of Rensselaer's Seattle office to Fred Randlett, Water Bureau Engineer. The letter quotes a telegram from Rensselaer's General Manager which says:
    "we are willing to authorize Randlett include our Blue Print with all detailed dimensions in the specifications also specifying material used different parts our Hydrant so as to duplicate same".
  • October 18, 1922 - Unsigned letter from "Engineer" to Commissioner Mann authorizing a call for bids on 100 hydrants. The final paragraph reads:
    "Plans and specifications for the Portland standard hydrant are in course of preparation, but will be delayed pending an opinion from the City Attorney covering possible infringement of patents, etc."
  • November 14, 1922 - "Proposals on 100 Fire Hydrants Opened by the Purchasing Agent on November 10, 1922." A table showing seven bids offered on hydrants. Local manufacturers Phoenix Iron Works and John Wood Iron Works submitted bids but these were the most expensive hydrants on the list. Other bidders included Rensselaer Valve, R. D. Wood & Co., A. P. Smith Mfg. Co., Continental Pipe Mfg. Co. (Ludlow slide valve, as seen in the next document) and Hilton-Pike Oakley Co. (Kennedy, see below).
  • November 16, 1922 - Unsigned letter from "Engineer" to S. C. Pier, Purchasing Agent. The engineer recommends that the low bidder (Kennedy) be rejected because their hydrants, at 475 lbs., are too light weight. The next lowest bidder (Ludlow) is not a compression hydrant. The Engineer recommends the third-lowest bid (Rensselaer Valve Co.) be accepted. A hand-written note at the bottom of the page reads "Awarded to Rensselaer Valve Co Nov 17/22".
  • December 8, 1922 - Unsigned letter (3 pages plus an attached cover letter) from the Water Board Engineer concerning the hydrant bid awarded in November (above). The low bidder (Hilton-Pike-Oakley Company, providing Mathews hydrants) complained about the award to a different company. This letter is the Water Board's response, explaining why the considerably more expensive Rensselaer hydrants were chosen.
  • February 8, 1923 - List of all hydrants set during fiscal 1922. Only 10 hydrants were installed, all Coreys and all on private water mains.
  • March 3, 1923 - Letter on Rensselaer Valve Co. stationary from the Sales Manager of the Seattle Branch to Water Engineer Randlett. Concerning a hydrant that was broken in shipment.
  • May 15, 1923 - Unsigned letter from "Engineer" to Commissioner Mann concerning a hydrant contract the city was about to award. Ludlow Balanced Valve and Corey hydrants were offered at the same price, and the Engineer recommended purchasing the Coreys. Installation records for this period show lots of Coreys but no Ludlows.
  • May 16, 1923 - Unsigned letter from "Engineer Water Bureau" to John E. Young, Chief Engineer, Bureau of Fire. Shows an itemized list of the costs incurred to replace a fire hydrant on the corner of Osage & Washington streets which was "demolished by an automobile". The damage must have been substantial, since the costs included a whole new connection to the main:
    1 "Corey" hydrant $62.50
    1 6-in. gate 16.75
    1 C.I. Valve Box & Cover 4.00
    1 6 x 6 Tee 12.00
    1 6-in. Sleeve 3.96
    7 ft. of 6-in. pipe 7.50
    Lead and yarn 2.50
    Labor 15.00
    Cutting and repairing pavement 12.00
    $136.21
    Plus 10% 13.62
    $149.83

- Section 9 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 15/2   Hydrants, 1923
  • Undated, or at least the portion I copied is undated - Two pages (6 & 7) from a periodical called "Water System Bulletin". Rather than being a general publication, this seems to have been a sort of newsletter for the "Volkhardt Company Inc. Stapleton Sta. S. I. N. Y. City". Page 6 contains an article concerning Philadelphia's need for "an auxiliary plug system" to keep private citizens from using and damaging fire hydrants. This story is followed immediately by a follow-up story describing the benefits of Volkhardt's own model of locking auxiliary hydrant (shown in a small diagram).
  • May 7, 1924 - Letter on Continental Pipe Manufacturing Co. stationary from E. G. Rice, Continental Pipe Engineer, to Water Department Chief Engineer Randlett. The letterhead itself is interesting, since it shows examples of the companies products, which are wire-bound wooden pipes. The letter begins:
    "At the time of making delivery of the last shipment of Ludlow Balanced Fire Hydrants your Mr. Houck informed the writer that Mr. Gray through the Fire Department was having one or two minor cases of leakage, especially when the valves were closed."
    Rice asks for a detailed description of the problem so he can prepare a report to be sent to Ludlow. Installation records through 1924 do not show any substantial number of Ludlow hydrants being installed. When this shipment arrived is unknown.
  • May 31, 1923 - Unsigned letter from the Water Engineer to the Fire Engineer (Young) reporting that the "Phoenix" hydrant on the SE corner of East 31st and Market is now in service. (This would probably be Southeast 31st & Market today.)
  • June 9, 1923 - Unsigned letter from Engineer Water Bureau to the United Metal Trades Association. "Replying to your letter of June 6th, regarding fire hydrants for the City of Portland, I beg to state that we have just received word from the patent attorneys in the East stating that they expect to forward opinion on this subject next week."
  • July 6, 1923 - Letter on United Metal Trades Association (Oregon District) stationary from said organization to Engineer Randlett at the Bureau of Water Works. "Kindly refer to your letter of June 9 regarding the opinion of patent attorneys regarding fire hydrants for the City of Portland. Kindly advise us what has been done in this matter." There is a response hand-written at the bottom of the page and signed "FMR" (Randlett) but it,s hard to say exactly what it says.
  • July 9, 1923 - Unsigned letter from Engineer Water Bureau to Samual Powell, Secretary United Metal Trades Assn. The letter reads:
    "Replying to your further letter of July 6th with reference to City of Portland fire hydrants, I wish to state that we received the final report from the patent attorneys a few days ago, and which in all respects appears to be satisfactory."
    "We have submitted these papers to the City Attorney, whose report we feel will be favorable, so that future bids for hydrants for our use will be based on the plans and specifications prepared by this office."
  • July 19, 1923 - Unsigned letter from Engineer Water Bureau to Samual Powell, Secretary United Metal Trades Assn. This letter appears to be in response to another query by Powell on the 16th of July. It says that the City Attorney has approved the plan.
  • July 30, 1923 - Letter on United Metal Trades Association (Oregon District) stationary from said organization to the Bureau of Water Works, Attn: Engineer Randlett. The letter compliments the city on "arranging fire hydrant designs so that the local foundries will have an equal opportunity with foundries outside of the State for getting this business."

- Section 10 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 15/3   Hydrants, 1924
  • April 3, 1917 (Original specification dated June 20, 1916) - "Department of Public Safety, City of Cincinnati, Drawings and Specifications for Fire Hydrant, Cincinnati Fire Department". As the title says, it's a set of construction diagrams for the Cincinnati spec fire hydrant. Each hydrant was a slide-gate model with an elaborate curved standpipe, installed in a concrete-floored brick vault under the sidewalk and curb. Sounds expensive. The diagrams are quite detailed and show every component of the hydrant in detail, right down to the leather washers in the nozzle caps.
  • May 29, 1924 - Three letters/notes (on 2 pages) from Water Bureau Foremen describing defects in the City's recently purchased Ludlow Balanced Valve hydrants.
  • May 29, 1924 - Unsigned letter from Engineer Water Bureau to E. G. Rice, Engineer, Continental Pipe Mfg. Co. This letter is a response to a letter from Rice (see May 7, 1924) concerning defective Ludlow hydrants. It summarizes the Foremen's letters (above) and describes the difficulties they have been having with the hydrants.
  • June 30, 1922 - A list of Portland's hydrants. This is an excerpt from the report compiled by Consulting Engineer Ernest Willard. This book is cited in the Library section of this document.
  • July 1, 1924 - Cover letter and tabulated bids for fire hydrants opened June 30, 1924. There were nine bidders, listed below:
    • John Wood Iron Works. Portland, Oreg.
    • Helser Machine Works. Portland, Oreg.
    • Rensselaer Valve Co. Arctic Building, Seattle, Wash.
    • Phoenix Iron Works. Portland, Oregon.
    • Independent Fdry. Co., Portland, Oregon.
    • Monarch Forge & Mach. Works.
    • Peninsula Fdry. & Mach. Works, Portland, Oregon.
    • R. D. Wood & Company.
    • Howard Cooper Corpn.
    The cover letter indicates that the low bid (Howard Cooper Corporation) is not within specifications, but it does not say what sort of hydrant they were offering or why it was out of spec.

- Section 11 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 15/4   Hydrants, 1925-1926
  • February 18, 1925 - "Bids on Fire Hydrants." A tabulated summary of seven companies bids for 200 fire hydrants:
    • Helser Machine Works
    • Monarch Forge & Machine Works
    • Commercial Iron Works
    • Phoenix Iron Works
    • Rensselaer Valve Company
    • R. D. Wood & Company
    • Peerless Pacific Company
    The Engineer reports that "the only proposals complying exactly with the plans are the following: Helser Machine Works, Monarch Forge and Machine Works, Commercial Iron Works, Phoenix Iron Works, and the Rensselaer Valve Company." (Only R. D. Wood and Peerless were rejected on this basis.) He recommends the contract be awarded to Helser Machine Works, which submitted the low bid. Although no copies of the actual hydrant specs from this time have yet been located (as of May 2002), it's likely that by this time the official Portland hydrant specification was for a literal copy of the Rensselaer List 90, a.k.a. "Corey". So, all the in-spec companies must have been offering "Coreys" of some sort.
  • June 29, 1925 - Copy of a letter by M. J. Helser, President of Helser Machine Works, Inc., to the Water Bureau, Attn. Engineer Randlett.
    "Referring to your order No. 27843 for 200 Iron Body Fire Hydrants, delivery of which was to be completed July 1st. Due to the fact that we have been somewhat delayed in our work on this contract we wish to ask for an extension of time until July 20th, 1925."
  • June 30, 1925 - Unsigned letter from Engineer to Commissioner Mann concerning the Helser Machine Works delay in hydrant delivery (above). The Engineer explains that the requested delay will not harm the City, and recommends it be granted.
  • February 15, 1926 - Letter from E.L. Rick of The Rick Company, Los Angeles, to Fire Department Chief Engineer Holden. Mr. Rick explains the benefits of his "Super Hydrant", a wet barrel hydrant with two internal chambers separated by a one-way shutter. The primary benefit of this arrangement is that a hose already in use on a hydrant can be hooked up to a pumper through the hydrant without disconnecting it. The version being offered to Portland is the "Base Valve Type", which is a dry barrel due to the addition of a compression valve at the base of the standpipe. The valve looks like a Corey/Toggle variety.
    The letter is the introduction to a three-page set of specifications. Also included are some diagrams on how to use the hydrant properly, a black and white photo of a Super Hydrant in use, and a blueprint of the Base Valve Type.
  • February 23, 1926 - Unsigned letter (actually a tabulated set of hydrant bids) from Engineer to Commissioner Mann. The nine bidders for this contract were:
    • Helser Machine Works
    • Peerless Pacific Company
    • R. D. Wood & Company
    • Independent Foundry Company
    • Phoenix Iron Works
    • Rensselaer Valve Company
    • United Casting Company
    • Keystone Iron & Steel Works
    • The Rick Company
    The low bid was Iowa hydrants from Peerless Pacific Company. The Engineer recommended they be rejected because they did not meet the City's specifications. Given that most Iowa hydrants are very similar to Rensselaer hydrants (both having Corey-type valves), the City had a very strict interpretation of it's specifications. Iowa hydrants were rejected on this basis repeatedly. The next lowest bidder was Helser Machine Works, which the Engineer recommended.
  • December 24, 1926 - Tabulated bids for fire hydrants. Only five bidders:
    • Western Foundry Company
    • Smith & Watson Iron Works
    • Helser Machine Works
    • Rensselaer Valve Company
    • Wood Ewing Iron Works
    The Engineer recommended the lowest bid, that of Western Foundry, be accepted.
  • April 30, 1927 - Letter on Northwest Testing Laboratories stationary from A. C. Sharp to "Ben S. Morrow Engineer Water Dept." The letter starts out: "The Monarch Forge & Machine Works, have completed fabrication of 200 hydrants for your department." Sharp reports that the hydrants have passed their tests and are painted and ready to ship. This matches the time period in which installation records show the "City of Portland" design appearing. However, the great majority of these hydrants turn out to be Helser "Coreys" when checked. No hydrants bearing the Monarch name have been found in the City.
  • January 9, 1928 - Tabulated bids for fire hydrants. Just three bidders:
    • Rensselaer Valve Company
    • Western Foundry Company
    • R. D. Wood & Company
    Rensselaer submitted the low bid and was recommended for purchase by the Engineer.

- Section 12 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 15/5   Hydrants, 1928-1932
  • October 1, 1928 - "Description of the 'Mathews' Fire Hydrant". A slightly more than 3-page long document describing the advantages of the Mathews hydrant over other types. Not specifications, just a description of features and their benefits.
  • January 9, 1929 - Tabulated bids on 100 fire hydrants opened January 7, 1929. The four bidders were Rensselaer, Helser, Monarch and R. D. Wood. The lowest bid was R. D. Wood, but the "Mathews" hydrant did not match the city's "Corey" specifications. Rensselaer submitted the next lowest bid, and Helser the third lowest. Since Helser was a local company and within 2% of the Rensselaer bid, the Engineer recommended that Helser be awarded the contract.
  • February 11, 1930 - Letter from Fire Chief Edw. Grenfell to Water Bureau Engineer Ben S. Morrow. Grenfell points out that Portland has 32 different varieties of hydrant in service and recommends the City standardize the Rensselaer "Corey". Possibly new office holders who were undecided as to what procedures and specifications to adopt?
  • February 14, 1930 - Tabulated bids on fire hydrants opened February 10, 1930. Four bidders:
    • A. P. Smith Mfg. Co.
    • Plumbers Supply Company
    • Rensselaer Valve Company
    • Helser Machine Works
    The low bidder's hydrants (an unspecified type from A. P. Smith) did not meet the city's specifications. The next lowest bid (Iowa hydrants from Plumbers Supply Co.) were only 14 cents cheaper, per hydrant, than the already-standard Coreys, so the Engineer recommended that Rensselaer be awarded the contract.
  • October 10, 1930 - "Bids on Fire Hydrants." A set of three dated tables showing bidders and contracts awarded in the January 1928, January 1929 and February 1930 contracts. A handwritten note beside the 1930 table reads "(without independent valves)". It appears that the discussion of standardization in February (above) resulted in a modification of the "Corey" specification. The ungated Corey was now preferred.
  • December 18, 1930 - Tabulated bids on fire hydrants opened December 15, 1930. Five bidders:
    • Plumbers Supply Company - "Iowa"
    • Rensselaer Valve Company - "Rensselaer"
    • Western Foundry Company - "Corey" Type
    • Helser Machine Works - "Corey" Type
    • R. D. Wood & Company - "Mathews"
    Again, Iowa hydrants were the lowest bid but rejected as not meeting the city's specifications. Rensselaer was next, and Western Foundry was close behind (the Western bid being less than 3% higher than Rensselaer's). The Engineer recommended Western Foundry be awarded the contract.

- Section 13 -

City of Portland, Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center, Water Bureau, Subject Files, A2001-021, 15/6   Hydrants, 1933-1935
  • February 14, 1933 - Tabulated bids on fire hydrants opened February 10, 1933. Five bidders:
    • Helser Machine Works - Corey Type
    • Plumbers Supply Company - Corey
    • R. D. Wood & Company - Mathews
    • Standard Supply Company - Chapman
    • Woodbury Company - Iowa
    Only the Coreys met the City's specifications. Helser's bid was lower than Plumbers and so was recommended.

Source Material, Part 1   Source Material, Part 2   Source Material, Part 3

Portland Oregon Fire Hydrants