Fir Oaks West Albany, Albany, Oregon

1 fir oaks

1.1 history

1.1.1 rural country
1.1.2 charter

fir oaks

established in 1948, fir oaks addition subdivision situated near liberty elementary school in west albany area of albany, oregon, united states. property includes 27th , 28th avenue, park terrace sw, lawnridge sw , part of lakewood drive. guidelines home development , ownership laid out in fir oaks addition charter. mandated strict requirements create neighborhood affordable wealthy albany residents. developers chose ranch-style house common design module. yet, these homes not regular 1000 square foot box plans dominated domestic architecture during post-world war ii period. larger versions, of split-level ranch, raised ranch or california ranch styles offered more square footage.

in 1960s, new home owners in fir oaks chose new customized designs differed ranch-style. these new designs filled vacant lots among neighborhood’s existing ranch-style homes. last lot sold in mid-1970s.

history
rural country

in 1945, albany s city boundary extended downtown region along willamette river out toward 10th street. area surrounding it, known rural country, farmland. farm located south of bureau of mines became new property fir oaks addition in 1948. owned john elbert elder , wife beatrice, lot included land around oak creek , land located westward near creek s end @ calapooia river. not known elder family. small creek off of oak creek , house located in albany s monteith historic district carry name of cathey elder after 1 of decedents; city records provide nothing else.

charter

the fir oaks addition charter of 1948 example of charters written housing developments created segregate race , social classes. major requirements laid out fir oaks addition charter listed below:

each lot must minimum of half acre
each home must have street frontage of @ least 150 feet
each home must have minimum selling cost of $12,500
no subdividing within property lot
no african american owners allowed

according u.s. census bureau, average home in oregon cost $8,500 in 1950 while fir oaks addition charter required $12,500 or more homes. average annual cost of living state $3,000. higher cost creates limitation owners did not have income higher state average. population: 1.565 in 1914, frederick law olmsted, jr. adopted deed restrictions prohibit mexican-americans becoming owners in development of spanish colonial houses located in palos verdes, california. later in 1923, developer j.c. nichols built country club district restricting billboards , african-american owners close kansas city. form of exclusivity dolores hayden calls in book building suburbia, claims common among developers, in 1950s. industry boom, after world war ii in 1946, produced consumer culture wanted bigger , better. white-collar , upper-middle-class families wanted live in big houses among prosperous neighbors, developers helped make so.

one of families lived in fir oaks addition ralston family. family owned ralston motor company along lyon street in downtown albany. ralstons bought 2 homes in fir oaks, 1 on 3210 park terrace , other on 2710 park terrace. city records indicate josephine ralston, mother of rolla , robert ralston , joint partners of family’s new , used car business, 1 of first residents in albany have telephone installed in home.

many original owners or immediate descendents still reside in fir oaks addition, according 2000 census, meaning neighborhood has remained predominantly caucasian.