Ormond R. Bean papers

Collection

Identifier: UA 014

Scope and Contents

Collection includes selected Portland City Commissioner records, 1936-1965 (.25 linear feet); travelogues and correspondence from World War II duty in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Middle East, 1940s (.15 linear feet); two scrapbooks (15”x11”x6” and 15”x11”x2”) loaded with ephemera, photos and clippings, 1908-1960s, including Bean’s college days, a 1926 round-the-country road trip, wartime work (WWII), and a lifetime in Portland politics and civic life from the 1930s to the 1960s. Special clipping section for the battleship Oregon, 1935-43. Scrapbook pages are in rough chronological order. Also included are two small unidentified calendar diaries, 1866 (2.75”x4”, sparse entries), and 1928 (4”x7”, many entries, though not narrative).

Many certificates and items from Bean’s father, Robert S. Bean, are included.

Dates

Creation: 1866-1965 1930s-1960s
Creation: Majority of material found within 1930 - 1960

Creator

Bean, Ormond R., 1885-1975 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

A native son of Eugene, Oregon, Ormond R. Bean was one of five sons of U.S. District Court Judge (1910-1931) Robert Sharp Bean and Ina Condon Bean, daughter of the famous Oregon geologist Thomas Condon. Trained in civil engineering and architecture, he became one of Portland’s busiest city commissioners from 1933 forward and ran for mayor of Portland in 1960. A member of numerous civic organizations, Bean also invented and patented a sink for the treatment of athletic injuries (he managed several athletic squads while an undergraduate at the University of Oregon).

During World War II he served as the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Regional Director of Transportation in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cairo, Egypt.

Timeline: 1885 (October 21) Born, Eugene, Oregon[Date needed]High School in Salem and Eugene, Oregon1909BS Civil Engineering, University of Oregon1911Architecture certificate, MIT 1911-1933Architect, Lawrence, Holford, Allyn and Bean (Portland, Oregon)1933–1939Portland Commissioner of Public Works1940Portland Public Utilities Commissioner1940-1946War Service. Includes tours as Regional Director, Office of Defense Transportation, Hawaii (1 yr.) and Puerto Rico (6 mos.; and Director, Transportation, US State Department, Middle East Supply Center, Cairo, Egypt1946Opens architectural practice with son Ormond R. Bean, Jr.1949-1967Commissioner of Finance, Portland1949–1950, 1952–1954, 1956–1966 Administrator, Bureau of Parks1949–1953 Administrator, Bureau of Buildings and the Office of the Planning Commission1950–1952, 1958 Administrator, Bureau of Street Transportation Investigation and Bureau of Traffic and Transportation1952–1954, 1956–1966 Administrator, Municipal Golf Links1954–1956 Administrator, Bureau of City Hall 1954–1959 Administrator, Bureau of Municipal Auditorium1954–1956 Administrator, Bureau of Weights and Measures1958–1966 Administrator, Bureau of Municipal Garage and Shops (changed to Bureau of Shops in 1962) 1958–1966 Administrator, Street Lighting (changed to Bureau of Lighting and Power in 1962)1960Mayoral Bid, City of Portland1968University of Oregon Distinguished Service Award recipient1975Deceased

Extent

2 linear feet (4 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

American architect and city commissioner Ormond R. Bean was active in Portland, Oregon politics and civic life from the 1930s to the 1960s. Collection includes personal and professional papers relating to Bean's life and work, including correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, and photographs from his service as Federal Emergency Management Agency's Regional Director of Transportation in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Egypt during World War II. Also included are newsclippings concerning the battleship Oregon, 1935-1945; selected Portland City Commissioner records, 1936-1965; and certificates and items from Bean’s father, Robert S. Bean.

Related Materials

Oregon Historical Society (which was directed by Ormond’s father, Robert S. Bean, in 1926).

Bean & Congdon Family Papers, Coll 154, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Robert Sharp Bean Papers, Ax 008, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Thomas Condon Papers, A 022, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Susannah Beck.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.