Flooding in Corvallis Oregon - 1964

Aerial view of Corvallis Jct. and 99W,  looking south.

South Corvallis, also looking south.

Some interesting views from the Oregon.gov archives of the 1964 flooding. The top photo is a rare aerial view of the Corvallis Jct. area. The point at which the 99W overpass crosses the SP is a convergence of branch lines and history. Appearing from the lower left is the Toledo Branch, constructed by the Willamette Valley and Coast on its way to Yaquina. Past the switch under the highway, the Toledo Branch and the Westside Branch became one, and proceeded down 6th. Street in Corvallis before diverging  back toward the coast at the wye at Washington Street. That leaves the old WV&C line which made it into Corvallis down Ninth Street (leaving the frame at the right middle,) and is by 1964,  just a switch lead to the Blue Lake cannery. The portion of the Westside Branch up to the north leg of the Corvallis Jct. wye ( leaving the frame at bottom center,) was used to store empties for lumber loading, and back in the Fifties, a contractor would come out and clean the boxcars, so there was always a lot of discarded scrap wood lying around. My Dad made me a playhouse out of this wood. 

The bottom photo shows the confluence of the Marys River bridges of 99w, Fourth Street on the right, and Third Street on the left. It looks like the Marys has reclaimed one of its old channels, top right. This area is now a golf course.  The Westside Branch to Monroe can be seen  running along the upper right of the photograph. The track down to Evans Products takes off by the road crossing, with Avery Park off to the right. My Grandparents lived on South Third down past the flooded area.

From Wikimedia

For comparison, here is a great view from Wikipedia, looking south over downtown Corvallis. No date is given, but I think it must be from the 40s or early 50s.  The tall Doug Firs in the upper right is the location of Avery Park. The Hwy 20 bypass has yet to be built, and neither has the Harrison Blvd. Hwy 34 bridge over the Willamette.