Beginning in 1949, Robert O. Brown began collecting information on early Portland neighborhoods and their architecture, and made detailed drawings of Portland buildings and residences. The collection consists of photocopies of his drawings and of rough maps of some areas of the city.

Lithographic and watercolor illustrations depicting buildings in Portland, Oregon, designed by architect Isaac Hodgson, Jr., who worked in Portland during the early 1890s. The watercolors and one of the lithographs depict the Chamber of Commerce building; the other lithograph depicts the entrance to a proposed United Bank building.