PORTLAND PLACES: Tom McCall Waterfront Park by Robert D. West

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Downtown Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park lines the western shore of the Willamette River and fits the area so perfectly that its difficult to imagine that just a few decades ago, instead of a beautiful public waterfront park, Portland's waterfront was lined with an expressway. The story of the Portland waterfront is as interesting as the amenities that today call the park home. This page includes links to historic photographs from the Salem Public Library's Oregon Historic Photograph Collections, the Oregon State Library Photograph Collection, the ODOT History Center, the Oregon Historical Society, the Portland Auditor's Office, Thomas Robinson's Historic Photo Archive at HistoricPhotoArchive.com and HistoricPhotoArchive.net and Dave's Electric Railroads.

Early History of the Portland Waterfront

Until the early 1800, the shores of the Willamette River were covered with dense forests with many species of trees. The tallest western broadleaf, the Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), grew along the riverbanks, reaching heights of 200 feet with trucks 7 feet thick. Because of these forests, most Indians of the region relied on canoes for transportation instead of horses.

When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark came down the Columbia River in 1805, they initially missed the mouth of the Willamette. After learning of it from the Multnomah Indians, Captain Clark returned to explore it and named it the Multnomah, after the Indians.

With the establishment of Fort Astoria in 1811, traders came to the Pacific Northwest, trading with the Indians for furs in exchange for metal goods and other items. In 1825, the Hudson Bay Company's Fort Vancouver became the region's dominant trading post. The Indians of the Willamette Valley traveled to Fort Vancouver to trade. Many of them stopped to camp halfway between Oregon City and Vancouver. The Black Cottonwood trees in the area were easily cut for firewood and temporary shelter, and one area was cleared to an acre in size, becoming known as "The Clearing."

Many tribes and bands of Indians came to the area to trade. The Multnomahs were of the Chinook tribe. The Clack-a-mas were another area tribe. Others were the Wah-lal-la band and the Clowe-we-wal-la or Willamette band of the Tum-water tribe, the Mol-la-la band of the Molalla tribe, and the Chemeketes from south of Salem. There were many bands of Kalapuya or Calapooias, including the Tualatin band, the Yamhill band, the Che-luk-i-ma-uke band, the Chep-en-a-pho or Marysville band, the Chem-a-pho or Maddy band, the Che-lam-e-la or Long Tom band, the Mohawk band, the Winnefelly band, the Tekopa band, the Chafan band and the Santiam band. The greatest number were from the Klickitat Nation, who used 1500 miles of waterways in the Pacific Northwest.

In 1840, Captain John H. Couch described the clearing as "a good spot for a seaport, for any vessel which can come up the Columbia can come this far up the Willamette." Soon, the first wharf was built by John Waymire at the foot of Washington Street.

The first organized wagon train to travel the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail departed Independence, Missouri in the spring of 1842 with 100 immigrants, most of whom survived the heat, thirst and near starvation to arrive in the Willamette Valley that fall. They were the first of thousands to come to the Oregon Country to take land claims, although at the time the region was still in dispute between the United States and Great Britain.

William Overton became Portland's first settler when he took a 640-acre pre-emption land claim here in 1844. Asa Lawrence Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts paid the filing fee, and received half the claim in return. A year later, Overton sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove from Portland, Maine. Lovejoy and Pettygrove surveyed, platted and named Portland in 1845. The two men each wanted to name the new city after their hometown; the name was chosen by the flip of a copper penny, in which Pettygrove won two out of three. The Francis Ermatinger House in Oregon City claims to be the site of the coin toss, though it no longer stands on its original site. The original Portland townsite extended from Front Avenue to Second Avenue and from Washington Street to Jefferson Street.

One of the oldest monuments in what is now Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the Founders' Stone, honors the memory of Portland's founders, Asa Lawrence Lovejoy and Francis W. Pettygrove. It was erected by the City of Portland and dedicated on December 19, 1945.

On June 15, 1846, the United States and Great Britain signed a boundary treaty that resolved the dispute over the claims to the Oregon Country, though it wasn't until 1850 that the Oregon Donation Land Act began giving titles to American settlers. White male U.S. citizens 21 years of age or older, and their wives, were eligible for land grants from 160 to 640 acres, depending on their marital status and how long they had lived on and cultivated land in the Oregon Territory. The act was the first U.S. statute to base land grants on residence and cultivation, and the fact that married men were eligible for larger claims encouraged marriage, leading to brief courtships and early weddings, with many brides in their early teens. A total of 7,432 settlers claimed 2,614,082 acres of public land in the Oregon Territory under the Oregon Donation Land Act before it was replaced by the National Homestead Act of 1862.

Second Trinity Church (Episcopal) - Built 1872-73 at 6th & Oak

Oregon Historical Society Photograph

Later, Lovejoy and Pettygrove sold the river front portions of their claims to Daniel H. Lownsdale and to Benjamin Stark, for whom Stark Street is named. Stark was born on January 22, 1822 and came to Portland in 1845 aboard the bark Toulon. He established a merchandising business and purchased interest in a land claim from Asa Lovejoy. He traveled to the California gold mines in 1848, and when he returned to Portland his land claim was disputed; he ended up with a triangular piece of land extending north from Stark Street to Ankeny Street and west from the Willamette River to 10th Street. Stark studied law and was admitted to the Oregon bar in 1850. He became a territorial legislator in 1853, and was appointed by Governor Whiteaker to serve the unexpired term of U.S. Senator E. D. Baker from September 1861 to December 1862. Stark donated the site for the first Trinity Episcopal Church at 2nd and Oak Streets, and donated a bronze bell in 1873 for the church's second building. The church still has the bell at their third building at NW 19th and Everett. Stark eventually returned to New London, Connecticut, where he had lived before coming to Portland, and spent his final years there until his death on October 11, 1898.

While Portland began to develop on the west side of the Willamette River, there was also growth across the river on the east side. James B. Stephens was born in 1806 into a family of English settlers. The family moved to the Indiana Territory where Stephens became a cooper. He and his family, including seven children, came over the Oregon Trail, arriving in Oregon City on December 24, 1844. He contracted with the Hudson Bay Company to built barrels and bought the squatters rights of Mr. A. Davis from Dr. John McLoughlin for $150. Stephens platted the town of East Portland by 1850 and began operating a ferry near the site of today's Morrison Bridge around 1853. The ferry employed a barge on which horses or mules on a treadmill were hitched to a capstan and used to turn a gear which connected to a six-foot gear wheel under the deck. This barge carried any animals and foodstuffs, while towing a smaller boat for passengers. When Multnomah County was formed in 1855, Stephens was the first to pay a license fee to the county: $10 for his ferry. Much of the ferry's income was from the military, which paid in script with little value. Stephens eventually sold the ferry to the Joseph Knott family, and in 1863 it became the Stark Street Ferry.

Stephens took a 640 acre donation land claim, and purchased additional land until he owned 1,920 acres, bounded by Stark Street, S.E. 20th Avenue, S.E. Division Street and the Willamette River. He built a large log house on the Willamette River at what is now Stephens Street, and later built a frame home which was moved in 1902 to 12th and Stephens where it still stands today. Stephens was involved in various other business ventures before his death in 1889: he opened the first East Side Bank, which failed, he lost $16,000 in the timber business with blacksmith James Terwilliger, and he made the first cider in Portland, which was sold in Portland's first candy shop on Front Avenue between Washington and Alder Streets.

This marker across the river from James B. Stephens' Land Claim was given by the Wahkeena Chapter of the Oregon State Daughters of the American Revolution and was dedicated by Chapter Regent Mrs. Arthur Allen Bettger on June 19, 1978 and rededicated by Andrea Ellen Bettger, State President of the Oregon State Children of the American Revolution on March 11, 1989.

Engraved in the sidewalk next to the marker are the words "1863-1895 STARK STREET FERRY."

Near Naito Parkway (formerly Front Avenue) is a monument placed by the Lang Syne Society in 1961 marking the site of the Stark Street Ferry.

First Morrison Bridge

On April 12, 1887, the first Morrison Bridge was dedicated. The wooden truss swing span bridge was the first bridge across the Willamette River and the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River. The bridge was operated manually by two men on calm days or four men on windy days. It was originally a toll bridge, charging for a one-way crossing 15¢ for a horse-drawn rig, 20¢ for a team of horses and 5¢ for a pedestrian. It became toll free in 1895, putting the Stark Street Ferry out of business. The bridge lasted until the second Morrison Bridge, another swing bridge, opened in 1905. The current Morrison Bridge was completed on May 24, 1958.

Historical Photos:

Postcard View of old Morrison Bridge (Multnomah County Genweb)

Postcard View showing old Morrison Bridge (Multnomah County Genweb)

Approach to old Morrison Bridge (Oregon Historical Society)

Aerial View including old Morrison Bridge, circa 1930 (Oregon Historical Society)

Approach to second Morrison Bridge, September 11, 1942 (Salem Public Library)

View of Waterfront showing end of second Morrison Bridge, circa 1950 (Salem Public Library)

Old Morrison Bridge, circa 1950 (Salem Public Library)

Journal Building & Old Morrison Bridge, May 16, 1954 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Harbor Drive, the Journal Building and the new Morrison Bridge in the 1950s (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

Morrison Bridge during the 1964 Flood (ODOT History Center)

Aerial View showing Morrison Bridge, 1974 (Oregon Historical Society)

This marker is located at the western foot of the first Morrison Bridge. It was placed by the Lang Syne Society in 1987. The current Morrison Bridge is in the background.

After the Morrison Bridge was built, other bridges followed it. The Hawthorne Bridge opened on December 19, 1910, replacing two previous Madison Bridges built in 1891 and 1900; it is the oldest operating vertical lift bridge in the United States and the oldest highway bridge in Portland.

Historical Photos:

View showing a previous Madison Bridge (Oregon Historical Society)

Hawthorne Bridge (Oregon Historical Society)

Postcard View of Sternwheeler under Hawthorne Bridge (Multnomah County Genweb)

Postcard View of Hawthorne Bridge fully raised (Multnomah County Genweb)

Streetcar on the Hawthorne Bridge (Dave's Electric Railroads)

Hawthorne Bridge (Oregon State Library)

Aerial View of Hawthorne Bridge (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Trolleybus on the Hawthorne Bridge (Oregon Historical Society)

Hawthorne Bridge during the 1964 Flood (ODOT History Center)

The original Burnside Bridge was completed in 1894; the current Burnside Bridge opened on May 28, 1926, replacing it. Gustav Lindenthal, designer of New York City's Hell Gate Bridge and Queensboro Bridge, was involved in the construction of the Burnside Bridge, and the opening mechanism was designed by Joseph Strauss, who went on to design the Golden Gate Bridge.

Historical Photos:

Burnside Bridge, circa 1926 (Oregon Historical Society)

Burnside Bridge open, January 31, 1932 (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

Burnside Bridge open, June 27, 1932 (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

Burnside Bridge, March 22, 1933 (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

Burnside Bridge, March 12, 1936 (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

East End of Burnside Bridge during the 1964 Flood (ODOT History Center)

Portland's Waterfront in the early part of the 20th century

Photo courtesy of Oregon Historical Society (neg #COPO2263)

Oregon citizens demanding clean rivers in the 1930s

Photo courtesy of Oregon Historical Society (neg #CN001253)

As Portland grew along the Willamette River, slaughterhouses, canneries and other industries were built along the waterfront. Without water quality laws, these industries used the river as a convenient to dump their waste and sewage. The same was true in the other cities and towns along the river. By the 1930s, the river had become a menace to public health: unsafe for drinking or swimming and toxic to fish and wildlife. In 1938, Oregon voters overwhelmingly supported an initiative petition creating the State Sanitary Authority to clean up and protect the river. World War II delayed the effort, but by the mid 1950s, sewage plants had been installed at every city and town along the river to remove at least 30 percent of the organic waste from sewage effluent. Industries were also required to install pollution control equipment. The Oregon Legislature reorganized the State Sanitary Authority in 1969, renaming it the Department of Environmental Quality. By 1972, the Willamette River had become safe enough for water contact activities.

This Municipal Sewage Pumping Station next the the Burnside Bridge was built in 1952 and was part of Portland's effort to clean up the Willamette River.

Historical Photos:

Night View of Waterfront Park & the Pumping Station, February 8, 1996 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Journal Building (former Portland Public Market) 1933-1969

Photo courtesy City of Portland

In 1933, a large three-story building with eleven story towers was built on the east side of Front Avenue to house the Portland Public Market, however it was never very successful and the market closed in 1942. The United States Navy leased the building in 1943, until it was sold to the Oregon Journal newspaper in 1948.

Historical Photos:

Ground Floor Plan of the Public Market Building, 1933 (Portland Auditor's Office)

Rose Festival ships moored in front of the Journal Building, June 1959 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

The Morrison Bridge during the 1964 Christmas Flood, with the Journal Building in the background (ODOT History Center)

Postcard View of Portland Public Market (Multnomah County Genweb)

Journal Building, 1969 (Portland Auditor's Office)

For more information, see the Portland Public Market page at PdxHistory.com.

Old Harbor Drive Expressway, after demolition of Journal Building

Meanwhile, along the seawall built in the 1920s to protect downtown Portland from flooding, a controlled-access expressway called Harbor Drive was completed in 1942. The four-lane divided highway was funded by the Roosevelt Administration to stimulate the economy. Closed to pedestrians and cross traffic, Harbor Drive completely cut off the Willamette River from downtown Portland into the 1970s.

Historical Photos:

Portland Waterfront before seawall, 1929 (Portland Auditor's Office)

Seawall under construction, 1929 (Portland Auditor's Office)

Aerial View of waterfront & Burnside Bridge with seawall, 1929 (Portland Auditor's Office)

Harbor Drive at the Hawthorne Bridge, September 11, 1942 (Salem Public Library)

Harbor Drive at the Hawthorne Bridge in 1942, showing Portland Public Market and old Morrison Bridge (Salem Public Library)

Harbor Drive and the Journal Building in the 1950s (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

View of Harbor Drive at the Hawthorne Bridge in the 1950s (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Aerial View showing Harbor Drive at the Hawthorne Bridge, 1974 (Portland Auditor's Office)

McCall's Restaurant Building

This modernist building that now sits inside Waterfront Park was designed by John Yeon in 1949 and was originally used as a Portland Visitors Information Center. It was later the home of McCall's Restaurant. It has been vacant for some time. As of August 2008, the Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation was considering two finalists for the building's redevelopment: a museum of city development or a cafe with services for bicyclists and other park users.

Battleship Oregon Memorial Marine Park

The U.S.S. Oregon was built by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, launched on October 26, 1893 and placed in commission on July 31, 1896. During the Spanish-American War, the battleship Oregon, under the command of Captain C. E. Clark, left San Francisco on March 19, 1898, going through the Strait of Magellan and arriving at Key West, Florida, a distance of 14,000 miles, 66 days later on May 23, setting a record and joining the American fleet at the Battle of Santiago Bay at Cuba, aiding the American victory by sinking the Spanish ships Viscaya and Colon. During World War I, the Oregon served as a coastal defense and training ship. On July 14, 1925, the Oregon was placed in the custody of the Battleship Oregon Commission, on loan to the State of Oregon to service as a historic memorial and museum. The Oregon was moored in the Portland harbor.

Historical Photos:

Battleship Oregon passing the Broadway Bridge (under construction) in 1913 (HistoricPhotoArchive.com)

Battleship Oregon in the Portland Harbor, circa 1920 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Battleship Oregon being towed into Portland Harbor in 1925 (Salem Public Library)

Battleship Oregon in the Portland Harbor in 1940 (Salem Public Library)

During World War II, the Navy reclaimed the Oregon for the war effort. The superstructure was dismantled for scrap metal and the hull was placed in service as an ammunition barge. Various components of the Oregon were saved from scrap, including the main foremast. A plaque telling the history of the Oregon was cast by Oregon Brass Works for the Battleship Oregon Naval Post 1478 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, who presented it to the City of Portland on October 29, 1944. The mast was originally placed at Harbor Drive and SW Clay Street, south of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Historical Photo:

Battleship Oregon Memorial, May 30, 1951 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

The Oregon's main foremast was used by the Portland Council of the Navy League of the United States to create the Battleship Oregon Memorial Marine Park on the Portland waterfront near where the Oregon herself had been moored as a museum. The Battleship Oregon Memorial Marine Park was dedicated on October 27, 1956. A plaque was added to an existing memorial from September 14, 1938 honoring all Spanish-American War nurses.

The figurehead of the Oregon was part of the original memorial. The links of chain are from the Oregon's anchor and continued to serve the ship's hull in World War II until it was scrapped. The links of anchor chain were donated by the City of Yokohama, Japan to the United States Navy. The Navy presented them to the City of Portland on June 8, 1979.

This bollard is also part of the memorial. It bears a plaque describing the ship's record-breaking voyage from San Francisco to Key West and involvement in the Spanish-American War "In remembrance of the United States Battleship Oregon (commissioned July 1896) and her officers and men." This plaque may have been on the ship when it served as a museum in Portland.

The foremast itself bears a plaque donated by the Marine Corps League: "A tribute to all U.S. Marines who served aboard the U.S.S. Oregon."

A Blue Star Memorial from the National Council of State Garden Clubs was placed here as "A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America." It was sponsored by Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. and the Portland District No. 1 Garden Clubs in cooperation with the Portland Council of the U.S. Navy League.

There is also a plaque here in remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor and in particular the 1,177 men entombed aboard the U.S.S. Arizona. It includes the following famous quote from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Declaration of War on December 8, 1941:

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan...No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win though to absolute victory."

The plaque was dedicated on the 50th Anniversary of "The Day of Infamy" by the Portland Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, to the brave men and women who participated in the defense of the attack at Pearl Harbor and other military bases on the Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

This flagpole near the Battleship Oregon Memorial was donated by the Portland Navy League, apparently to the Portland Rose Festival Association. It seems to be dedicated to Gene Autry, "An American Cowboy." Portland radio stations KEX and KQFM were also involved.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Beginning in 1967, the Oregon State Legislature, under the leadership of Governor Tom McCall, established policies to create a Willamette River Greenway along 120 miles of the Willamette River. In 1968, Portland's Downtown Waterfront Plan recommended replacing Harbor Drive with a park, while the State Highway Department wanted to widen it. That year, the city of Portland acquired the former public market building, which had been vacant since the Oregon Journal moved out in 1961, and demolished it the following year to make room for a widened Harbor Drive. In 1969, vocal citizens began objecting to the plans to widen Harbor Drive, and Governor McCall became involved, encouraging the inclusion of citizens in the planning process and personally favoring the construction of a park along the waterfront. Portland Mayor Terry Schrunk and Multnomah County Chairman James Gleason also supported the plan to replace Harbor Drive with a park. There were concerns about the potential traffic problems removing Harbor Drive could cause, however the completion of Interstate 405 and the Fremont Bridge on November 11, 1973 provided enough new capacity that Front Avenue could handle the remaining traffic. Harbor Drive was closed in 1974, and Waterfront Park opened along a mile and a half of Portland waterfront in 1978. In 1984, the Portland City Council named the park in honor of Governor Tom McCall for his role in creating it.

Originally the park only extended as far south as the Hawthorne Bridge, but it was since been extended south to the Marquam Bridge. These pictures show views from the southern end of the park.

Also visible from the south end of the park is the former U.S. Navy submarine U.S.S. Blueback at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Oregon Maritime Center & Museum

The Sternwheeler Portland is a semi-permanent fixture of the Portland waterfront, housing the Oregon Maritime Center & Museum. The Portland is a steam-powered sternwheeler "ship assist" tugboat designed by the Port of Portland and built by the Northwest Marine Iron Works in 1947. The Portland was built to assist ocean going ships in and out of the Portland harbor, a job she performed until her retirement in 1981. The Portland's wood paddlewheel is 25 feet in diameter and 26 feet wide. The Portland is still steam powered and is maintained in fully operational condition, occasionally being steamed up.

Historical Photos:

Sternwheeler Portland, 1947 (Oregon State Library)

Sternwheeler Portland, April 15, 1967 (Salem Public Library)

The United States Navy oil barge Russell (YO-95) was built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1944. It was last used on the Columbia River to transport liquid fertilizer to agriculture upriver.

This wood gillnetter was built in 1929-1930 by Ed Wahl for Oscar Haglund at the George & Barker cannery in Astoria, Oregon. It was built of white oak ribs with Port Orford Cedar planking.

Monument to Canadian emissaries who sheltered Americans in Iran

This monument seems to be the first placed here after the Waterfront Park was built. It reads: "On January 28, 1980, Canadian emissaries in Iran risked their lives by sheltering six Americans who were outside of the American embassy during the time of seizure. We, the people of the city of Portland, honor Canada for offering sanctuary to the Americans. Canada's noble act in bringing the Americans home calls forth our profound gratitude and appreciation."

Salmon Street Springs

The Salmon Street Springs fountain was designed by Robert Perron Landscape Architects and Planners, built by Berge Brothers Enterprises and funded by the Portland Development Commission. It was dedicated in 1988, and named through a public contest in 1989; the name comes from its location at the foot of SW Salmon Street. The City of Portland Bureau of Water Works operates and maintains it. An underground computer cycles through the fountain's three water patterns: misters, bollards and wedding cake. The fountain includes 185 jets with as many as 137 in operation at one time, depending on the pattern. At full capacity, the fountain recycles 4,924 gallons of water per minute.

United States Merchant Marine Memorial

The United States Merchant Marine Memorial was dedicated by the Columbia-Willamette League of U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans on May 22, 1989 "In Honor of the six thousand eight hundred American Merchant Seamen who gave their lives in combat defending ship, cargo and country during World War II" from December 7, 1941 to August 15, 1945. Its location is given as Latitude 45°31" North, Longitude 122°41" West. The memorial near the south end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park offers views of the Willamette River and the Hawthorne and Marquam Bridges.

Japanese-American Historical Plaza & Bill of Rights Memorial

The Japanese-American Historical Plaza & Bill of Rights Memorial tell the story of the Japanese-Americans who lived on the West Coast and in Portland in particular. Before World War II, there were two groups of Japanese-Americans. The Issei were the pioneers who left Japan to settle in America, coming to Oregon, Washington and California between 1880 and 1924. Their children, born between 1910 and 1930 and the first generation to grow up in America, were called Nisei. In Portland, Japanese-Americans lived in a neighborhood a few blocks from the current memorial called Nihonmachi, or "Japan Town."

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, forcing the United States into World War II. In 1942, nearly all Japanese-Americans in Oregon, Washington and California, over 110,000 men, women and children, were ordered by the United States Government to abandon their homes and were confined to isolated camps for three years. Many of them lost everything they owned. Meanwhile, the Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team received 18,143 individual decoration for bravery and sacrifice while fighting in Europe. Another 6,000 Japanese-Americans served the U.S. Military Intelligence Service in the Pacific Theatre.

In the 1980s, Congress and the White House acknowledged the injustice suffered by the innocent Japanese-American civilians who were held in internment camps by the United States government. The Japanese-American Historical Plaza was dedicated on August 3, 1990 "to the celebration of the Japanese-American story, and to the Bill of Rights that protects the freedom of the American people."

The large stones of the plaza are engraved with quotes from Japanese-Americans about their internment and eventual release.

Sure, I go to school.

Same as you.

I'm an American.

Just over there

Was our old community.

Echoes! Echoes! Echoes!

Glancing up

At red-tinged mountains,

My heart is softened.

A day in deep autumn.

War and change,

My native land

Once so hard to leave,

Is behind me now forever.

With new hope,

We build new lives.

Why complain when it rains?

This is what it means to be free.

Black smoke rolls

Across the blue sky.

Winter chills our bones.

This is Minidoka.

Mighty Willamette!

Beautiful friend,

I am learning,

I am practicing

To say your name.

Rounded up

In the sweltering yard.

Unable to endure any longer

Standing in line

Some collapse.

GILA

GRANADA

HEART MOUNTAIN

JEROME

MANZANAR

MINIDOKA

POSTON

ROHWER

TOPAZ

TULE LAKE

Going home,

Feeling cheated.

Gripping my daughter's hand,

I tell her we're leaving

Without emotion.

Through the car window

A glimpse of pines.

Oregon mountains.

My heart beats faster.

Returning home.

The following statement from President Ronald Reagan is on a plaque in the plaza.

Japanese-Americans have made invaluable contributions in all areas of our national life, including business, the arts, government, science, space exploration, and education. They have placed themselves in the ranks of America's extraordinary heroes by faithfully answering the call to defend freedom. In World War II, the brave Nisei of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team made American military history on the beach at Anzio and in difficult campaigns across the Italy and France; their courage made them one of the most decorated combat teams of the war, and the 18,143 individual decorations and seven Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations they received will always testify to their bravery and sacrifice. Their deeds, and those of Japanese-Americans who served our Armed Forces in so many other roles, gave life to the soldier's credo: Duty, Honor, Country.

Now is an especially appropriate time for us all to reflect on how America has benefitted from the contributions made by people who have come here from virtually every nation on Earth, and to rededicate ourselves to the Constitutional principles of justice and equality. The sad chapter in our history, when Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were interned during World War II, teaches an invaluable lesson: that our constitution is based on a belief in the innate, God-given worth of every individual, and that this worth cannot be denied without diminishing and endangering us all.

Another plaque in the plaza has the following statement from Public Law 100-383, which was passed by the 100th Congress on August 10, 1988.

The Congress recognizes that as described by the Commission on Wartime Relocation Internment of Civilians, a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II. As the Commission documents, these actions were carried out without adequate security reasons and without any acts of espionage or sabotage documented by the commission, and were motivated in part by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership. The excluded individuals of Japanese ancestry suffered enormous damages, both material and intangible, and there were incalculable losses in education and job training, all of which resulted in significant human suffering for which appropriate compensation has not been made. For these fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights of these individuals of Japanese ancestry, the Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation.

Another plaque has the text of the Bill of Rights from December 15, 1791.

Friendship Circle

The Friendship Circle is at the north end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. It celebrates 30 years of sister-cityhood between Portland and Sapporo, Japan, which generously contributed to the art project administered by the Metropolitan Arts Commission. It was dedicated in July of 1990.

Stand Up Portland Plaque

A plaque near the Salmon Street Springs fountain was placed on August 21, 1993 by Stand Up Portland, and reads: "We, the citizens of Oregon, recognizing that the future health and well-being of our state depends on the strength and diversity of its people, stand together to celebrate the uniqueness of cultures, lifestyles, ideas and abilities that unite us as a community."

Portland Police Memorial

The Portland Police Memorial was dedicated in 1994, "To commemorate those Portland Police Officers who gave their lives in the performance of their official duties." It was designed by Mayer/Reed, built by OTKM Construction, Inc., and made possible through the generosity of the Collins Foundation, the Portland Police Association, the Blitz-Weinhard, Co., Portland's Finest, Inc., McCormick & Schmick, British Petroleum Co., R.B. Pamplin Corporation, Ross Island Sand & Gravel, the Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division, the Portland Police Historical Society and Riedel Environmental Technologies. The memorial includes the names of the following Portland police officers and the date their lives in the line of duty.

Thomas G. O'Conner	August 8, 1867	Charles F. Schoppe	June 13, 1874
Samuel S. Young	September 23, 1908	Albert W. Moe	January 9, 1914
James R. White	November 17, 1914	Ralph H. Stahl	January 27, 1915
James C. Gill	November 30, 1915	John J. McCarthy	July 21, 1916
Jerome Palmer	November 17, 1920	Robert E. Drake	October 11, 1930
Charles M. White	June 30, 1934	Phillip R. Johnson	May 19, 1941
Charles E. Vincent	March 22, 1942	James A. Hines	November 4, 1945
Roy E. Mizner	February 18, 1956	Vernon J. Stroeder	February 18, 1956
Roger L. Davies	April 18, 1961	Robert P. Murray	May 2, 1962
Robert R. Ferron, Jr.	May 23, 1964	Stephen M. Owens	September 23, 1973
Dennis A. Darden	August 9, 1974	David W. Crowther	December 27, 1979
Stanley D. Pounds	July 18, 1984	Thomas L. Jeffries	July 21, 1997
Colleen A. Waibel	January 21, 1998	Kirk R. Huffstetler	May 26, 2002

Portland Spirit

The Portland Spirit is a modern 150' yacht that serves as a cruise ship on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. It was actually built at about the same time as the Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington. The Portland Spirit was built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding and was launched in 1987. After operating in the Connecticut River for a year, the ship was sold and operated out of Hawaii under the name Stardancer until March, 1994, when it was purchased by American Waterways, Inc. to be refit and renamed as the Portland Spirit. The Portland Spirit entered service in May, 1994, and has since been refit in 1998 and 2004.

For more information, visit the official website of the Portland Spirit.

Historic Front Avenue

Tom McCall Waterfront Park is bordered by Front Avenue, now known as Naito Parkway, which has a number of historic buildings along its west side, facing the park. Here are some of the highlights of Naito Parkway.

The site of the Fechheimer & White Building at 233 SW Front Avenue (now Naito Parkway) was originally occupied by a frame building that housed a cigar stand and later a second hand clothing store. Morris W. Fechheimer, a prominent Portland attorney, and Isam White, Portland's largest wholesaler and retailer of dry goods, bought the land and the original building in 1883. Williams and Krumbein, Portland's best known Victorian architecture firm, designed this building with a granite base, cast iron arches and Corinthian columns, second-floor stucco masonry and cornice and brackets of wood and sheet metal. The cast iron was fabricated by Portland's Willamette Iron Works. The building was completed in 1885 at a cost of $7,000, and the first tenants were commission and fruit merchants Sladden and Church. Later tenants included

This photograph, taken immediately after World War II, shows the other buildings on this same block.

warehousemen, gentlemen's furnishings retailers, a transfer company, a furniture manufacturer, a supplier of gas and oil engines and a sheet metal fabricator. Originally the building had three pairs of doors in front; they were later replaced by a single pair of doors with display windows on each side. Ralph Walstron and Jeff Hollbrook, owners of a real estate appraisal and consulting firm, restored the building in 1960. It was refurbished again in 1979-1980.

Historical Photo:

Fechheimer & White Building, May 13, 1962 (Salem Public Library)

The Italianate-style Smith's Block was designed by Oregon architect W. W. Piper and was built in 1872 for William K. and Joseph S. Smith at a cost of $50,000.

The gothic-style Bickel Block was designed by Justus Krumbein and built in 1883 for Frederick Bickel, a German candy-maker who opened a confectionary shop with Frank Dekum. The building's cast iron columns were made by the Architectural Iron Works of San Francisco. The Parke & Lacey Machinery Company, a manufacturer of engines, boilers & sawmill machinery, first occupied the building. The Fraser Paper Company bought it in the 1950s.

The Made in Oregon sign sits on the White Stag Building, built in 1907 for the Willamette Tent & Awning Company. The sign was erected in 1940 by Ramsey Signs for White Satin Sugar, which rented the space on the roof. In 1959, the sign was changed to advertise White Stag sportswear. It was changed to "Made in Oregon" in 1997 to support Old Town & Saturday Market.

Historical Photos:

White Stag sign, before 1997 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Construction of Portland's new Central Fire Station began in 1949, facing Front Avenue between Ash Street and Vine Street. Designed by Jones and Marsh Architects, it was completed in 1951. The dedication plaque named City Commissioner Kenneth L. Cooper and Bureau of Fire Chief Edward Grenfell.

Next to Portland's Central Fire Station is the Jeff Morris Memorial Fire Museum, built in 1977 by the Friends of Jeff Morris Committee using public and private funds. Battalion Chief Jeff Morris pioneered fire prevention education in Portland until his death in 1974. The museum was dedicated in his memory in May 1986.

These cast iron columns along Front Avenue adjacent to the Jeff Morris Memorial Fire Museum came from a demolished building and mark the entrance to Ankeny Square, which serves at part of the Portland Saturday Market on weekends.

Dick Fagan (1911-1969) was a journalist for the Oregon Journal newspaper when it was located in the former Portland Public Market building. From his desk he could look down at the corner of Front Avenue and Taylor Street,

Dick Fagan at Mill Ends Park

Photo courtesy of the Oregon Journal

where he could see a hole in the median strip for a utility hole that was never installed. Fagan imagined the hole as a tiny park for Leprechauns, and in his "Mill Ends" column in the paper described a variety of events in the park, presided over by head Leprechaun Patrick O'Toole. Mill Ends Park, which measures 24 inches in diameter or 452.16 square inches in area, was dedicated by the City of Portland as an official city park in 1976, and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Smallest Park. A marker 38 feet west of the park was given by the Friends of Dick Fagan and the True Believers in Patrick O'Toole.