East Portland Historical Overview and Historic Preservation Study

From introduction: "East Portland is a special and complex part of the city. Its history, landscapes, and built environment differ in important ways from Portland's urban core and inner-ring neighborhoods. From the White settlement era to World War II, this large area (with a few exceptions) remained unincorporated, largely rural in character, and developed identities distinct from those parts of Portland that had urbanized in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the post-war era, development accelerated with new subdivisions, a profusion of “suburban-style” single-family housing, automobile-accommodating development patterns and the (sometimes halting) extension of urban services and infrastructure. Urbanization continued through succeeding decades. Large tracts of land were annexed by the City, bringing changes in governance and zoning. Massive infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the I-205 freeway and the MAX light rail line profoundly altered the landscape and the relationships between East Portland communities and the rest of the region. In the last decade, growth has continued in many neighborhoods, with increasing residential densities through new “green field” development, land conversion, infill projects large and small, and new multi-family housing... The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the history of East Portland and a preliminary analysis of issues and trends that can inform historic preservation efforts in the area. The intent is to outline the historical contexts in which the area grew and evolved and to provide guidance for future documentation, inventory and other preservation planning and protection activities, as well as comprehensive land use planning. It is not the product of exhaustive research into the full array of available primary sources on the history and built environment of East Portland, but rather is an attempt to synthesize some of what is already been written about the area, drawing from sources such as neighborhood plans, published community histories, Sanborn maps, ongoing studies and others. As such, it is a starting place meant to suggest the need for more comprehensive and/or focused work in the future. It is also intended to complement (while also drawing from) a related Bureau of Planning project, the East Portland Review, that is examining a broader array of community development and livability issues in the area. The map on the following page shows the boundaries of the East Portland Review study area, which coincides generally the area studied in this report. The report has three primary sections following this introduction. The first contains a brief, more-or-less chronological overview of East Portland’s social and developmental history. The second contains a summary of recent development trends and their implications for East Portland’s historic resources. The final section discusses options for future research, field work and preservation planning in the area. The attached appendices contain additional summary data, maps and other information that support this report and may inform future preservation-related research and planning activities. A separate but related document takes a modest first step in the survey field by inventorying the study area’s public school buildings, chosen in part because of the important role schools have long played in supporting community cohesiveness in East Portland." Funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Portland administered by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Portland, Oregon is a Certified Local Government.

East Portland Historical Overview and Historic Preservation Study

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