icon next to each of them.
Piedmont. Despite the changes this neighborhood has seen since it was an undeveloped piece of land in the now-defunct city of Albina, it still carries itself with the grace and planned elegance of its turn-of-the-20th-century heyday.
Just over 600 acres, the Piedmont neighborhood is contained within the boundaries set by Columbia Boulevard to the north, Ainsworth to the south, MLK Jr. Boulevard to the east and Interstate 5 to the west. It is home to more than 6,500 people, living in over 2,500 homes. A five minute car ride, or 20 minutes on the Max gets residents to downtown. Businesses are notably few and far between, but that was by design.
Piedmont was to become one of Portland's first planned communities when it was bought by The Investment Company in 1888 for $24,000. The Portland and Vancouver Railway Company helped make the spot more desirable by extending their service to Piedmont's border, as it made its way between the Columbia River crossing and downtown Portland. Intended to appeal to the upper middle class, Piedmont was touted to be strictly residential, no commercial or industrial buildings would be allowed. The homes, whose sale prices would range between $2,500 and $3,000, had to be built at least 25' from the street and 15' from the side lot line. Fifteen foot alleys backed the streets, and would house all of the unsightly lines of utilities. Horse and horseless carriages would only be permitted on streets where at least two thirds of the owners gave consent. Edward Quackenbush, president of The Investment Company and member of the Portland Anti-Saloon League added his own regulation—no manufacturing or selling of booze.
The very savvy Investment Company promoted Piedmont as "The Emerald, Portland's Evergreen Suburb." The marketing worked; it remained a popular area for upper-middle class professionals until the Second World War. Then Kaiser Shipbuilding, with plenty of work at the Swan Island shipyard, brought an influx of renters to the area, ending its long stint as a solely owner-occupied neighborhood.
Back at the turn of the century, when Piedmont was becoming a tony place to live, developers proposed a public park between what is now Rosa Parks Way and Ainsworth Street. The land was purchased in 1908 through a bond issue to purchase the 17 acre parcel for $60,000. A plan for Peninsula Park was designed by famed architects Ellis Lawrence and Ormond R. Bean, on land that had once been home to a horse track, campground, and roadhouse known as "Liverpool Liz's Place." Emanuel L. Mische, a famous architect of the day, installed the impressive rose garden, which tallied 300,000 visitors in its first year. The ornate band stand that rises above the garden was constructed in 1913 and is the last remaining structure of its kind in the city.
Peninsula Park Rose Garden
The bath houses on the Willamette River that Portlanders used to frequent in the 19th and early 20th century began to shut down as pollution became a problem in the waters. To fill the need for a safer place to swim, the Peninsula Park Community Center was built in 1913. It was the first community center in the Portland Park System. In 1957 the pool was also used to house a bunch of homeless penguins, waiting for their permanent residence at the Oregon Zoo to be finished.
Peninsula Park Community Center
Understanding the past helps explain a lot about present-day Piedmont. With its wide, tree-lined avenues and gracious Arts & Crafts homes, quaint bungalows and fairy-tale tudors, the past is very much still in plain sight. There have been good and bad years for Piedmont, as for most neighborhoods in Portland, but, with the addition of the Max line, the New Seasons, coffee houses, and restaurants all around its borders, it feels as though Piedmont is returning to its early splendor. On the other hand, the "elitist" attitude that seemed to be worked into the early marketing plan of the area is gone. Today, the Piedmont Neighborhood Association works not only to build a better sense of community within the confines of Piedmont, but looks to branch out to the surrounding areas.
Piedmont has a rich history, but it also looks toward the future conscientiously. I sat down with Shaun Sullens and Deanna Gomez, members of the Piedmont Neighborhood Association (PNA), to talk about what challenges they face, and what lies ahead for this historic district.
Both women agreed that their single greatest challenge as a neighborhood association was getting other people involved. They both see themselves as idealistic—that they feel compelled to work towards a stronger sense of community where they live.
"It's really easy to get to know your neighbors," says Sullens. "It's cool to be part of something bigger than yourself."
Gomez feels that some people have the wrong idea about the PNA.
"They think it's a bunch of old bitties who want to complain about your grass being too long," she says. She thinks some of that stems from an issue that arose a few years back when one of Piedmont's only businesses, A.J. Java applied for a liquor license. Though the owner of the establishment had been very involved with community activities, the board of the neighborhood association was against her selling alcohol. They worried that she would sell her business to someone who didn't have the same dedication to the community that she had and felt that her location, across from Piedmont Park, was a place that could do without alcohol. The board felt a great backlash from new members of the community—who came out to support A.J. Java—and the rift led to the resignation of all but one board member. The liquor license was procured, the young homeowners stopped attending neighborhood association meetings, and a new board was elected who, Gomez says, "Had no institutional knowledge." Both Sullens and Gomez are members of this new board, and still feel as though they suffer the hard feelings this incident created.
Gomez says that neighborhoods with more businesses tend to have higher attendance rates at their association meetings. Business owners and residents with opinions about the businesses come out more frequently. "People come when they're upset about something," she laughs.
But they are undaunted in their efforts. They are determined to remind residents that Piedmont is a great neighborhood and getting involved will make it even better.
"It takes a lot of individual strengths working together to get things done," says Gomez. They outline the Bryant Street Project for me, which is over two years in the making. The project has the Piedmont and Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Associations working together to come up with a plan to better utilize the foot bridge that passes over Interstate 5 connecting the two neighborhoods. A plan to make it safer (with better lighting, removal of debris, and efforts to discourage criminal behavior) is only the beginning. Sketches for the project include ideas to make the bridge itself a "destination" of sorts, with plants and art, making it a beautiful welcome to each of the neighborhoods.
Gomez says she wrote a grant after finding out from another neighbor that there was money available through the Delta Park expansion plan to enhance existing pedestrian bridges. Meetings were conducted where residents got together to talk about what they hoped for the area, and to brainstorm on design ideas. Piedmont resident and artist Brian Borrello put those ideas onto paper to offer ODOT, who will oversee the project, a clear idea of their vision. Originally, regulations stated that they would have to put all of the work out to an open bid, but the PNA negotiated with ODOT so that they could hire skilled people from within the community to do the work. They felt strongly that this remain a community project, with workers who would be personally invested in the project. Impressed with their plan, ODOT has now asked for a more concrete blueprint of the plan from Borrello, putting them one step closer to being able to begin the construction.
Gomez and Sullen hope to have more successful projects like this one.
"I think people often assume that someone else is taking care of things like this, so they don't have to," Gomez says. "They don't want to get involved because they don't think they have time. But the reality is that the more people who are involved the less work it really is." They both agree that some opportunities are missed, because there are not enough people involved to attend the meetings and events that build relationships with other organizations. They point to Peninsula Park, where Portland Parks and Recreation hold all sorts of fun and interesting events. Because they don't have a good park liason, they are often in the dark about events going on right in their own neighborhood.
"All of it takes time," Sullen asserts. "You can't come to one meeting and expect to have some deep philanthropic need met." They are dedicated to keep working at it, to keep looking for ways to get more people involved, and to developing a cohesive and relevant identity for Piedmont.
There are things that have remained the same in Piedmont—it is still a great place to live—and yet things are changing here as well. The changes—like building stronger community ties and dedication to positive growth—will continue to enhance Piedmont for future generations.
Check out the Piedmont Neighborhood Association's web site and blog for news and events.
View the slideshow for more images of Piedmont or visit our Flickr Gallery:
