The Story of Portland's First Great Urban Renewal Project

PATREON: www.patreon.com/exploreoregon INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/pdxfilmexplorer FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/exploringportland TIKTOK:   / stevetheamateurhistorian   Post World War II Portland, Oregon had not flourished in the way some other American cities had. By the 50s it was lost in stagnation and peppered by blighted regions all across town. With the onset of a concept known as urban renewal, the city began looking into how to use urban renewal to revive itself. With the passing of the Housing Act of 1954 the Federal Government was willing to cover some of the costs if a city pursued an urban renewal project with an objective of clearing out a slum area. Needless to say, Portland dove at this opportunity. It wouldn't be until the end of the 1950s that the city began work on such a project in an area known as the South Auditorium district. This site was near the waterfront of the Willamette, bordering downtown's main commercial hub to its south. This area had been blighted for decades and was considered an eyesore to many. To some it was a no-brainer to revive such an area but reviving such a place was easier said than done. And for what the city gained with this multi-year project there was a great deal that was lost and, furthermore, a great deal that was not well planned out. In this video I discuss the origins of this project, the recreational center fiasco that slowed the whole thing down, the issues of dealing with the citizens who were displaced by the project, and comparing and contrasting what was once in this area with what replaced it and what still stands there today.