Praying for Portland Neighborhoods: Southwest Portland
Roses in South Park Blocks
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9
In the early days Portland was made up of four
quadrants: The city is divided by the Willamette River east and west, while Burnside
Street divides it north and south. Later North Portland was added, making five,
and more recently, in 2020, a section of Southwest Portland was split off into
South, giving the city six “quadrants” – or, more accurately, sextants.
Those are official designations used to determine
addresses in the various areas of Portland, but we plan to look at Southwest as
one section with the Eastern portion of the city, bordering Southeast and Northeast, as the sixth. (Totally clear, I'm sure. This is why we include maps.)
Southwest is the heart of Portland and contains Downtown, which
includes the cultural, governmental, retail, and educational resources of the
city: South Park Blocks, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland Art Museum,
Portland City Hall, Pioneer Courthouse. Portland State University is in this
section, which is the only public university in the state located in a major
metropolitan city.
 |
| SW Portland |
The South Park Blocks in Downtown Portland have been
called the city’s extended family room. The park, near Portland State University,
is considered the city’s cultural center. The twelve blocks that make up the
city park were dedicated by the early landowners from the start to be
greenspace in the newly platted city. The park was originally dedicated to the
city in 1852.
In the years since, the park has been the venue for
any number of city events including parades such as the Rose Festival until it
got too big. The first Earth Day in Portland was celebrated there, as well as
the first gay parade.
A lot of events happen in the Park Blocks! Beginning in
the 1990’s there was growing concern about homeless camps, gangs, and an
increasing crime rate in the area. The section near PSU is a favorite starting
point for protests. In 1970 a Vietnam War protest turned into a riot and more
recently, in 2020 and 2021, there were protests there and in other parts of Downtown
that led to building damage and violent interactions between protesters and
police. Several of the statues - Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt - in the Park Blocks were topped and/or damaged.
In mid-2021 the city of Portland accepted the South
Block Parks Master Plan, a proposal to improve the park to better serve the
growing and changing community. No funds have been allocated for the plan.
The Southwest quadrant of Portland is one of the most
familiar to many, including my family. I saw Packy the elephant when he was
still a baby in 1962 at the Portland Zoo. Packy was the first Asian elephant
born in the western hemisphere in 44 years at the time of his birth. When he
died, in 1917, he was the oldest male Asian elephant in North America. Some of
my children attended Portland State University, and my youngest son and his
wife were married in the International Rose Test Garden. Various health issues
have led us to OHSU, and we’ve visited the Portland Art Museum, among other
places. There is much of beauty, culture, and art in Southwest Portland, which
makes the recent turmoil and violence all the more heartbreaking.
 |
| Portland Zoo |
How do we pray for Southwest Portland?
He makes peace in your borders…Psalm
147:14
Pray for the restoration of Downtown and for peace and
order to be maintained.
Pray for the colleges: Portland State University,
Lewis and Clark, Portland Community College.
Pray for the arts, entertainment, government and
education spheres represented by this section of Portland which strongly influences all
of Oregon.
Comments
Post a Comment