One generation shall praise Your works to
another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. Psalm
145:4
Burnside Street divides the Northeast and Northwest
quadrants of Portland from the Southeast and Southwest areas. The western edge
of Northwest Portland includes Forest Park and residential areas such as Northwest
Heights, Hillside, and Sylvan Highlands. The NW also contains Goose Hollow, the
Downtown, the Pearl District, and Old Town China Town. The very earliest
history of Portland is contained here.
In 1840, John Cushing, a Massachusetts merchant
who had made his fortune in China, turned his attention to the Pacific
Northwest. He saw the potential and began using his political and financial
influence to have Oregon claimed by the United States. In support of this, he
hired twenty-eight-year-old Captain John Couch to sail around the Horn, up the
Columbia to Willamette Falls and Oregon City. Captain Couch did this a few
times, then settled in Oregon City as a merchant and took a Donation Land Claim
of 640 acres next to the original Portland claim made by Lovejoy and Overton.
Couch’s claim became Northwest Portland which was also called North End for a
time. The portion along the waterfront was filled with industrial buildings
including sawmills, wharves, lumber companies and foundries. There was also an
area called Slabtown inhabited by immigrants. The residential area kept moving
back away from the waterfront, leaving it to fill in with hotels and
boardinghouses frequented by sailors and transients.
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| China Town, Portland, OR |
This is the area, in the extreme right corner of
Northwest Portland, where the infamous Shanghai Tunnels are located, and where
the sailor’s boarding houses were used to support the practice of “crimping”
sailors into forced labor. This is also where, to fight the evils of crimping,
the Seaman’s Friends Society built the Mariner’s Home and Seaman’s Bethel chapel
at Third and Davis. The buildings are still standing.
Just north of Old Town is the Pearl District. This
area used to be a warehouse and industrial area, but many warehouses are
converted to lofts alongside new condos. On the web page, How I Travel, is
an article titled “The 15 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World in 2022.” The
Pearl District is listed 5th between Kreuzberg, Germany and Malasana,
Madrid, Spain.
Forest Park, west of downtown Portland in the
Tualatin Mountains, is a one-mile by eight-mile park within the Portland city
limits. It contains about 5,200 acres of forest, eighty miles of trails, and is
one of the country’s largest urban forest reserves. Thomas Lamb Eliot, who moved
to Portland in 1867 to pastor the newly built First Unitarian Church, was
instrumental is setting the stage for the creation of Forest Park. He was one
of the most influential religious leaders in Portland and founded Reed College,
among other things.
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| Stone Building, Forest Park |
Forest Park is a great place but faces some
challenges. Being so large it is a draw for criminal activities and homeless
camps. It also faces challenges with forest health being compromised due to
overuse and lack of funds for maintenance.
How do we pray for Northwest Portland?
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in His mercy. Psalm 147:11
Pray for Old Town and the area along the waterfront.
There is a lot of history here, some good, but also a legacy of poverty, crime,
and violence.
Pray for the police and first responders of this quadrant
of Portland. Pray for the safety of those who use and enjoy Forest Park.
Pray for the affluent neighborhoods, for peace and
safety, but also for a turning of hearts to the Lord.
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