Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing” demos, and all manner of gearhead entertainment. If there's a race
on when you're in the area, it's well worth going to see. (Or better yet,
volunteer as a corner worker, where you get free admission, free lunch,
and the best view of the races. Details about volunteering are on
OMRRA's website—anybody can do it; all it takes is showing up the
morning of the event.)
The body of water you're walking alongside, the Columbia Slough, is
part of a complicated wetlands system making up a 60-mile watershed
in North Portland. The slough parallels the Columbia River for 18 miles
until its confluence with the Willamette. Over the years, the surround-
ing industry (not to mention general drainage from Portland) has left
the slough polluted, but it's still used as a recreational zone (for kayak-
ing, hiking, etc.) and continues to serve its original function as part of
the city's flood-control system.
Follow the Columbia Slough Trail until you see the railroad bridge at N.
Portland Rd. Turn right onto the walking path alongside N. Portland
and follow it through a wild, remote industrial zone. On your left is
Smith Lake, part of the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, the
largest protected wetlands area within a city in the United States. On
your right are Heron Lakes Golf Course and the former site of Vanport
City.
During the 1940s, Vanport was the largest wartime housing develop-
ment in the country. Defense workers rushing to Portland, mostly in
shipbuilding, needed a place to live, so in 1942 a 650-acre parcel of the
Columbia River floodplain was turned into a massive housing project.
More than 9,000 apartments were built on the swampy land; with more
than 40,000 residents at its peak, Vanport was the second-largest city in
Oregon. It was also racially segregated and generally discontent; the
Housing Authority of Portland at the time called it “troublesome” and
“blighted.”
After the war ended, most of the people who stayed on in Vanport were
African Americans. On Memorial Day in 1948, the Columbia River
overflowed its floodplain. Residents of Vanport had all of 35 minutes to
escape. The hastily built wooden apartments washed away in moments;
within hours, nothing was left. At least 15 people died. Rumors lingered
that authorities had purposely neglected to warn Vanport residents un-
til the last minute. In any case, those who'd been flooded out of their
