United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is used for documenting property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (formerly 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer to complete all items X New Submission Amended Submission A. Name of Multiple Property Listing African American Resources in Portland, Oregon, from 1851 to 1973 B. Associated Historic Contexts (Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.) I. Settlement Patterns II. Business and Employment III. Journalism IV. Entertainment and Recreation V. Benevolent and Fraternal Societies VI. Religion and Worship VII. Civil Rights C. Form Prepared by Catherine Galbraith with Caitlyn Ewers, Kerrie Franey, name/title Matthew Davis, and Brandon Spencer-Hartle date April 27, 2020 organization Bosco-Milligan Foundation/Architectural Heritage Center and City of Portland telephone 503-823-4641 street & number 1900 SW 4th Avenue #7100 email [email protected] city or town Portland state OR zip code 97201 D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR 60 and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation. (_________ See continuation sheet for additional comments.) Signature and title of certifying official: Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Date Oregon State Historic Preservation Office State or Federal Agency or Tribal government I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register. Signature of the Keeper Date of Action NPS Form 10-900-b (Rev. 01/2009) OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2021) African American Resources in Portland, Oregon, from 1851 to 1973 Oregon Name of Multiple Property Listing State Table of Contents for Written Narrative Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers according to the instructions for continuation sheets in National Register Bulletin How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (formerly 16B). Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below. Page Numbers E. Statement of Historic Contexts E-1 (if more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) Introduction E-1 Historical Background: African Americans in Early Oregon E-3 Context I: Settlement Patterns E-12 Context II: Business and Employment E-41 Context III: Journalism E-67 Context IV: Entertainment and Recreation E-82 Context V: Benevolent and Fraternal Societies E-97 Context VI: Religion and Worship E-109 Context VII: Civil Rights E-119 F. Associated Property Types F-139 (Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.) Residences F-149 Commercial and Professional Buildings F-152 Entertainment Venues F-155 Religious Facilities F-157 Civic and Social Organization Buildings F-161 Sites (Non-Archaeological) F-163 Sites (Archaeological) F-164 Objects F-166 Historic Districts F-167 G. Geographical Data G-170 H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods H-171 (Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.) I. Major Bibliographical References I-174 (List major written works and primary location of additional documentation: State Historic Preservation Office, other State agency, Federal agency, local government, university, or other, specifying repository.) Additional Documentation AD-189 (Figures, Maps, Appendices, and other materials. Please include a list of all included additional materials) Residential Architectural Styles AD-189 Map of 2019 city limits of Portland, Oregon AD-191 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, PO Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503 NPS Form 10-900-b (Rev. 01/2009) OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2021) African American Resources in Portland, Oregon, from 1851 to 1973 Oregon Name of Multiple Property Listing State _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ E. Statement of Historic Contexts (if more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) INTRODUCTION This Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPD), African American Resources in Portland, Oregon, is organized around properties associated with the African American experience in Portland from 1851, which marks the incorporation of the city of Portland, through 1973, the termination of urban renewal programs in Inner North and Northeast Portland.1 The first African Americans to settle in Portland arrived during the initial settlement phase of the Willamette Valley, during the early- and mid-nineteenth century. At the time of the 1850 census, less than a year prior to the city’s incorporation and the beginning of the period of significance, Portland had 821 residents; only four were identified as African American. Exclusionary policies enacted in the years leading up to Oregon’s 1859 admission to the Union had discouraged African American in-migration during the initial settlement period and for decades thereafter, resulting in Portland’s overwhelmingly White population at the beginning of the period of significance.2 Portland’s Black population grew only slowly through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, spiking briefly after the development of the First Transcontinental Railroad and capping at approximately 2,000 people by the time of the 1940 census. The small community, concentrated in Northwest Portland until the early twentieth century and in Inner North and Northeast Portland thereafter, developed a variety of social structures, industries, and institutions that paralleled those established and controlled by the city’s majority-White population. World War II marked a significant inflection point in the history of Portland and its African American community in particular. The Emergency Shipbuilding Program attracted thousands of people to the wartime shipyards in Portland and surrounding communities, and the city’s African American population increased tenfold in fewer than five years, topping 20,000 by 1944. Despite an active effort by the city’s dominant White power structure to limit African American employment and homeownership, about half this number remained in Portland following the termination of defense industry positions at the end of the war. Portland’s racist land use and real estate practices largely constrained this increased African American population to remnant wartime housing projects and less-desirable neighborhoods in Inner North and Northeast Portland. The parallel industries and institutions that the Black community had developed were also concentrated in this limited geographical area.3 1 For the purposes of this document, the terms “African American,” “Black,” and “of African descent,” are used largely interchangeably, except when the individual(s) referenced are from a country other than the United States, in which case the term “African American” is not used. The terms “person of color” and “people of color” are used broadly to describe non-White individuals and populations. Dated and derogatory terminology appears only sparingly, in the names of historic- period businesses and organizations as well as in quotations from period newspapers, court cases, or other relevant primary source material. 2 See the Historical Background, later in this section, for more information on these exclusionary policies and their impacts on the African American experience in early Oregon. 3 Darrell Millner, “Blacks in Oregon,” The Oregon Encyclopedia, last modified July 10, 2019, https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/blacks_in_oregon/#.WqLv4ujwaUk; Campbell Gibson and Kay Jung, Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, for Large Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005),