Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2010 Guild's Lake Courts : an impermanent housing project Tanya Lyn March Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the History Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation March, Tanya Lyn, "Guild's Lake Courts : an impermanent housing project" (2010). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2812. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2806 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. ABSTRACT An abstract of the dissertation of Tanya Lyn March for the Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies presented May 28, 2010 Title: Guild's Lake Courts: An Impermanent Housing Project Guild's Lake Courts was built as temporary worker housing for the steel and shipyard industries during World War IL The massive housing development in :Northwest.Portland consisted of 2,43~ units of housing, five community buil~lngs, five childcare centers, a grade school and a fire stat~on. Guild's Lake Courts was the eighth largest housing project built at that time in the United States. The peak population in January 1945 was approximately 10,000 individuals. Archival research, face-to-face oral histories, and resident reunions were used to explore the social, architectural and political history of Guild's Lake Courts. The lens for.understanding how the community operated is dominantly for the social history that of a childhood homefront experience. Four wartime themes emerged in this study: 1) that Portland's focus on prejudice dimmed during the war years, 2) that the community. was a confluence of humanity, 3) that the design of the site and the housing was shaped by a convergence of New Deal innovations i_n design construction technologies and e~ectrification and 4) that there was a willingness to sacrifice creattire comforts during t~e war years. Guild's Lake Courts as a residential community under went thre~ rapid evolutions prior to its demolition in 1951, a wartime housing operation 1942-1945, affordable housing 1945-1948, and a haven for Vanport Refugees June 1948-1950. \ Guild's Lake Courts history has been overloo~ed but it offers insights into the possible fate of the residents of Vanport City had the community not been flooded in 1948.· The story of Guild's Lake Courts is a counterpoint story· to Vanport City the largest of the three defense housing projects in Oregon that admitted African-Americans during the war years. 2 GUILD'S LAKE COURTS: AN IMPERMANENT HOUSING PROJECT by TANYA LYN MARCH A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 1ll URBAN STUDIES Dissertation Committee: Carl Abbott, Chair Sy Adler Patricia Schechter James Strathman Gerald Sussman Portland State University ©2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................... iii List of Tables .....................................................................................vi Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................ 1 Research Approach, and Assumptions ......................................................... 6 Guild's Lake Courts ............................................................................. 10 Key Findings ..................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...................................................... :............................. 21 Themes and theories in government housing development ................................. 24 Defense housing key scholars .................................................................. 35 Life Cycle during WWII: Key Scholarship ................................................... 41 Portland during the 1940s ...................................................................... 44 The Portland African American experience in the 1940s ................................... 51 Chapter 3: Government Housing Background ........................................................ 62 Federal housing programs 1911-1941 ......................................................... 62 Portland Housing Needs 1914-1964 ........................................................... 85 Chapter 4: Guild's Lake Courts' Natural and Architectural History................ 107 History of the site .......................... ·.................................................... 107 Architectural Significance ..................................................................... 118 Chapter 5: Moving into Guild's Lake Courts .......................................... 147 Wartime, 1942-1944: Relocating for war effort employment ............................ 152 Postwar, 1945-1948: Vacant units rented as affordable housing for veterans and single mothers .......................................................................................... 167 After the Vanport Flood, 1948: Evacuees Arrive ........................................ 174 Chapter 6: Community Service Institutions for Residents of Guild's Lake Courts ......................................................................................................................... 182 Nursery Schools ................................................................................ 186 Grade Schools, K-8 ............................................................................ 204 Community Centers .................................................................................................... 223 1 Chapter 7: Childhood Play: Independence and Risk. ................................. :....... 239 Opportunities for freedom .................................................................... 240 Geography of Race: Segregation and Class ................................................. 242 Shopping and connnercial entertainment. ................................................... 244 War Related Activities ........................................................................ 253 Playgrounds ..................................................................................... 256 Structured volunteer activities ................................................................ 259 Unintended play activities .................................................................... 267 Balance of Wilderness and Urban Life ...................................................... 273 Sports and intended play activities ............................................................. 275 Chapter 8: Adult Work and Non-Work Activities in Portland ..................... 289 Wartime employment, 1942-1945 ........................................................... 290 Non-Paying Adult Activities, 1942-1950: Victory Gardens ............................. 299 Postwar employment, 1946-1950 ............................................................ 301 Chapter 9: Demise of Guild's Lake Courts ............................................. 307 Wartime, 1942-1945: Moving within the project.. ....................................... .309 The Disposition Phase: 1945-1951 ........................................................... 312 Impact of Vanport Flood on disposition of temporary units ............................ 3~1 Chapter 10: Conclusion: Why is it hard to find anyone who has heard of Guild's Lake Courts? ............................................................................................................. 351 Glossary..................................................................................................................... 363 Abbreviations .................................................................................. 367 Selected References ........................................................................... 369 Appendix A: Methodology.......................................................................... .408 Appendix B: Resident Data: Interviewees and Reunion Attendees ...... .422 Appendix C: Two Timelines ...................................................... .423 Appendix D: National Register Listings for Architects Associated with Guild's Lake Courts ................................................................ .428 Appendix E: Maps .................................................................. .429 Appendix F: Pre-interview Questionnaire ................................... .436 Appendix G: Questionnaire ..................................................... .439 11 List of Figures 1-1. Aerial image of Portland c. 1945 ...................................................... 2 1-2. Housing near Montgomery Wards c. 1944 ........................................... 5 1-3. Trailers for Vanport Evacuees June 15, 1948 ....................................... 14 1-4. Caravan to Salem to protest trailers 1948 ............................................ 15 3-1. General Plan ofYorkship Village, a 225-acre hamlet in Camden, NJ .......... 65 3-2. Streetscape, Yorkship Village. WWI worker housing in Camden, NJ ........... 66 3-3. A few of the dwelling units at Techwood Homes, Atlanta, GA .................. 71 3-4. Housing in the slum in Atlanta, GA, prior to the construction of Techwood Homes, 1934 .............................................................