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 1865 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 December 11, 2019 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 5/31/2020) African American Resources in Portland, Oregon 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 E-3 Context I: Settlement Patterns E-11 Context II: Business and Employment E-37 Context III: Journalism E-60 Context IV: Entertainment and Recreation E-73 Context V: Benevolent and Fraternal Societies E-86 Context VI: Religion and Worship E-98 Context VII: Civil Rights E-107 F. Associated Property Types F-126 (Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.) Residences F-126 Commercial and Professional Buildings F-132 Entertainment Venues F-139 Religious Facilities F-141 Civic and Social Organization Buildings F-144 Sites (Non-Archaeological F-146 Sites (Archaeological) F-147 Objects F-149 Historic Districts F-150 G. Geographical Data G-154 H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods H-155 (Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.) I. Major Bibliographical References I-157 (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-170 (Figures, Maps, Appendices, and other materials. Please include a list of all included additional materials) Residential Architectural Styles AD-170 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 5/31/2020) African American Resources in Portland, Oregon 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 1865, which marks the conclusion of the initial settlement period of the Willamette Valley as well as the end of the Civil War, through 1973, the termination of urban renewal programs in Inner North and Northeast Portland. In 1865, the end of the Civil War (1861-1865) and the passage of the 13th Amendment permanently abolished slavery in the United States, securing the freedom of approximately 3.9 million African Americans who had been enslaved before the war. At the same time, the Willamette Valley’s initial settlement period (1841-1865) came to a close as new transportation options facilitated westward travel.1 America’s first transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, greatly expedited travel to and from the frontier and led to subsequent decline in the use of overland trail routes. Whereas the journey from the eastern United States to Oregon had once necessitated months of arduous travel by wagon and on foot, westward travelers in the 1870s were able to proceed by rail as far as San Francisco and from there ride a steamship up the coast to Oregon; the journey could now be completed in a matter of weeks, and in relative comfort. The railroads also represented an important economic advancement for the young state, as they were able to convey goods quickly and securely from one side of the country to another. Oregon’s rapid infrastructure development and increasingly large and diverse population reflected this new connectivity. The first African Americans to settle in Portland had arrived during the initial settlement phase of the Willamette Valley, during the early- and mid-nineteenth century. Exclusionary policies enacted in the years leading up to and immediately following Oregon’s 1859 admission to the Union discouraged African American in-migration for decades, and those who did make their way to the growing city found limited opportunity for social or economic advancement.2 Consequently, Portland’s African American population grew only slowly through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, spiking briefly after the development of the 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, quickly 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 1 Liz Carter, Pioneer Houses and Homesteads of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, 1841-1865 (Portland, OR: Historic Preservation League of Oregon, 2013), 2; National Register of Historic Places, Settlement-era Dwelling, Barns and Farm Groups of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, National Register #64501236. The Willamette Valley is located in the northwestern quadrant of Oregon, and it is bounded to the north by the Columbia River, to the east by the Cascades, to the south by the Calapooya Mountains, and to the west by the Pacific Coast Range. 2 See the Historical Background for more information on these exclusionary policies and their impacts on the African American experience in early Oregon. E-1 NPS Form 10-900-b (Rev. 01/2009) OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2020) African American Resources in Portland, Oregon Oregon Name of Multiple Property Listing State increased tenfold in fewer than five years, topping 20,000