Perhaps ironically, while Bureau of Planning and Sustainability staff have been working from home for nearly a year now, our new office building has been rising from the ground up. As we went into quarantine last March, the 4th & Montgomery Building (as it was called then) was a set of rebar and cement columns seemingly growing from the corner of the intersecting streets for which it was named.
But now it rises gracefully, a generous curve softening its namesake corner and slightly slanting alabaster columns articulating the façade, leading the eye upward toward its height of seven stories. Walk around the back side facing 5th St, and it seems to cradle the historic apartment building that occupies the southwest corner. The young embracing the old.
From its inception, this new building has been a communal and collaborative effort between its owner-occupants: Portland State University, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland Community College, and the City of Portland. Staff from each organization were invited to participate in the design process, sharing their ideas and preferences for the “ideal” work environment. That feedback was incorporated into everything from floorplans, conference room features and paint colors to where the bathrooms, bike lockers and loading dock would be located.
Not everything was possible – or even negotiable: The site itself is highly constrained, and building codes, street access, construction costs and more required compromises in design. But there’s something for all the tenants, the people they will serve and the public.
Including its new name: Vanport Building.
Genesis of a name
In 2019 as construction began, a committee was formed to determine a process for naming the building that would meet the requirements of all the owners. Representatives from the City, PSU, OHSU and PCC began brainstorming names of historic figures or events in Portland history (including Vanport); geographic locations or landmarks, such as Willamette and Columbia; PSU, OHSU or PCC alumni who championed social justice or equity; local or regional politicians who supported higher education; and practical monikers such as the building address or keeping the cross-street 4th & Montgomery name.
The committee ultimately agreed that the building's name should reflect the shared history and community of the different owners and the populations they serve. This narrowed the options down to Vanport, Barbara Roberts, Gladys McCoy, or Dirce and Nohad Toulan. The committee strongly favored the name Vanport and sought the consent of former Vanport residents through the Vanport Mosaic collective, which enthusiastically supported the name.
Committee members then invited Ed Washington, a former Vanport resident and current liaison for Diverse Initiatives at the PSU Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion, to comment on the name. He was eager to see the history of Vanport, the flood, and the university, all brought to the forefront of the campus' conversations around race and social justice. He also noted that without Vanport, there would be no Portland State. With his endorsement, the committee unanimously decided to name the building after the City of Vanport.
Vanport and Portland State University
The City of Vanport was named after its location situated between Vancouver and Portland, an area that is now occupied by West Delta Park, Portland International Raceway, and Heron Lakes Golf Course. Constructed as part of the Kaiser Company's shipbuilding efforts in 1942, Vanport was the nation's largest wartime housing development. At its height, it was the second largest city in Oregon after Portland.
This thriving small city was also home to the Vanport Extension Center (VEC), the first publicly supported institution of higher learning in Portland. Now known as Portland State University, the VEC opened in the summer of 1946, with the goal of providing higher education opportunities to returning WWII veterans and their families. Of the 220 students who enrolled that summer, 94% were veterans.
When the Columbia River flooded on Memorial Day, May 30, 1948, the 18,500 Vanport residents had 35 minutes to escape. Sadly, 15 people died, and suddenly homeless refugees crowded into Portland, a city still recovering from the second world war. More than a thousand of the displaced families were Black Americans, whose new housing choices were limited to North Portland, due to redlining and other racially restrictive housing laws.
The history of Vanport is more than the history of a small company town. Vanport was the most diverse city in Oregon at a time when most Black Oregonians could not find housing outside of the Albina neighborhood. It was home to the men and women who worked in the shipyards that helped the allies win the war. It featured integrated social and community services never before seen in Oregon, and it was a hub for returning veterans to reintegrate into a post-war world. The city also claimed a diverse, nontraditional college that eventually became the most diverse university in the state.
Vanport is a symbol of triumph over bigotry, adversity, and environmental racism. It exemplifies our ability – and aspiration – to create an equitable, just community together. The Vanport Building name will commemorate the city of Vanport, the residents who were displaced by the Vanport flood, and the Vanport Extension Center.
Sadly, the building is also a reminder that racism is still with us. On May 20 of last year, a noose was found dangling in the construction zone, sparking outrage and fear – a stark reminder of the vulnerability of our Black colleagues, neighbors, friends and families. The building owners, community partners, and others responded with a dedication ceremony on September 21 designed to counteract the horrific act and stand against hate.
So, its name – Vanport – will serve as a reminder to us every time we are in its presence that rivers will rise, but so will hearts and minds as we rise to the challenge of an equitable, anti-racist and just community.
Epilogue: A commemorative mural
Continuing to work with Vanport Mosaic collective, the committee commissioned the group to create a commemorative mural for the lobby of the building, based on their relationships with the Vanport community and extensive research they have done to preserve their history. The exhibit will be a mural of archival images of Vanport painted by Alex Chiu, telling the full story of the town, the flood, and its legacy. The mural is scheduled to be completed by the 2021 Memorial Day weekend, the anniversary of the flood as well as the annual Vanport Mosaic Festival.
Many thanks to the Office of Management and Finance’s Sharon Raymor and PSU’s Madelyn Miller for valuable research and background material.