Renaming streets - the new plaid
I learned over at Blogtown that there is a movement to rename N. Interstate Blvd to N. Cesar E Chavez Boulevard. Amy Ruiz states the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association is pushing the name change and has letters of support from many of the major businesses currently on the street and the neighborhood associations. I have to say I am a little challenged by this, but am willing to engage in the conversation. While I understand the need for us to honor individuals who make an impact on our society and culture, is naming a street after them the right thing to do? Also, is N. Interstate the right street in the city to get the Cesar E Chavez name? I don’t know. I am also concerned that this new trend to rename streets is going to take off like a fad and soon, we’ll be renaming streets just for fun. Some ideas pop into my head:
N. Going Street leading to Swan Island: Kris Kristofferson Way, an homage to the move Convoy.
SE Hawthorne or SE Clinton or SE Belmont: Jerry Garcia Ave….nuf said.
NW 23rd: Donald Trump St. (I know, I’m reachin’)
NE Sandy Blvd: William Burroughs Way
82nd Ave (or Avenue of the Roses): Pablo Escobar Ave.
I don’t know. I’m just making some fun here, but I do feel we’re not thinking these decisions through as a city. Avenue of The Roses? Come on!
As a resident of Overlook, I’m all in favor of this, just as I was in favor of renaming Portland Blvd. Rosa Parks Way.
(And this is no fad; streets have been getting renamed as long as Portland has been around… just look at the imprints on street corners as you walk around the neighborhoods.)
Interstate is the perfect street to rename for Chavez, for two reasons:
1. It’s got a boring name, with little significance (other than the fact that it used to actually be “interstate”)
and
2. it cuts through parts of Portland with significant Mexican-American population.
Of course, I’m just an old union dog with great respect for Chavez, so what do I know….
It seems to me that if streets are going to be renamed, they should choose local people who had a direct local impact on the area. You can go any number of places for a Rosa Parks street, so people here should focus on more local historical figures who have done well. Just a few - Dan Mosee, Wayne Morse, Connie (or Al) McCready, Mildred Schwab, or even Ursula LeGuin or Beverly Cleary.
Thanks for the comments. Marquam, you make some good points.
Another question though: Why are all the name changes happening in North?
A) That’s where most of the activists are on this sort of issue.
B) I suspect it’s easier to rename a street when it’s entirely within one jurisdiction (and the political climate of said jurisdiction is guaranteed to support the renaming of said street). If you get too far into SW or SE, there aren’t that many major thoroughfares before you start crossing jurisdictional boundaries like other counties or cities. Powell Boulevard goes into Gresham, Johnson Creek Boulevard crosses into Milwaukie, unincorporated Clackamas County and possibly even Happy Valley. Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway goes… well, to Hillsdale and then to Beaverton.
OK, truly, why the HELL don’t we have a Beverly Cleary Boulevard? Who do I send my letter to?
Marquam: Good points. But y’know, MLK isn’t MLK from top to bottom either. And I don’t like name changes because then I can’t find anything-half of Portland still calls it Front Ave, for example.
“Why are all the name changes happening in North?”
Only Rosa Parks is in North Portland. MLK is Northeast and Southeast. Naito is Southwest and Northwest.
Himself, you are correct. I guess I was referring only to Rosa Parks and N. Interstate, both which do cross North. I am guilty of wrapping NE and N together. My bad.
The renaming of Naito and MLK are so long ago, I wasn’t factoring them into my thoughts.
BLF, only Union Avenue was renamed to MLK. Granted, south of Broadway, there are two north/south streets, MLK and Grand. Grand was never changed. Also, north of Columbia I believe, it changes back to Grand, which is what it was called. Don’t quote me on that, but that is what my memory tells me. need more ginko.
Why not have life imitate art and rename something Matt Groening Blvd?
As a Portland native, I agree with Marquam. I recently had this discussion with my neihbors (Portsmouth) and we agreed that if street names were to be changed, they should reflect/honor local people/ideas.
Rosa Parks Way IMO was a bad decision. Not because of Rosa herself, but personally I think a different street should have been chosen. Eliminating the street named after our city? Why not rename Killingsworth (or any other street for that matter)? I grew up around 24th and Killingsworth and that street was always known for the “bad” things. Gangs, drugs, etc. Much in the same way no one cared if the name “Union Ave.” went away, I don’t think anyone would care if Killingsworth, Ainsworth, Portsmouth, Shaver, whatever, were changed. To this day, if someone says Union Ave to me, I think of prostitution.
Portland Blvd will be missed.
Kerry, you and others are hitting the nail on the head and an idea is forming. You suggest Killingsworth and while initially I agree, it is actually named after a person:
“William M. Killingsworth was a prominent real estate developer in north Portland in 1880s. Killingsworth Street was dedicated and named for him in 1882. Mr. Killingsworth moved from Eugene to Portland in 1880. Later he was a state legislator and investor in transportation enterprises. He was the notary for the
documents filed for the Central Albina plat of 1887, the year Albina was incorporated.
The Killingsworth family homestead was just south and east of Jefferson High School at 323 N Alberta St. The house was built in 1890 for a cost of $7,190 (which was over 3 times the cost of an average home in the Piedmont neighborhood.) The house was demolished in the 1940s for apartments.”
See, that is the proper naming of a street. Honor someone who has made a difference in the history of the neighborhood or city.
I threw a question out to Mercury’s Blogtown on how one would get publically involved in this name debate. I will post the info if I receive any.
I live in Oklahoma and travel to Portland from time to time. Strangely enough, “Interstate” is one of Portland’s street names I’ve found to be the most memorable.
I think the majority of the posts are ridiculous. I am fine with giving names of historical figures to streets. but lets do this for NEW streets. A lot of these streets have heritage, reasons for their names. I think interstate is important as it is a reminder of the original North South Interstate through portland.
So some suggestions, why not if you are trying to increase social awareness and name things out of historical significance then how about these two for example
streets of tanasbourne - to streets of Rosa Parks
Bridgeport Village - Malcom X village (in response to an article in the oregonian to change kworth to malcom x)
I am all for cultural awareness, but to reflect a few points from above why only North Portland
The proposed renaming of Interstate is just a mechanism, the fundamental point is to acknowledge the contributions of the Latino community to our city and our country. No matter how many generations your family may have been American citizens it’s a tough time to be Latino in Portland right now. It is leaders in the Latino community who are saying that their preferred way to recognize the contributions of the Latino community is to rename Interstate Avenue for Cesar Chavez. I don’t think it’s up to the rest of us to tell them what they would find meaningful.
The committee that is exploring this possibility have chosen to meet with the local neighborhoods involved before making broader public announcements. There will be opportunities for everyone to weigh in once they are done meeting with some of the locals.
Streets with highway designations are not renamable nor are streets already named after a person. It turns out that there are not that many streets of any significance in Portland that are eligible to be renamed.
Personally, I think Interstate makes sense for a lot of reasons. Let’s face it, if the street were currently named POS Rd there would be people who would argue that it shouldn’t be changed because of the historic significance of being near the wastewater treatment plant. Change is hard for us humans, that’s just how it works and that’s a built-in negative. Like most everything else, there’s a tradeoff involved and the question is whether the positives of making a change outweigh the negatives.
Renaming streets doesn’t make sense, unless there’s a problem with the existing name (for example, “Neil Goldschmidt Way” if such a thing existed).
As someone who lives in the area and had no problem with Portland Blvd., I’d like to see the name Interstate Avenue remain.
However, if we could change whatever street Commissioner Dan Saltzman lives on to Matt Groening Street, I’d be fine with that…
I’ve lived on or near Interstate for most of my life, and to be honest I’m not a big fan of the proposed name change. Perhaps Chavez Blvd would be more suitable somewhere else, as there really isn’t a significant Latino population on Interstate these days. Is it the gentrification of the area that’s flushed out the minorities from this area over the years? Or has the appeal of suburban areas lured the minority populations out of the metropolis of Portland? who knows…I’m all for paying tribute to a great activist like Chavez, but Interstate doesn’t seem suitable for it.