- City:
- Portland, OR
- Site Type:
- Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Parks and Recreation, Infrastructure and Utilities, Landscaping and Tree Planting
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding, Bureau of Public Roads (BPR)
- Started:
- 1934
- Completed:
- 1934
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Red oaks line a section of McLoughlin Boulevard on its southern entry into the City of Portland. The nearly ninety-year-old trees are the legacy of a highway beautification project funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934.
The Oregon State Highway Commission selected this section on McLoughlin Boulevard (99E), along with two sections of Barbur Boulevard (99W), for the state’s first comprehensive highway beautification program. Members of the Portland Garden Club joined in designing the landscape plans that focused on native plants. Funding for the six-mile section on McLoughlin Boulevard amounted to approximately $15,000, which covered landscape materials and a large group of relief workers employed on the north unit and south unit designs.
Today the north and south units can be distinguished by the dominant tree for each. Red oaks define the north unit while sequoias line the roadway in the south unit.
Source notes
"$30,000 to be Used on Roadside Beauty," Oregonian. February 1, 1934.
"Bids for Nursery Stock Asked," Oregonian. March 26, 1934.
State of Oregon State Highway Department Archive (1934) "Roadside Improvement Planting Plan - North Unit Portland-Milwaukie Section." US Public Works NO. NRM 168-D.
Site originally submitted by Judith T Kenny on April 13, 2021.
At this Location:
Site Details
| Federal Cost |
|---|
| $15,000 |
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