Homelessness – the Way It Used to Be

sullivan1The Banfield Expressway plowed through Sullivan’s Gulch in the 1950s, displacing the few holdouts in what had been one of the largest homeless encampments in Portland. The “Hoovervilles” were named for President Herbert Hoover, who presided over the country’s descent into the Great Depression. By 1933, the northeast “Shantytown” had a population of 333 living in 131 shacks made from scrap wood, car parts, corrugated tin and cardboard boxes.

These were the days before nylon tents and supermarket shopping carts. It even had its own elected “mayor, whose duties included making the rounds of nearby bakeries, grocery stores, and clothing stores to pickup donations. Liquor was not allowed in the community.

On the other side of the Willamette River, Ross Island City, also known as “Happy Hooligan Camp,” arose underneath its namesake bridge. It even had its own suburb, “Hooeyville,” that spread into what was then a heavy-industrial area. It is now the “South Waterfront,” a neighborhood of high-rise condos, upscale apartments and the ever-expanding Oregon Health & Science University. The camp even had a flush toilet – flushing straight into the river, of course.

Sullivan’s Gulch provided major drainage from the east city into the Willamette River, resulting in regular flooding of the shantytown. A railroad was built through in in the 1880s. The city had been planning an expressway since the 1920s, but the project was put on hold with the onset of the Great Depression. With the waning of the Depression, residents drifted away as jobs became available in the logging and other industries. Population was less than a hundred when the town burned in 1941.

sullivansgulchAfter WWII ended, the city resuscitated its Banfield Expressway plans, named after a head of the state highway commission. With the passage of the Interstate Highway Act, Federal money became available and the Banfield became I-80N, later I-84, running parallel to the railroad tracks. Later, the Metropolitan Area Express light rail – MAX – followed the same route.

In 1986, People magazine published a piece sullivan3about the few residents on the edge of Sullivan’s Gulch. The mostly prosperous neighborhood surrounding the area has adopted the name.

The homeless are now scattered about the city living in makeshift camps in wooded areas, under bridges or along sidewalks, much to the sullivan4distress and outrage of other citizens and the city government and police.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.