ELIOT NEWS A Publication of Eliot Neighborhood Association

Volume 19 · Number 2

Spring 2010

178 trees planted…

Hundreds of volunteers…

4 NE Por t land ne ighbor-

hoods…

Numerous new acquaintances

and friendships made.

I t’s the annual Friends of

Trees (FoT) Planting in NE

Portland! The event com-

menced Saturday morning Febru-

ary 13th. The day began rather

dreary but as my husband rallied

the crowd to a chant of “It never

rains on planting day!” the drizzle

stopped for a few hours while

about a hundred people came to-

gether to help plant trees.

Folks from Eliot, Boise, Hum-

boldt, and King neighborhoods

gathered at the Friends of Trees

Office on MLK Jr Blvd to register

and enjoy breakfast and coffee

provided by Noah’s Bagels, Ris-

tretto Roasters, Goldrush Coffee,

Grand Central Bakery, and my

own homemade oatmeal. After a

few words from the FoT Team

and Neighborhood Coordinators,

everyone divided into crews of 7-

10 people and went to their first

destination to plant trees.

Since the FoT Office is located

in Eliot, most of the Eliot resi-

dents were able to simply walk

from house to house while my

husband and I drove a pickup

truck of trees and supplies. Our

first planting was in a vacant

grassy lot behind the Cascadia Be-

havioral Healthcare facility. The

businesses adjacent are teaming

up to create a community garden

and their first step was planting a

Plum Beauty Semi-Dwarf tree.

Our crew leader gave a demon-

stration on safety and how to best

plant the trees and before long the

first tree was in the ground and

staked.

Throughout the morning our

team planted 13 trees; most in

parking strips but a couple in

yards as well. We planted Plum,

Pear, Japanese Snowbell, Rocky

Mountain Glow Maple, Japanese

Stewartia, Hawthorne, and Royal

Raindrops Crabapple. I had the

p leasure of meet ing several

neighbors as we worked side by

Making Eliot Neighborhood Greener By Tamille Lundmark

side. By the time we got to the

last couple of trees we were all

experts; everyone finding their

particular role whether it was get-

ting water, unloading equipment,

digging, making sure the tree is

straight, staking them, or tagging

them with care instructions.

Afterwards, our famished team

returned to the FoT Office where

we enjoyed lunch provided by

Pizza a GoGo, Mississippi Pizza,

Cha-Cha-Cha, and Eddie’s Pizza.

Many neighbors also brought as-

sorted crock-pots filled with

hearty meals. Widmer Brothers

Brewing supplied a keg and, over

a beer and grub, we shared stories

of our day with other groups of

planters. In total, 18 trees were

planted in Eliot Neighborhood that

day.

My husband and I didn’t plant

trees at our home this year be-

cause we planted parking strip

trees with FoT 5 years ago. Since

then we’ve been involved in the

annual event almost every year

and my husband has been our

Eliot Neighborhood Coordinator

for the last 3. I am amazed at how

much our own trees have grown

over the last few years compared

to the new ones we helped plant

this season. 5 years from now the

same will be true for the ones

planted this year.

FoT plantings really are a com-

munity building event. Not only

do residents receive great trees for

a reduced price and get assistance

planting them the correct way they

also meet and help other neighbors

with their trees. The most com-

mon comment we hear is they

weren’t really looking forward to

the community building aspect of

the event, but they all say at the

end of the day how great it was to

meet so many people in their own

neighborhood. It will be nice to

exchange pleasantries with their

fellow planters when they see

them drinking coffee at Goldrush

or out walking the dog. ●

Neighbors helping neighbors plant trees at the Friends of Trees planting

Newly planted tree in Eliot Neighborhood

all say...how great it was to

meet so many people in their

own neighborhood.

2 2

Eliot Neighborhood Association The Eliot Neighborhood Association is a nonprofit corporation whose members are the residents and business owners of the Eliot Neighborhood. Its purpose is to inform Eliot residents about issues affecting the neighborhood through meetings, newsletters and other activities. Members of the neighborhood association must be over 14 years old and live, own property, have a business, or repre-sent a nonprofit within the neighborhood. The Eliot Neighborhood Association was founded in 1969. It is recognized by the City of Portland, is a member of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Inc., and has representatives on several other groups and commit-tees.

Eliot Board Board Officers Clint Lundmark – Board Chair; LUC –

clintlundmark@gmail.com – 503.552.8678 Julie Woelfer – Board Vice Chair; juliewol2@hotmail.com

503.799.6006 Julia Peters – Board Recorder – jpeters@voaor.org Tamille Lundmark – Board Treasurer –

tamillelundmark@gmail.com –503.552.8678

Board Directors Alex Johnson – Board Member – alexmontjohn@gmail.com Angela Kremer – Board Member - angelahkremer@gmail.com Chris Yeargers – Board Co-Member – cyeargers@yahoo.com

Marie D’Hulst – Board Co-Member – dhulstml@yahoo.com – 503.284.4392

Jim Hlava – Board Member – jim@cascadiabhc.org Joan Ivan – Board Member – ivan0117@comcast.net Kirsten Jenkins – Board Member; LUC –

kirstenjenkins@hotmail.com –503.515.6633 Laurie Simpson – Board Co-Member; LUC –

laurie@mosiarch.com – 503.280.1005 Steve Simpson – Board Co-Member

Naomi Sacks – Board Member – ncjsacks@yahoo.com Pauline Bradford – Board Member; LUC – 503.287.7138 (fax)

Other Mike Warwick – LUC Chair – mike.warwick@pnl.gov

LUC - Land Use Committee

Eliot Monthly Meetings If you live or work in Eliot, you are welcome and encouraged to at-tend the monthly meetings of the Eliot Neighborhood Association, which are held the second Monday of each month at 7 pm at Emanuel Hospital. It’s a great opportunity to meet your neighbors, stay informed about what’s going on in Eliot, help build a stronger community, and have input into decisions that may affect you. Also consider joining a committee or becoming a board member (we have vacancies). Emanuel Hospital, Medical Office Building, West Conference Room, 501 N. Graham St.

Eliot News is published four times a year by the Eliot Neighbor-hood Association. It is delivered or mailed free of charge to every address in the neighborhood. It does not have a ISBN.

Editor: Clint Lundmark - clintlundmark@gmail.com -

503.552.8678 Layout: Clint Lundmark Advertising: Clint Lundmark Delivery: Susan Bailey - baileywick97212@msn.com

Rights to articles are retained by the author. Opinions of the au-thors do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the Eliot Neighborhood Association.

Eliot Neighborhood Association Spring General Membership Meeting April 12 2010 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Emanuel Hospital Medical Office Building West Conference Room 501 N Graham St Portland OR Eliot Neighbors, please join us for the Eliot Neighborhood Asso-ciation Spring General Membership Meeting. Find out about what’s new in the neighborhood and how you can be involved. For the complete agenda see: http://eliotneighborhood.org/association/meetings/agenda

Eliot Neighborhood Email List Join the Eliot Neighborhood Email List! Get informed on what is happening in the neighborhood via email. The Eliot Neighborhood Email List “announcement only” Google Group is a notification service used to

share information from the Eliot Neighborhood Association. It is used primarily to send out agendas and related information for Board, General Membership and other important meetings. Notifications may also be sent for items of interest related to Eliot Neighborhood Association such as event announcements, safety alerts and crime prevention. To subscribe send an email to: eliotemaillist-subscribe@googlegroups.com or visit http://groups.google.com/group/eliotemaillist.

www.eliotneighborhood.org info@eliotneighborhood.org

Category Size (H x W) 1x 2x 3x 4x

1/16 Page 1.8” x 4.9” $25 $42 $63 $84

1/8 page 3.8” x 4.9” $37 $62 $97 $122

1/4 page 7.8” x 4.9” $58 $108 $154 $194

1/2 Page 7.8” X 10” $105 $195 $277 $349

Full Page 15.8” x 10” $188 $353 $502 $632

ELIOT NEWS AD RATES

Eliot News has a per issue circulation of 3,000 and is hand delivered or

mailed to nearly 100% of the homes and businesses in the Eliot neighborhood.

Eliot News is an 8 page 11” x 17” black and white tabloid newspaper

published four times a year in January, April, July and October.

Ad deadlines are December 10, March 10, June 10, and September 10.

Add rates and sizes effective January 1st 2010.

Donate for Dawson Park Concerts The Dawson Concert Series is back for 2010 and we need your help! The Eliot Neighborhood Association and Portland Parks & Recreation, along with neighborhood volunteers are partnering to bring you FREE concerts this July. We are currently collect-ing donations and based on the amount of money raised, we’ll be hosting 2-4 concerts. These are fantastic events which bring neighbors and family together to enjoy live music in our very own Dawson Park. Bring the kids, the dog, and a picnic. They will be held Wednesday evenings in July. If you are interested in donating to the event, please send checks prior to June 1st payable to: PP&R/Dawson Park, 1120 SW 5th Suite 1302, Port-land OR 97204. Donations are tax deductible. For more infor-mation contact Tamille at 503-552-8678.

Registration for the ex-

traordinarily popular So-

larize Northeast project

closes April 15. Solarize

Northeast is a volunteer-driven,

community-based volume pur-

chasing project for solar electric

panels organized by the Northeast

Coali tion of Neighborhoods.

More than 600 homeowners have

already signed up for the opportu-

nity to purchase solar panels at a

35% discount from market rates.

You can get more information

and register online at http://

solarize.necoalition.org, or tele-

phone 503-823-4575 ext. 6. You

can register without obligation,

but you must do so by April 15 or

you will miss your chance. ●

Last Chance to Solarize

3 3

BAILEY & WARWICK Saving and Improving Housing in Eliot

Neighborhood for 25 Years.

Houses and Apartments for rent.

(503) 806-3502

T he Volunteers of Amer-

ica Men's Residential

Center (MRC) is again

offering their Al Forthan Memo-

rial Recovery Scholarship. Eight

scholarships, totaling $9,500, will

be awarded in May 2010 to Port-

land-area graduating high school

seniors.

Greg Stone, Program Director,

created this scholarship in 2006

upon the death of Al Forthan. Al

was a heroin addict and crime lord

in northeast Portland for dec-

ades. He entered treatment at the

MRC in April, 1992 after going to

pr ison eight d i fferent t imes

throughout his adult life. He was

ready to change and put forth the

effort to lead a different life. Af-

ter graduating, Al went to PCC to

become a Certified Alcohol and

Drug Counselor. He was hired to

be a counselor at the MRC in

1996, the first client to be hired to

work there. Al was a phenomenal

counselor who aided and inspired

Al Forthan Memorial Recovery Scholarship

Al Forthan

many men before he passed away

in 2006.

Six $1,000 scholarships will be

awarded to graduating seniors at

the following schools: Benson,

Franklin, Jefferson (Al's alma ma-

ter), Madison, Marshall, and Roo-

sevelt. Another $1,000 scholar-

ship is open to a graduating senior

from the other Portland Public

high schools (Cleveland, Grant,

Lincoln, and Wilson). The Ad-

dicted Families Scholarship is for

any graduating senior in Mult-

nomah County who comes from

an addicted family. That award

amount is $2,500. The deadline

for applications is April 5, 2010.

If you'd like to support the Al

Forthan Memorial Recovery

Scholarship Fund, you can make a

donation to Volunteers of America

and write "Al's fund" in the memo

line. You can drop off cans and

bottles at the MRC at any time of

day or night--it's open 24 hours a

day. The MRC will be having

fundraising events this spring and

summer: 5/17 - 10% of sales at the

Convention Center Burgerville

will go to the fund. 8/14 - Bike-

and-hike at Larch Mountain. 7/21

- Free 20th birthday bash at the

Oregon Zoo. Also, look for an

online auction in May. If you'd

like more information on the

scholarship or any of these events,

please contact Julia at 503-802-

0299 or jpeters@voaor.org.

Volunteers of America Men's

Residential Center is located at

2318 NE MLK Jr Blvd, Portland

OR 97212. ●

By Julia Peters

Eliot could be the poster place

for Portland diversity. What a mix

of ethnic, racial, age and back-

ground differences. Fifty-year

homeowners, young families with

new babies, professional without-

the-bond-of wedlock couples, resi-

dents in long-term care facilities,

retirees, renters, and yes, tran-

sients who come to prey.

We're all here, all in this to-

gether. Now what do we do? Let

the violence, criminal activity, and

disrespect for what goes on in our

front yards go on? I hope not.

We've all got an important

stake in what happens in our

neighborhood: historic, emotional,

familial, financial and just plain

choice. We're here because we

want to be. Are we willing to give

it up without taking a stand? As

one of Portland's most historic

neighborhoods, I think we owe it

to one another. If not us, who

will?

We are… Hard-working people

who did the manual labor for the

fancy side of the river. Families

who built the churches on every

street corner and made sure their

kids attended every Sunday. Im-

migrants who figured out a way to

live side-by-side with neighbors

who didn't necessarily speak the

same language. Folks who figured

out how to do it, because there

were few other options open.

Let's learn a little from history.

The neighborhood is older and

stronger than any of us perhaps

realize. It's about the people. Re-

sourceful. Resilient. Dedicated to

community. Undaunted. Hopeful

for a better life for every family.

That’s a rallying point for every-

one living in Eliot. Let's tap into it

now. What do we have to lose? ●

Editorial It's your neighborhood. So?

By Joan Ivan

Nearly half of Northeast Port-

land homes have indoor radon lev-

els above the Environmental Pro-

tection Agency recommended ac-

tion level. In an effort to reduce

radon related lung cancer in the

Portland area the American Lung

Association of Oregon and radon

expert Don Francis of EcoTech

are partnering to inform the public

about radon. The presentation

will cover: what radon is; where it

comes from; the health hazard of

radon; how to test for radon, and

how to fix a home with a radon

problem.

Le a r n m o r e a t t h e E l i o t

Neighborhood meeting:

Eliot Neighborhood Association

General Membership Meeting

April 12th 7pm

Emanual Hospital Medical Office

Building West Conference Room.

501 N Graham St. ●

Learn about Radon

Last Chance to Solarize

Active Listings bed bath sq ft price

3008 N Williams 3 1.1 1820 $209,900 607 NE Russell 3 2.1 1356 $275,000 523 NE Knott 2 1 2900 $329,000 505 NE Knott 4 2.1 3486 $595,000 535 NE Monroe 3 2 2750 $349,000 Pending Listings bed bath sq ft price

210 NE Morris 5 2 2806 $318,250 69 NE Graham 4 4.1 2272 $354,000 2520 NE 7th 5 2 3239 $420,000 528 NE Sacramento 3 3.1 1853 $449,000 3203 NE Rodney 4 2.1 3855 $470,000 Sold Listings bed bath sq ft price

538 NE Knott 3 2.1 1308 $260,000 2841 NE Rodney 3 2.1 1744 $294,000 501 NE Monroe 3 3 1426 $315,000 516 NE Morris 4 3 4006 $564,000

4 4

P ortland is a City that

likes to plan. And, it

likes to have lots of

meetings when it plans. At least 3

planning processes are getting

started that will affect the future of

Eliot. Each will require involve-

ment of the Eliot Neighborhood

Association as well as participa-

tion from Eliot neighbors. The

three are:

The Portland Plan - This is a

city-wide plan for how Portland

will develop over the next 25

years. The vision that results

will govern future zoning and

land use as well as transit deci-

sions. The last "comprehensive

plan" took about 3 years from

start to finish and resulted in the

Albina Community Plan for

north/northeast Portland, includ-

ing the Eliot Plan for our

neighborhood in 1993.

The Central City Plan - This is

part of the Portland Plan, but it

covers only the "central city,"

will include reconsideration of

zoning, and is expected to take

only a year. It will have more

impact on Eliot in the areas it

covers, which includes the

Lower Albina Industrial Area,

but the coverage may include

additional land in Eliot.

The Oregon Department of

Transportation (ODOT) review

The Planners are Coming! The Planners are Coming! By Mike Warwick

of I-5 between I-84 and I-405.

In addition to these three, the

final decision on the future of the

Rose Quarter is due soon. More

intense use of that area will re-

quire additional transportation

studies. It is also expected to af-

fect decisions within both the Cen-

tral City Plan and the ODOT

transportation study.

The Portland Plan will build

around 9 Action Areas: Prosper-

ity; Education; Arts; Sustainabil-

ity; Health; Quality of Life; De-

sign; Neighborhoods and Hous-

ing; and Transportation and Tech-

nology. Workshops to engage the

public, including Eliot residents,

in committees to work on each

Action Area are scheduled for the

next two months. Subcommittees

will continue working after those

meetings.

The last Northeast workshop

was standing room only, so either

come early or try to attend one of

the other meetings. A full sched-

ule and more details can be found

on the Portland Plan web site:

http://www.portlandonline.com/

portlandplan.

The Central City Plan will be

a more detailed planning process

than the Portland Plan. It will

consider zoning and include trans-

portation planning. The current

proposal is to approach the plan-

ning process at two levels: Central

City as a whole, and each of the 5

“quadrants” that compose the

Central City plan district. Parts of

Eliot are in the Northeast Quad-

rant. Those areas include the

Lower Albina Industrial District

(west of Interstate) and a new area

in the P lan tha t i s rough l y

bounded by Broadway, Russell,

and Williams, consistent with the

proposed expansion of the Inter-

state Urban Renewal Area. Com-

mittees will be formed to work on

both city-wide issues and each

“quadrant.” The Northeast Quad-

rant is expected to be the first to

be addressed, in conjunction with

the Rose Quarter development

planning process as it concludes

sometime later this year. The

Eliot Neighborhood Association

has already expressed concerns for

plans in this area, which include

preservation of historic structures

and the character of what is left of

the City of Albina and Portland’s

early black community. We have

also recommended zoning changes

to allow commercial enterprises in

the expansion area (basically be-

tween Williams and I-5) to thrive.

The Rose Quarter development

plan is expected to revive interest

in reuse of property in “Lower

Eliot,” the area below I-5, mostly

south of Russell. Much of this

land is owned by the City or

school district, so nothing is likely

to happen without current uses and

zoning of that property changing.

City planning staff, as well as the

Mayor, have expressed interest in

seeing some kind or mixed use

development in the area. Private

developers have made proposals

for projects that look like the Pearl

and others that represent new

building designs adapted from the

“point towers” in Vancouver, BC.

Whatever is proposed will affect

future development both in Lower

Eliot and Eliot’s current residen-

tial core, between Williams and

NE 7th. As a result it will be im-

portant for the Eliot Neighborhood

Association to come up with its

own preferred vision for how that

area may develop. Possible op-

tions to consider include:

Pearl-style high rise, full-block

buildings,

"Higher" rise buildings like in

South Waterfront but with open

space around them,

Medium-rise buildings like

those at the west end of the Broad-

way Bridge, or

New, "Point Towers" that are

very high rise, but have narrow

bases at the street; more like scat-

tered trees than a forest of build-

ings, so light and views are not

blocked.

This list is just a start. More of

your voices need to be heard be-

fore the Eliot Neighborhood Asso-

ciation has a clear idea what our

residents want.

The ODOT I-5 Plan. Eliot

has not been approached by

ODOT or the City about our in-

volvement in this plan to date.

Historically, ODOT has not been

open to community input, as is

evident in the Columbia Crossing

bridge process. However, their

previous efforts to address this

area have included participation

by Eliot working through the City.

Also, previous “solutions” have

all focused on adding more free-

way lanes and expanding the

width of the freeway. That, in

turn, would include demolition of

buildings along the route. The

City was opposed to those propos-

als in the past. Also, whatever is

proposed for the Rose Quarter will

require a “transportation plan” that

the City will control. It would be

expected to address freeway ac-

cess issues. So we are optimistic

Eliot will be part of this planning

process, although that remains to

be seen.

The bottom line is Eliot will

need more volunteers to partici-

pate in the committees that are

expected to be formed once the

Central City Plan and ODOT I-5

planning processes begin. In addi-

tion, Eliot neighbors will need to

participate in the Portland Plan

processes to ensure our and your

interests are protected. That

should include active engagement

in subcommittees that may be

formed.

How do I get involved, you

may ask. Respond to the Eliot

N e i gh b o r h o o d A s s o c i a t i o n

through the Eliot web site http://

eliotneighborhood.org, contact the

B o a r d C h a i r a t c l i n t l u n d -

mark@gmail.com or contact the

L a n d U s e C h a i r a t e i t h e r

mike.warwick@pnl.gov or 503-

284-7010. We are hoping to hear

from you and have you join with

us to make Eliot better. ●

One Organized Woman Need help organizing your home or office

or a personal assistant? Call or text Alexis (503) 866-6620

Serving Continental Africa Food & Beverages

Open Thursday thru Monday for Dinner

Full Bar • Happy Hour Daily • Private Parties

102 NE Russell St. • 503-943-6616 • info@afriquebistro.com

N/NE Portland Plan Workshops

Northeast Portland April 29, 6:30–9 pm

Beaumont Middle School Cafeteria

4043 NE Fremont Street

Portland, OR 97212

North Portland May 1, 10 am–12:30 pm

University Park Community Center

Multi-purpose Gym

9009 N Foss Avenue

Portland, OR 97203

*childcare provided in Cesar Chavez

room

Find out what’s hap-pening in Eliot

Neighborhood at the General Membership

Meeting on April 12th!

5 5

Ride Connection is recruiting

volunteer drivers to serve the Eliot

Neighborhood and beyond. The

volunteer driver’s role is to pro-

vide necessary transportation ser-

vices to older adults and people

with disabilities in the tri-county

area who are unable to drive and

access public transportation for

various needs, often for life-

sustaining purposes.

Volunteer drivers provide

transportation in a Ride Connec-

tion vehicle or in their own per-

sonal vehicle to medical/dental

appointments, shopping, volun-

teering and other personal busi-

ness. This service enables these

individuals to continue to live in-

dependent, quality lives. Last year

over 370,000 rides were provided

to customers through Ride Con-

nection and its partner agencies.

For more information please

contact the Ride Connection Out-

reach Specialist at 503-528-1738

or

keasterday@rideconnection.org. ●

Ride Connection Volunteers

T he Rose Quarter is a

regional attraction with

regional traffic, noise

and trash that impacts the Eliot

Neighborhood. The redevelop-

ment of the Rose Quarter is both

an opportunity and threat to the

livability of Eliot. Fortunately,

there is a way for Eliot neighbors

to have a say in what happens in

the Rose Quarter; the Good

Neighbor Agreement.

The Good Neighbor Agree-

ment is a mediated process that is

meant to either smooth out con-

flicts or prevent them between

neighbors and businesses. In

March, the Eliot Board officially

adopted a resolution that will put

Eliot Board members at the table,

calling the meetings, and detailing

the parts of a Rose Quarter agree-

ment that can make all Eliot resi-

dents more secure. The goal of

this GNA is to articulate key is-

sues, solve problems and develop

creative solutions and communica-

tion practices. As the Rose Quar-

ter and Eliot evolve, we want to

improve safety, improve livability

and join forces for posit ive

change.

Why does Eliot need such a

committee? While there was talk

of providing traffic and litter

abatement when the Rose Garden

was developed, there is no written

agreement. Today, litter is just

one of the issues. Noise and traffic

have also created significant prob-

lems, making bringing in the gro-

ceries on game night a tricky en-

deavor if you don’t have a drive-

way. Now there are significant

changes proposed for the Rose

Quarter that could bring more lit-

Eliot’s GNA Committee for the Rose Quarter By Angela Kremer

ter, traffic and noise. The Goose

Hollow neighborhood has an ex-

cellent GNA that governs the ac-

tivities at PGE Park and used a

similar committee process to ham-

mer out the details of the agree-

ment with the City and the opera-

tor of PGE Park.

What prompted th is Rose

Quarter GNA? Last Spring the

mayor wanted to raze the Memo-

rial Coliseum and put up a base-

ball stadium. Concerned with the

existing problems, a group of

neighbors on the southern end of

Eliot, lobbied against this idea

with a city-wide coalition of peo-

ple who wanted to save the Coli-

seum. At that time the Eliot

Board formally came out against

baseball at the Rose Quarter and

asked the City Council to include

a GNA before redevelopment

takes place. With the March 2010

Eliot Board resolution, we are tak-

ing the necessary steps to begin

the GNA process.

Why should you care about the

Good Neighbor Agreement with

the managing partners and the

City at this critical juncture?

The GNA will provide Eliot

with a way to influence the

changes that are rolling our way

soon. The neighborhood needs

jobs and good housing develop-

ment. The vacant and empty

places will soon have Streetcar

edging Broadway. There are excit-

ing new plans for the Memorial

Coliseum even with a down econ-

omy.

The GNA is based in a public

process and has the binding power

of a City resolution. A standing

GNA Committee provides a place

that neighbors can occupy and ne-

gotiate from with the City and op-

erators of the Rose Quarter.

I participated in the last plan-

ning process for the Rose Quarter

in 1999 and there were many good

neighborhood outcomes from that

process. Unfortunately that plan

was never adopted and we have

lived with the uncertainty of what

will happen at the Rose Quarter

ever since. Now we have another

chance to influence the outcome

of this regional resource that sits

on our doorstep. I encourage you

to get involved in the GNA com-

mittee and stay tuned for our next

update.

For more information about the

GNA committee contact Angela

Kremer at 503-284-9136 or

AngelaHKremer@gmail.com. ●

6 6

O n a Friday night not

too long ago my wife

and I were once again

looking for a place to go for din-

ner. It has kind of become a

weekly tradition to visit one of our

fabulous neighborhood spots each

and every Friday. After short a

discussion with friends we de-

cided to show them Afrique Bis-

tro.

Afrique Bistro is a “Pan Afri-

can” restaurant serving cuisine

representing the entire continent.

This is Alem Gebrehiwot’s, owner

of Afrique as well as Queen of

Sheba, second restaurant in the

neighborhood. It’s located on the

same corner as the old Dad’s Oil

off ice , but the bui ld ing has

changed dramatically in the last

few years. What was once a small

office on a large lot has become a

restaurant with housing above.

Inside, the restaurant is nicely

decorated with an African inspired

design, but not overboard. Subtle

art like carvings, baskets, and

masks stick to the motif but do not

make you feel like you are in a

theme park. It is an open space

with plenty of table seating and

room for 6 – 8 at the bar.

When we visit Afrique we usu-

ally sit at the bar. The first time,

several months ago, I could not

decide what to order. The bar-

tender suggested I give him some

“inspiration” – a mood, color,

word, etc, and he would make a

drink to match. I don’t recall the

inspiration or the drink, but since

then, every visit starts with inspi-

ration and a great drink appears

shortly thereafter.

On this particular visit my wife

and I, along with our newbie

friends, sat at a table. The inspira-

tional words were “neutral col-

ors”, “success”, “TGIF” and

“water”. Water was easy – she

got water flavored with cucumber.

“Neutral colors” resulted in Bul-

liet on the rocks with an African

Amber chaser. “Success” was a

Serengeti Sipper with a perfect

orange twist while “TGIF” turned

into bubbly with a hint of mango.

We started dinner with appetiz-

ers. Afrique offers several choices

of spicy house made sauces to fla-

vor the appetizers and many of the

entrees. We ordered Afrique

Chicken Wings with Harrisa sauce

and Afrique Prawns with Piri-Piri.

The wings were flavorful and

spicy, coated in seasoning made

from red chilies and spices. The

Piri-Piri, a hot and spicy green

chili sauce, was especially spicy

and flavored the prawns perfectly.

For dinner we had Fish Stew

with Spinach Cheese on the side,

Vegetable Stir Fry with Peanut

Sauce, Lamb Stir Fry with Harrisa

Sauce, more Afrique Prawns along

with a Cucumber Salad. My meal,

the Fish Stew, was a white fish

stewed in a warm Afrique spice

over a bed of white rice. To bal-

ance the meal I added a side of

Spinach Cheese – a “blob” of

spinach mixed with small bits of

cheese served with a hint of spice.

Yummy! My wife had her favor-

ite – the Stir Fry Vegetables with

Peanut sauce. The vegetables

change through the seasons, but it

is always good. I was able to sam-

ple the Stir Fry Lamb with Harrisa

– which was a nice pairing of the

meat and sauce. We should have

ate family style so we all could

have had a little of everything.

Maybe next time.

It was a great night of good,

interesting and unique food,

matched with good company and

good drinks. Afrique is the type

of place you go to if seeking

something a little different than

the norm. Take your time, admire

the décor, talk with Alem, have an

inspirational drink and enjoy a

unique experience.

Afrique Bistro is located on the

corner of Russell and Rodney at

102 NE Russell. If you can’t de-

cide what to order from the crea-

tive drink menu, considering giv-

ing Bobby the bartender some

“inspiration” – odds are you’ll like

the results. ●

Inspiration at Afrique Bistro By Clint Lundmark

Breakfast/Coffee/Cafés

Bridges Café

2716 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-288-4169

Eliot E-Mat Café

2808 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-280-8889

Goldrush Coffee Bar

2601 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-331-5955

Russell Street Gallery and Pie Diner

807 N. Russell St., 503-281-0758

Tiny’s Café

2031 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-467-4199

Waypost

3120 N. Williams St., 503-367-3182

Bars/Taverns

820

820 N. Russell St., 503-284-5518

Alu Wine Bar

2831 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-262-9463

Bill Ray’s Dive

2210 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd.

Gotham Tavern

2240 N. Interstate Ave., 503-517-9911

McMenamin’s White Eagle Café & Saloon

836 N. Russell St., 503-282-6810

Secret Society

116 NE Russell St.,503-493-3600

Sloan’s Tavern

36 N. Russell St., 503-287-2262

Widmer Gasthaus Pub

929 N. Russell St., 503-281-3333

Lunch/Dinner

Afrique Bistro

102 NE Russell St., 503-943-6616

Chuck’s Market, J&S Grocery

2415 N. Williams Ave., 503-281-6269

Echo

2225 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-460-3246

Mint

816 N. Russell St., 503-284-5518

Pizza A Go Go

3240 N. Williams St., 503-335-0300

Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken

3120 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-281-8455

Queen of Sheba

2413 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-287-6302

Russell Street Bar-B-Que

325 N.E. Russell St., 503-528-8224

Sparky’s Pizza

2434 N.E. MLK Jr Blvd

Toro Bravo

120 NE Russell St.,503-281-4464

Tropicana Bar Be Cue

3217 N. Williams Ave., 503-281-8696

Under Wonder

128 N.E. Russell St., 503-493-0371

Eliot Eateries

The bar at Afrique Bistro

7 7

T he residents of Eliot are

fortunate today to enjoy

ethnic and cultural di-

versity. What is more unique

about our neighborhood is that it

was always diverse since the be-

ginning, during the last quarter of

the 19th Century. A healthy mix

of immigrants from Europe settled

here and built homes. In the

northerly portion of the original

town site of Albina, which is

bounded by today’s NE Morris

Street west of MLK & NE Ivy

Street east of MLK, a higher con-

centration of settlers from Scandi-

navian countries purchased prop-

erty and built homes for them-

selves and related family mem-

bers. Most of these men held a

variety of occupations that were

often unskilled, but they were well

-taught and highly skilled in car-

pentry. Luckily, clusters of these

small but decorative houses stand

today and some have been sensi-

tively restored.

One of these interesting groups

of houses stand on the east side of

NE Rodney between NE Stanton

& Graham. Hans Tonneson, an

immigrant from Norway, built this

group comprised of three Victo-

rian era Queen Anne styled cot-

tages at 2836, 2842 & 2850 NE

Rodney and a Craftsman styled

Foursquare house at 2856 NE

Rodney. All of these homes today

are in separate ownership and

have had tasteful renovations in

recent years.

This little story begins in 1889

when Mr. Tonneson purchased 2

large lots at this corner of Rodney

& Stanton streets by a bond deed

from James B. Montgomery, a

developer who invested in a large

portion of residential Albina in

1882. Bond terms were offered at

slightly higher prices to folks who

had a lower down payment during

these days. Hans Tonneson was

born in Norway in 1863 and was

raised working as a shipwright

learning the trade of woodworking

and cabinetry very well. Around

the mid-1880s, he married Trine,

also born there in 1870. In about

1885, Hans alone immigrated to

the United States and in about

1887, he came to the Portland area

to work for the Union Pacific

Railroad and chose Albina (now

inside our neighborhood). In

1891, Hans Tonneson was able to

pay off the bond debt on the prop-

erty and borrowed $500 to con-

struct three small homes. After

living on a floating house on the

Willamette River, he moved into

the house at 2836 NE Rodney and

used the other two as investments

to house other recent arrivals.

These three cottages were nearly

identical but this one is 2 feet

wider than the others and built

close to the southern boundary of

the property. Soon, Hans moved

to Puget Island on the Columbia

River becoming the second home-

steader there and his wife was fi-

nally able to leave Norway to join

him. This location probably re-

minded Hans most of the fiords of

Norway and here, he established a

new career as a navigation light

lighter for the US Lighthouse Au-

thority along the island for the

safety of ships traveling along the

Columbia River. In 1900, the

couple became naturalized citizens

and soon daughter Elizabeth was

born followed by son Stanley S.

In 1910, the Tonneson family

decided to return to Albina (now

Portland) and add another larger

house on the property but had to

move two of the cottages over

Historic Homes & Buildings of Eliot

A Little Bit Of Norway in Eliot By Roy E. Roos

since the 3 were evenly spaced

apart. In 1911, Hans finished con-

struction of their new family

house in the Craftsman Four-

square style at the corner of

Stanton at 2856 NE Rodney. Ap-

parently, the parents had little or

no English speaking ability but

both children advanced well in

their careers. The father also did

much fishing and continued his

lamp lighting duties on the Co-

lumbia but it is likely his main

livelihood during his later years

was being a resident landlord on

his property as all the houses re-

mained in his ownership. The

daughter Elizabeth worked as a

clerk at various offices until mar-

rying Roy Petterson and remained

living on the property. Son

Stanley moved up a career path

from a bellboy to a clerk for the

IRS during the late 1920s. He

soon took residence and title to the

house at 2842 NE Rodney after he

married and in the 1940s, he be-

came the district credit manager

for Firestone Tire & Rubber Com-

pany. By 1950, his success al-

lowed him to move into the East

Irvington neighborhood on NE

27th. Around 1930, the Tonne-

sons sold the house at 2836 NE

Rodney to Jacob Bollinger, a long

-time tenant and good acquaint-

ance. In about 1942, Hans &

Trine Tonneson, quite elderly at

this time, returned to their home-

stead on the Columbia River for

retirement but he may have still

tended the lamps. After a long

and fulfilling life, Hans passed

away in 1947 at the age of 85 and

the remaining 3 houses were sold

to separate owners in 1948. Trine

Tonneson lived over another dec-

ade until her death at the age of

99. The house in the middle of the

group saw an enormous amount of

abuse as rental for about 30 years

until it was acquired by the author

in the 1990s and restored. The

craftsmanship put into it by Hans

Tonneson stood as a testament as

all of its redwood windows could

even be restored. ●

An excerpt from the book The His-

tory of Albina, available at Broad-

way Books at 1714 NE Broadway,

Rejuvenation Inc. at 1100 SE

Grand, and Powells Books at NW

10th & Burnside.

Queen Anne Cottages on NE Rodney. Circa 2000.

Oral History Project Starting

The Eliot Neighborhood Asso-

ciation and Boise-Eliot School are

about to begin the Eliot Oral His-

tory Project! This project will

bring Boise-Eliot middle school

students together with Eliot resi-

dents to listen and record their sto-

ries and piece together an oral his-

tory and walking tours of the

neighborhood.

The interviews will start in

April and the neighborhood asso-

ciation is looking for people to

talk to. If you or someone you

know would like to be inter-

viewed, please contact Laurie

Simpson at laurie@mosiarch.com

or 503-280-1005.

The Northeast Coalition of

Neighborhoods is a proud sponsor

of the Eliot Oral History Project. ●

Corner NE Rodney at Stanton

8 8

P ort City Development

will plant a vegetable

garden this spring on a

vacant lot near Williams and Tilla-

mook. The half-acre lot is being

loaned free-of-charge by Jim

Howell, a retired architect and

building planner. Port City Devel-

opment is a non-profit organiza-

tion in Eliot that serves adults with

developmental disabilities.

The garden will be planted and

managed by the members of Pro-

ject Grow, one of several pro-

grams run by Port City Develop-

ment. Members of the program

make art and grow food. If they

want to, they can earn a paycheck

by selling their art at gallery

shows, the latest of which brought

in $1,200. They also sell fresh

eggs and produce to nearby fami-

lies and restaurants.

At Project Grow, the line be-

tween helper and helped is blurry.

Meetings about the progress and

future of the program include eve-

ryone, and everyone is encouraged

to speak. It’s like walking into a

classroom and being unable to dis-

tinguish the teacher from the stu-

dents. One of the benefits of this

arrangement, according to Port

City’s Executive Director Bekah

Cardwell, is that “everyone has a

chance to do meaningful stuff.”

Project Grow members are also

trying to strengthen relations

within the Eliot neighborhood.

They provide community garden

plots, throw harvest parties and

offer tours of their urban farm,

complete with chickens and goats.

Tim Donovan, a refreshingly posi-

tive twenty-six year-old originally

from Connecticut, is enthusiastic

about the prospect of getting more

people involved. "The more ex-

cited people are about what's hap-

pening here, the better."

Less than a year ago, the prop-

erty that Project Grow is now

transforming into a garden was

noteworthy only because it was

undeveloped. Besides a mountain

of blackberry bushes, clematis and

english ivy, it was empty.

At the time, Project Grow was

tending 5,000 square feet of gar-

den space on the Port City prop-

erty. But even with productive

soil, this was only enough land to

grow vegetables for a few fami-

lies. More land meant more food,

but more importantly, it meant an

opportunity for more members

and volunteers to get involved

with an organic farm in the heart

of Portland. "The folks who work

here have as much of a right to

work with chemical free agricul-

ture as anyone else,” Donovan

said.

The vacant lot, valued at nearly

$500,000, was only a few hundred

feet from Port City. It would be a

perfect fit. Unfortunately, they

couldn’t afford to buy or rent ad-

ditional property. So they decided

that since they couldn’t spend a

nickel on the project, they would-

n’t. They would see what they

could work out without spending

any money at all.

The owner of the property, Jim

Howell, bought the land in the

seventies in hopes of developing it

into apartments or a duplex, but he

never got around to it.

Tim Donovan called Mr. How-

ell and proposed his idea. He and

the other members of Project

Grow would clear the brush and

garbage, build a fence to prevent

future dumping and grow vegeta-

bles.

Mr. Howell had turned down

several development offers which

involved homes and apartments,

but Donovan’s proposal was dif-

ferent. It would put the land to

good use without ruling out devel-

opment in the future.

Mr. Howell agreed to let Pro-

ject Grow use the property for two

years. After that, they will meet

again to decide the future of the

agreement. ●

Port City Digs New Garden By Alexander Johnson

Port City clears a lot for a community garden