By David Columbus, September 1, 2020
When I am exploring a neighborhood for the first time I always end up walking to the closest park. These green spaces often tell a story about the neighborhood. How crowded is the local park on a sunny day? Is there a playground? Are people out with pets? Is there a calendar of park events? Portland is notoriously great at park events.
Parks grow and evolve alongside their neighborhoods in wonderful ways. I recently worked with some clients in the Centennial neighborhood and got to witness park evolution first hand. As it turns out, my client’s new home happens to be near a very cool piece of Portland Park history.
Lynchview Park, named for Patrick Lynch who donated land to the Centennial School district back in the 1800s, was a forlorn, undeveloped rectangle of green in Centennial. However, as of June the 8-acre park has a new name and a new look.
The newly named Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park is the first park in Portland to be named after a Black woman.
Verdell Burdine Rutherford and her husband Otto were pioneering leaders of the Oregon chapter of the NAACP. Together they worked to pass the Public Accommodations Act of 1953 which outlawed discrimination in public places on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. Burdine Rutherford also spent much of her live chronicling the history of the Black community in Portland. Her historical collection is available for research at the PSU library.
The updated park has more than a historic new name. With funding from the 2014 Park’s Replacement Bond, a series of renovations have revitalized the space. Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park has a new playground, a picnic shelter, updated landscaping, and paved pathways. A celebration of Burdine Rutherford’s life and the park’s renaming will be held at a soon-to-be-determined date. Remember, Portland is great at park events. It is a beautiful space and a huge asset to the neighborhood – definitely a worthy destination for that “we just moved in” walk around.
Photo courtesy of Portland Parks & Rec
David Columbus
Principal Broker | Earth Advantage | ADU Specialist | OR
He/Him
Ok, here’s my snapshot. I moved to Portland in October of 1998, moved for love. I’ve been a licensed real estate broker in Oregon since 2000 and would describe myself as a general practitioner helping people navigate residential, investment, and owner-user commercial markets as well as doing some residential tenant representation...
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