Hannah Kanter

Dr. Even Farr

FRINQ: Portland
November 15th, 2015
Creation of Place
The U.S. Census Bureau of Multnomah Country originally drew the Jewish and Italian
Households, South Portland in 1910, with the intent to depict the distribution of Jewish and
Italian Immigrant households in South Portland. The map gives a sense of how neighborhoods
had been established as the Jewish and Italian communities grew from immigrant workers, to
immigrant working families. Due to the steady rate of growth in these communities, there
became a need for various resources including: a Synagogue, a Church, Schools, as well as a
community center. These aspects ultimately are what define and establish the sustainability of the
Jewish and Italian ethnic communities.
Italian immigrant men were initially drawn to Portland because of its thriving railroad
and lumberyards that provided unskilled labor opportunities. Due to the rapid growth in housing,
many Italians would live in small single or multiple family houses instead of saloons or boarding
houses. This, coupled with the convenience of the streetcar lines, allowed for many Italian
immigrants to have easy access to their place of employment. This ultimately led to the
formation of an Italian Neighborhood in the East, and South East area of the U.S. Census map,
between 1st and Kelly St, all the way up to Lincoln St. In addition, the St. Michael the Archangel
Church was established in 1894, with the purpose to minister to a specific ethnic group, creating
a significant tie to the surrounding geographical area. As a product of having such a large area
densely populated mainly by Italian immigrants, the community anchored itself to the area,
creating an ethnic enclave.

Similar to the Italian Immigrants, the Jewish community marked off a clear area that
housed their neighborhood. However, it began to develop into an ethnic enclave with the
building of the Neighborhood House in 1905, by the Council of Jewish Women. The house was
intended to settle the community, and establish its place in South Portland. Upon closer
investigation, the map further reflects that with the placement of the Neighborhood House, the
Jewish community began to expand north from Woods Street to Lincoln. The remaining area
south of Wood Street housed mostly Italian immigrants, with the exception of the Jewish homes
on 2nd, Water, and Hood Streets.
Another key aspect of creating a sustainable neighborhood, and ethnic enclave, is
accessibility. The street car lines, running south to north, allowed for the Jewish community to
expand past what would have been available solely on foot. Instead, the streetcar enabled them to
build out in to the developing Portland landscape, without sacrificing their need for community
and ritual worship.
Having a place of ritual worship would have been necessary to the orthodox Jews at the
time, and would have been key in creating a Jewish sense of place and community. The Jewish
community ultimately had multiple small congregations that would meet in rented space for
short and finite periods of time. However in 1912, Eastern European Jews founded and
completed the first Portland synagogue, Kesser Israel. Located only two blocks north from the
Neighborhood House on 2nd and Meade Street, the Jewish community was sustaining itself and
beginning to call Portland home.
Due to the communities geographical closeness, the Failing School and Shattuck School,
prompt the inevitable cross over between cultures and communities. Neither school was
predominantly Jewish or Italian; instead they were a mix of both. Each institution introduced

immigrant children to American society. With various congregational areas, such as Kesser
Israel, the Neighborhood House, St. Michael the Archangel, as well as both the Failing and
Shattuck schools, both immigrant groups create both geographical and social ties to the area. By
doing this, they create ethnic enclaves in the form of neighborhoods within South Portland. Both
neighborhoods ultimately are not independent of each other; instead they are symbiotic entities
that live in co-existence in order to create ethnic stability within South Portland.
When considering the U.S. Census Map in the context of today, we can see everything
that has been un-done. The Ross-Island Bridge was completed in 1925, causing multiple blocks
of the waterfront to be dedicated to access ramps, and eliminating the neighborhood atmosphere
because of an increase in traffic. Much of the Jewish and Italian communities were displaced as a
product of the citys intent for urban renewal in 1955, causing Italian families to leave their
enclave of Little Italy and move to the east side of the river. The same is true with the Jewish
community, but they were able to successfully reestablish their enclave in the suburbs of
Portland.
However, many of the buildings that were the pillars of these enclaves still exist. The
Failing School building later became Portland Community College in 1962. In subsequent years,
the school formally changes its name to the Ross-Island Center as the heart of operations for
PCC, and later in 1995, was sold to the National College for Natural Medicine (NCNM). Much
like the Failing School, the Shattuck School was also converted in to a PCC building in 1964,
before being sold to Portland State University in 1969, where it is still a prominent part of
campus.

Works Cited
Abbott, Carl. Portland in Three Centuries: The Place and the People. Corvallis: Oregon State
University Press, 2011. 97-118. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
<http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/books/9780870716447/9780870716447-10.pdf>.
"An Italian National Catholic Church." Saint Michael the Archangel, Catholic Parish in
Portland, OR. Saint Michael the Archangel, Catholic Parish in Portland, OR, n.d. Web. 8
Nov. 2015. <http://stmichaelportland.org/an-italian-church>.
Crawford, T H. "Historical Sketch of Public Schools of Portland, OR. 1847 - 1888." Portland
Public School, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2015. <http://www.pps.k12.or.us/files/recordsmanagement/Historical-Sketch-PPS.pdf>.
"Jewish and Italian Households, South Portland, 191." Map. U.S. Manuscript Census,
Multnomah County (1910). Print.
Margles, Judith. "Portland." Jewish Virtual Library . Jewish Virtual Library , n.d. Web. 8 Nov.
2015.
<https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_16002.html>.
"Shattuck Hall." Portland State University: Floor Plans. Portland State University , n.d. Web. 8
Nov. 2015. <https://www.pdx.edu/floorplans/buildings/sh>.
Toll, William. Ethnicity and Stability: The Italians and Jews of South Portland, 1900-1940
Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (May, 1985), pp. 161-189
"Urban Renewal and the Lasting Impressions on Portland." Museum of the City. Museum of the
City, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2015. <http://www.museumofthecity.org/urban-renewal-and-thelasting-impressions-on-portland/>.http://news.pcc.edu/2011/10/50th-failing-school/