Lents, Portland, Oregon

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The Lents neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon is bordered by SE Powell Blvd. on the north, the Clackamas County line or City of Portland line on the south (whichever is farther south), SE 82nd Ave. to the west, and roughly SE 112th on the east. The NE corner overlaps with the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. In addition to Powellhurst-Gilbert on the north and east, Lents also borders Foster-Powell, Mt. Scott-Arleta, and Brentwood-Darlington on the west and Pleasant Valley on the east.

The neighborhood is one of the larger in the city at 3.75 mi² (7.86 km²); one of its oldest; and one of its most diverse, with many Asian, Russian/Eastern European, and Latino immigrants[1], although among locals Lents still has the reputation of being white and lower class.

Lents is 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Portland and lies within the 97266 ZIP code.

[edit] History

Lents was originally platted as the Town of Lent by Oliver P. Lent (1830–1899) in 1892. The original town was bounded by SE Foster Rd., SE Duke St., SE 92nd Ave, and SE 97th Ave.

Lent's town was originally built as a self-sufficient town and suburb of Portland. As Portland spread further out, Lents was annexed into the city in 1912. Because of its distance from central Portland and lower income class, it has been repeatedly neglected by the city.^{[citation needed]} The I-205 Freeway was originally destined for 39th Ave., but the money in Laurelhurst kept it from being built there.^{[citation needed]} Then the freeway was planned for 52nd Ave, but by the time it came to final planning, the city had grown. This necessitated moving it further out to 95th Ave.^{[citation needed]} Lents did not have the money to fight the city, and the freeway was built, ripping the suburb in half. In contrast, Maywood Park at NE Prescott St., was able to establish itself as its own city, and politically fight the freeway from cutting through the neighborhood.

[edit] Transportation

The I-205 Freeway cuts right through the center of the original town, where SE 92nd Ave. (the original road to Oregon City) met SE Foster Rd. (which led to Foster's Farm). Beginning in 1892, a streetcar ran from downtown Portland to serve the Town of Lent. The route traveled from downtown across the Hawthorne Bridge to SE 50th Ave. At SE 50th, an extant curve in the road shows the route going south. SE 50th Ave. runs into SE Foster Rd. The trolley continued on SE Foster Rd. to SE 72nd Ave., bearing south. Another extant curve to the left at Gray's Corner sent the trolley east on SE Woodstock Blvd. This road was followed through to the curve at 97th which sent it into the neighborhood south of SE Foster Rd. After several more blocks, the line ended at SE 100th Ave. where it met the Springwater Interurban Streetcar. The Springwater continued to points east, eventually ending in Estacada.

Lents is served by the TriMet bus lines 10-Harold, 14-Hawthorne, 17-Holgate, 19-Woodstock, 71-60th Avenue/122nd Avenue and 72-82nd Avenue.

U.S. Route 26 (SE Powell Blvd.) and Oregon Route 213 (SE 82nd Ave.) are major thoroughfares through the neighborhood.

[edit] Parks

• Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery (1909)
• Lents Park (1914)
• Bloomington Park (1940)
• Glenwood Park (1941)
• Lents Community Garden (1976)
• Ed Benedict Park (1986)
• Earl Boyles Park (1986)
• Springwater Corridor Trail (1990)
• Tenino Property (1994)
• Beggars Tick Natural Area
• Zenger Property
• I-205 Bike Path

[edit] Future

In recent years, Portland has seen the potential value of the Lents neighborhood and established it as an Urban Renewal Zone, subsidizing new building and remodeling costs and temporarily waiving property taxes. Many new homes and businesses have been established and more are planned. The MAX light rail system is being expanded southward from the Gateway hub, along I-205 to the Clackamas Town Center.

[edit] External links

• Lents Food Group
• Lents Neighborhood Plan (Portland Bureau of Planning, 1986)