Until Oregon's Public Accommodations Law Was Passed In 1953, This Was The Only Hotel In Portland Catering To African Americans. Built In 1906 For Railroad Men Away From Home, It Soon Became A Social Center, Especially On Sunday Afternoons. With The Mt. Olivet Baptist Church Just Across The Street, The Golden West Hotel Hotel Drew Church Goers To Its Restaurant, Billiards Room, Ice Cream Parlor And Candy Shop. There Was A Thriving Saloon, Too (Though Perhaps Not After Church!). The Barber Shop Was Operated From 1913 To 1930 By Waldo Bogle, Grandfather Of Former Television News Anchor And Portland City Commissioner Dick Bogle. Closed During The Depression, The Hotel Now Serves The Homeless Mentally Ill. Interpretive Historical Displays Are On Either Side Of The Entrance.
Cathy Galbraith, Bosco-Milligan Foundation
Presented A Slide Show That Gave Insight To Numerous Properties Within The Boundary That Have Social/Cultural Significance But Are Not On An Official Historic Registry. Most Historic Designations Look To The Architectural Significance Of Buildings, And Leave Out The Socio-Cultural Significance. The Slide Show Gave An Idea Of Houses And Buildings Associated With African American Individuals, Families, Businesses, Institutions That Are Not Seen As Architectural Gems But That Do Have Historical/Community Meaning. She Explained That A Large Number Of Properties Have Been Torn Down In The Past For Public Works Projects. There Are Many Examples Of Transfers Of Properties In The Area From African American Ownership To Other Ownership. She Suggested That The Group Create Incentives To Save Historically, Culturally, Socially Significant Buildings. Bosco-Milligan Published Cornerstones Of Community: The Buildings Of Portland's African American History In February 1998 Which Identified 1,284 Buildings Associated With African-American History And That Are Socially And/Or Culturally Significant.
Cielo Lutino, Bureau Of Planning, Presented A Map Highlighting The Conservation Districts, Historic Landmarks And Conservation Landmarks Located Within The Interstate Corridor URA Boundary. She Handed Out Example Images Of Homes And Buildings Within The Area That Have Varying Historic Significance, Demonstrating The Range Of Different Designations That Properties Can Have.She Explained The Chronology Of Recent Public Actions That Relate To Historic Preservation. In 1984 The City Of Portland Conducted Its First Inventory Of Historic Properties In Which About 5,000 Properties Were Published In The Citywide Historic Resources Inventory (CHRI). An Update Of The CHRI Was Conducted In 1993 As Part Of The Albina Community Plan Process And Seven Conservation Districts Were Designated. Five Of These Seven Districts Are Located Either Partially Or Entirely In The Interstate Corridor URA Boundary (Russell, Eliot, Mississippi, Piedmont, Kenton.) In 1995, Senate Bill 588 Enacted The "Owner Consent" Law, Which Requires Owners To Agree To Their Property Being Designated As Historic. To Create A Historic Designation District On A National Level, 51% Of The Property Owners Within The Area Must Agree To It. To Create A Local Historic District, 100% Of Property Owners Must Agree To It. In 1996 The Portland Zoning Code Was Updated To Create A Four-Tier System Of Historic Designations.In Addition To The Conservation Districts, There Are Currently 23 Individual Historic And Conservation Landmarks Within The Interstate Corridor URA. There Is Always The Possibility To Identify More; However This Involves An Application Process That Can Be Costly. To Apply For Local Historic Designation, The Application Fee Is $2,000 (Whereas A Demolition Permit Fee Is Approximately $200). To Apply For State And Federal Historic Designation, The Fee Is Much Less. Once A Property Is Designated At The State And Federal Level, It Is Automatically Considered A Local Historic Landmark, Thus It Is More Practical To Apply For The State And Federal Historic Designation. There Are A Number Of Federal, State And City Incentives That Come With Historic Preservation Designation.The Sellwood Community Is Currently Taking On Its Own Historic Inventory Process And Is A Local Example Of A Community Historic Preservation Project In The Works That Could Serve As An Example For The Interstate Area....
Will Bennett
With At The Golden West Hotel, The Inspiration For His Website
African-American-Historical-District.Com
‘The Most Racist City’
One Man’s Quest For An African American Historic District
By Laura Parisi
PHOTO BY JASON E. KAPLAN
St John’s Sentinel Nov2007
Ask Will Bennett About His Website, And He’ll Tell You A Story.
It Begins In 1989, When A Group Called The Friends Of The Golden West Set About To Build A “Comprehensive Cultural Resource Inventory Of African American Contributions To The Pacific Northwest Society.” The First Step Of The Journey Was To Get A Historic Building In Chinatown Renamed From The Broadmoor To Its Original Name, The Golden West Hotel.
The Building, On The Corner Of Broadway And Northwest Everett, Is Now A Shelter For Homeless People With Mental Illness. But When It Was Built In 1906, It Was The Only Hotel In Portland Where Black Railroad Workers Were Allowed To Stay.
The Next Step On The Group’s Agenda Was To Get The Building Placed On The National Register Of Historic Places And Make It A More Prominent Historic Symbol. Finally, The Group Sought To Identify A Historically Important Location In Which To Open An African American History Museum And To Define Districts That Were Historically Significant To The Black Community.
The Group Successfully Changed The Building’s Name. To This Day, The Golden West Is Not Yet Nationally Recognized As A Historic Site.
Bennett, Who Describes Himself As A “Community Practitioner And Amateur Historian,” Wants To Change This, Beginning Where The Group Left Off At The Golden West And Eventually Establishing More Formal Places Dedicated To Teaching Local Black History, Like A Museum, Landmarks And Official Historical Districts.
He’s Taken Some First Steps — Connecting With Local Black Studies Professors And Historians And Reaching Out To Portland Public Schools. Slowly, The Interest Is Building. He Recently Presented “Local Color,” A Documentary That Chronicles Portland’s History Of Racism, To A Group Of Portland Social Studies Teachers At Franklin High School’s Professional Development Day, In An Effort To Help Bring More Local African American History Into The Curriculum.
“Portland Public Schools Needs To Integrate More Pacific Northwest Culture. To Teach African American History, You Need To Teach Portland African American History,” Says Bennett. “Portland Was [Known In The Black Community As] The Most Racist City This Side Of The Mississippi.
As For The Historical District, Bennett Says That For Now, At Least, It’s Virtual. “My Site — That’s The District For Right Now,” He Explains. He Envisions A Future District Around Union Station, Which He Argues Was The First African American Community In The City, As Well As Along North Vancouver And Williams.
Bennett Hopes The Move Toward Establishing A District And Historic Landmarks Will Happen Organically. “I Don’t Want To Come To No Decisions,” He Says. “I Want All The Neighborhood Involvement. The Community Needs To Make The Decisions.”
Amateur Historian Pushes Behind The Scenes History
By Brian Stimson
Of The Skanner
February 25, 2009
Before Gentrification, Before Northeast Redlining And Before Vanport - There Was The Golden West Hotel. Sitting In The Shadow Of Union Station, Where A Large Number Of African Americans Found Gainful Employment, The Golden West Was A Community Gathering Place For Pool; Games, Drinks, Meals, Haircuts And Even Turkish Baths. The Early Part Of The 20th Century Was Kind To The Grand Hotel And The Surrounding Black-Owned Businesses - The Depression Was Not.
Will Bennett, Right, Receives From Donny R. Adair , Left An Award From The Black History Month Committee 2-5-09 @Portland City Hall
IN The Late 80s, A Group Of Concerned Citizens Formed The Friends Of The Golden West Group. After Organizing And Building A Historical Display In The Hotel, Now Owned By Central City Concern, The Group Dissolved.
And That's Where Will Bennett Has Stepped In To Pick Up The Pieces.
"I Don't Know What Happen To The Group," Bennett Said. "But For 18 Years, Nobody Was Caring For It."
Bennett Is A Local A Amateur Historian Who Has Been Leading A One-Man Effort To Establish An African American Historical District, A Restoration Of The Golden West Display, And The Truthful History About Race Relations In Oregon.
About Two Years Ago, Bennett Took Up It Up As A Personal Project To Push The Central City Concern To Clean Up The Golden West Display. He Was Instrumental In Helping Arrange A $9,250 Grant Through The City's Vision Into Action Program To Restore The Sun And Water-Damaged Display With Help From Old Town History Project. But It's Only A Beginning, He Says.
"Friends Of The Golden West Wanted A Museum, A Historical District And A National Registry Of Buildings Needs To Be Established," All Of These Things Are Required To Have A Vibrant Community. We're Not Quite A Community Like We Used To Be."
In Many Ways, Bennett Is A Restoration Project All His Own. He's Not Shy About Talking About His Past, It Helped To Make Him Who He Is Today. He Was Raised In The State Foster Care System. Kathryn Bogle - The Daughter Of Waldo Bogle, The Barber At The Original Golden West, And Mother To Former City Commissioner Dick Bogle- Was His Case Worker, And She Still Remembered Him When He Called Her Decades Later For Her Help Restoring The Golden West Display. His Case Sent Ripples Through The Foster System After A Caregiver Physically Abused Him - Giving Him Scars He Still Carries To This Day.
Bennett Has Battled Drug Addiction And Homelessness He's Also Has 11 Felony Convictions. Mostly For Drug-Relates Crimes. But He's Cleaned Up His Life And Turned It Around.
"I Had To Do This For Her (Kathryn Bogle)." He Said.
Bennett New Addiction Is Local African American History. It All Began When He Made A Call To Portland Public Schools To Demand A Change In Curriculum When It Came To Teaching The Truth About The Way African Americans Had Been Treated. They Gave Him A Speaking Slot. He Was Terrified About What He Was Going To Say. So He Started Looking For A Copy Of Oregon Public Broadcasting's "Local Color"To Play.
"After 18 Years You Couldn't Find A Copy Nowhere," He Said "Like To Tell People I Got Ethnic With Them."
He Found A Copy In The Office Of Portland State University's Darrell Millner, Who Assisted Journalist Jon Tuttle In Making The Award-Winning Film. Through Bennett's Continued Prodding, OPB Re-Released The 1991 Film On DVD And Distributed Hundreds Of Free Copies To Schools And Nonprofits Organizations.
"I'm A Catalyst, Some Of These Things Are Already In Place, I Just Speed 'En Up A Little Bit," He Said.
Because Of His Efforts, The City Of Portland's Black History Committee Gave Him An Award During Their Black History Celebration Earlier This Month.
"I'm Humble And Grateful," He Says.
Always Looking Ahead, Bennett Is Organizing Public Screening For "Local Color," And Hope To Push Someone To Make A Sequel To The Film. He'd Also Like To See An African American Museum Open Up, Establish A Historic And Hopefully Partner With An Organization Such As The Urban League To Promote Historical Understanding.
But Wherever His Vision Takes Him, He Doesn't Want It To Be About Money.
"I Don't Want To Be Market Driven, "He Says. "I'm Not Into All That Formality."
And Like The Many Forgotten Faces The Once Graced The Halls Of The Golden West, The Behind-The-Scenes Bennett Want People To Learn About The Black People Who Helped Make This City Thrive.
"I Want To Focus On The Unsung Hero," He Said.
ORIGINAL FRIENDS OF THE GOLDEN WEST:
Chair Leroy Patten, Kathryn Hall Bogle, Greg Stevens From The Oregon Historical Society, Historian Bob Zybock And Michael Grice
NOTE:
Local Color Will Re-AirEd On (Same Night As Award)
Thursday, Feb 5th, 2009 At 9 P.M. And Sunday,
Feb 8th At 3 A.M. And 11 P.M.
Mary J. Gardner
Director Television Programming
Oregon Public Broadcasting
(503) 293-1951 (Voice)
(503) 293-4873 (Fax)
Built Portland Recipient: Portland, Oregon: Central City Concern: The Golden West Historic Display - $9,250 The Golden West Historic Display Will Be An Innovative, Street-Level Exhibit About African American History In An Area Of Portland Not Widely Known To Have Been An African American Business, Social And Cultural Center: The Golden West Hotel Near Union Station. Through Words, Sounds, And Images, The Multimedia Display Will Tell The Story Of The African American Community Surrounding The Golden West Hotel In Downtown Portland In The Early 1900s. The Publicly Accessible Display Will Face The Sidewalks At A Well-Traveled Corner, NW Everett And Broadway
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A Little More Light On Little-Known History Thursday, August 07, 2008 By Erin Hoover Barnett The Oregonian Staff When Portlanders Talk About The City's African American History, Many Speak Of The Black Shipyard Workers Who Were Relocated To Inner North And Northeast After The 1948 Vanport Flood. Fewer Know About The African American Business District That Thrived Around Union Station In The Early 1900s. Among Black-Owned Businesses, The Golden West Hotel, 707 N.W. Everett, Became The Social Focal Point With Its Restaurant, Turkish Baths, Barbershop, Gambling Room, Gymnasium And Ice Cream Parlor. Now A Project To Better Display Golden West's History Is Among 12 Recipients Of City Grants From The Vision Into Action Coalition. "It Was Surprising To Some Of The Committee Members The African American History That Existed Near Union Station. They Considered That Area Chinatown Or Old Town," Says Stephanie Stephens, Vision Into Action's Manager. The Coalition Is Acting On Priorities, Such As Acknowledging City History -- Identified During Mayor Tom Potter's Visioning Process. A Committee Of Community, Business And Government Representatives Chose Recipients From 55 Applications. The Grants Range From $2,500 To The Good In The Neighborhood Multicultural Music And Food Festival To $10,000 To Expand The Newspaper Street Roots On The East Side. Central City Concern Received $9,250 For The Golden West Display. The Nonprofit, A Social Service And Low-Income Housing Agency, Bought And Rehabbed The Hotel In 1989. The Agency Worked With The Late Kathryn Hall Bogle And Others To Locate And Display Historic Photos In Window Boxes Outside The Hotel. Bogle's Father Owned The Hotel Barbershop. Her Son, Dick Bogle, Became A City Commissioner. The New Project, Led By Historian Jackie Peterson Loomis On Behalf Of Central City Concern, Will Upgrade The Display And Add Another Window Box. Peterson Loomis, Co-Founder Of The Old Town History Project, Plans To Incorporate Audio, Including Music From The Time And Interviews With People Such As Dick Bogle. "It's An Opportunity To Position The Golden West As One Of The Most Important Centerpieces For This Quite Unique Community Of Middle-Class African Americans," Peterson Loomis Says. "It Was A Very Tiny Black Community In A Very Racist City And State, But They Really Managed To Build A Community In That Neighborhood."... ©2009 Oregonian
Golden West Project
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PHOTO BY JASON E. KAPLAN
WILL BENNETT
Community Practitioner, Futurist/Historian
At Large
Creative Director@Golden West Project
Through Continuing Research
Http://Goldenwest.Wordpress.Com
BUILDING A NETWORK FOR PRESERVATION OF
PORTLAND'S &Amp; OREGON'S AFRICAN AMERICAN
EXPERIENCE/HISTORY...AND MORE!!!
"Racism Is A By-Product Of Capitalism"