The Homestead Neighborhood Association has been recognized by the City of Portland in more or less its current configuration since the inception of the citywide neighborhood system in 1974. Homestead is bounded by the Southwest Hills Residential League to the north and west, the Corbett/Terwilliger/Lair Hill neighborhood to the east and the Hillsdale neighborhood to the south. Homestead has three main residential areas within it:
Fairmont Drive to the west
The “Terraces Area” between Terwilliger Parkway and Barbur Blvd.
The Marquam Hill Village Area Until recently, our recognized boundaries were approximately, from Fairmount Boulevard on the west down to Barbur Boulevard on the east, from Marquam Ravine on the north to a southern boundary half way between Hamilton St. and Capitol Hwy.
Established in 1857
The Homestead neighborhood was originally a 298 acre homestead claim, purchased in 1857 by Portland Pioneer, Phillip Marquam for $2500. A relatively flat portion of Marquam Hill was platted into 200 by 200 foot blocks. The blocks were quartered (following the custom in Portland proper) so that each could contain four homes with associated tack houses for a horse and buggy. To this day, the rectangular plat remains with streets impossible to build because the original land division was made without any consideration to the steep terrain.
A Neighborhood of Contrasts
We have beautiful residential neighborhoods, large institutional and residential facilities such as OHSU, the VA Hospital, and Terwilliger Plaza, and hundreds of acres of undeveloped forests and parks, all just a couple minutes from downtown. A Dedicated and Accomplished Volunteer Board: The Homestead Neighborhood Association is comprised of board members and committee chairs. Together, we monitor issues large and small that affect our community. While we are a diverse group, what unites us is that we all care deeply about where our neighborhood is going. In our 30 years, Homestead N.A. has done much to preserve and enhance the livability of our wonderful neighborhood. We have worked to preserve natural areas, get trails built, limit OHSU expansion, reduce the impacts of OHSU and the VA Hospital, participated in the creation of the Terwilliger Parkway Study and Plan, and developed a Neighborhood Master Plan, and much more. Over the last 3 years we have taken a very active role in the Marquam Hill Plan, the Aerial Tram project, and are closely tracking the development of several new OHSU buildings to assure that their impact on our parks and residences is minimized. The most exciting recent success has been the preservation of nearly 100 acres of undeveloped forest land between Terwilliger Parkway and Marquam Nature Park, adjacent to OHSU. Homestead N.A. lobbied for preservation of these lands during the Marquam Hill Plan process, which in conjunction with Terwilliger and Marquam Park forms a continuous “green-belt” around the intensely developed Marquam Hill and which will contain its growth.
The Terwilliger Parkway was built in 1911 along an abandoned railroad right of way. The corridor was originally designed as a recreational drive to take advantage of the area’s unique recreational and scenic resources. Construction got underway in 1911 with a substantial portion of the property being given to the city by the Terwilliger Family. As a condition of the deed of gift, Terwilliger Parkway was NOT to be used for commercial traffic or developed for commercial use. It was the opinion of the donors that opening the road to anything but “pleasure vehicles” would be a violation of the deed of gift.
Did you know…
The Homestead neighborhood was originally a 298 acre homestead claim, purchased in 1857 by Portland Pioneer, Phillip Marquam for $2500. A relatively flat portion of Marquam Hill was platted into 200 by 200 foot blocks. The blocks were quartered (following the custom in Portland proper) so that each could contain four homes with associated tack houses for a horse and buggy. To this day, the rectangular plat remains with streets impossible to build because the original land division was made without any consideration to the steep terrain.
The Terwilliger Parkway was built in 1911 along an abandoned railroad right of way. The corridor was originally designed as a recreational drive to take advantage of the area’s unique recreational and scenic resources. Construction got underway in 1911 with a substantial portion of the property being given to the city by the Terwilliger Family. As a condition of the deed of gift, Terwilliger Parkway was NOT to be used for commercial traffic or developed for commercial use. It was the opinion of the donors that opening the road to anything but “pleasure vehicles” would be a violation of the deed of gift.
Homestead has the largest amount of undeveloped open space of any neighborhood in Portland’s “Southwest Community Plan” area. The steep terrain of the neighborhood has created unique residential, transportation and infrastructure patterns. Physical constraints in certain parts of the neighborhood make some developments economically unfeasible. Because of these constraints, the rate of residential development in the neighborhood has been slower than other neighborhoods. Information provided by the Homestead Neighborhood Plan, October 1997