Today’s Friends of Wilshire Park (FoWP) group is the latest incarnation of neighbors joining together to support the “33rd Street Woods” (as it was known in the 1920s) and preserve it as a community-shared nature space. One hundred years ago, when the 15-acre wooded area was part of the Jacob Kamm estate, a Portland city commissioner suggested converting the woods into an auto camp/tourist park. After years of local youth enjoying the natural area for their own creative exploration and play, neighbors joined in protest, submitting petitions and making passionate pleas for an alternative to commercialization. It only took a few days for the City of Portland to back down and support a park and playground concept as presented by neighbors. In 1926, the Wilshire Addition Community Club—a kind of early neighborhood association and social club—made a proposal for the city to float a bond to fund the work. However, it wasn’t until 1933 that the city got serious about the plan and formed an agreement with the Kamm family to allow the property to be converted into a recreational park. Financial issues kept further formal city progress at bay until 1940, when the city finally purchased the land, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that the actual clearing was completed and the ball fields constructed.
For more historical detail and pictures, go to the FoWP blog (www.friendsofwilshirepark.org), click on Resources, and then on the link to the Alameda History blog, scrolling down to the Wilshire Park articles. It truly is a fascinating read.