Saturday July 28, 2007
20th Anniversary Walk & Picnic
ROSE CITY ROAMERS
1987- 2007
Ladd’s Addition Rose Gardens Walk
&
POT LUCK PICNIC
CRESTON PARK
S.E. 43RD & Powell Blvd
Portland, OR
This walk started at area D in Creston Park, and went through Southeast Portland residential neighborhoods to the Clinton Street neighborhood on the way to the Ladd’s Addition neighborhood. Clinton is a nice tree lined street with some beautifully restored homes.
26th and Clinton Street is the home of the Clinton Street Theatre which has been showing movies since 1915. The theatre has gone through many transformations over the years, but new owners have committed to keeping this small theatre alive for special films and events.
Then we walked through the unique neighborhood of Ladd’s Addition which boasts the honor of being Portland’s oldest planned community. It was platted in 1891 and included four diamond shaped parks located on the points of a compass. This one of a kind neighborhood was developed by William S. Ladd, a wealthy early Portland businessman and mayor in 1854, but it wasn’t until 1891 that he decided to subdivide his 126 acre sheep pasture on Portland’s Eastside. This was a 25 year project spanning between 1905 and 1930, and the real estate development which came to be known as Ladd’s Addition resulted in an architecturally rich mix of compatible early 20th century styles, including bungalow, craftsman, American foursquare, mission, Tudor, and colonial revival houses. After a visit to Washington DC, he planned a neighborhood designed around a system of diagonal streets, four diamond shaped rose gardens and a center circle called Central Park.
In 1909 Portland’s first parks director, Emanuel Mische, designed a formal landscape plan for the gardens in Ladd’s Addition. He planted camellias, perennials, and a lawn area in the central circle with numerous rose varieties in the four diamonds. The streets converge at these gardens which are maintained by the local homeowners.
This neighborhood has also been called, “The place where streets go crazy.” Visitors to Ladd’s Addition have been known to get lost while on foot. Iron rings for tethering horses still decorate curbs and the largest stand of elms in the city is in Ladd’s Addition. Currently 122 Ladd houses are considered of Primary Historic Significance and are eligible for the National Historic Registry.
One of these homes is the Ladd-Reingold House which has been featured in national magazines and is also the home of The Hat museum which has its own story. The Ladd-Reingold house has been used for photography sessions and in 1984 was the scene for a movie. This home is currently owned by period kitsch collector Alyce Cornyn-Selby and is the home of the Hat Museum – check it out at their website: www.thehatmuseum.com.
We returned via Brooklyn Street back to Creston Park. It is a tree lined, gentle uphill street, with many unique homes along the way.
SPECIAL EVENT
ROSE CITY ROAMERS 20TH ANNIVERSARY POT LUCK PICNIC
Creston Park is one of the oldest parks in Portland with beautiful old Douglas Fir trees and a swimming pool, play area, tennis courts, horseshoe pit, and picnic area. This setting was the location of our picnic between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm and all are invited – families, old friends, new friends, other fellow volksswalking club members, new walkers... everyone is welcome. This is a very nice park. Come, visit, enjoy, walk the park, make new friends, perhaps meet an old friend, and share your walking stories stories with us.
The Rose City Roamers furnished chicken, drinks and dessert and asked walkers to bring a Pot Luck dish of your choice – salad or side dish. Thanks to Judy DeBenedetti for organizing this event and to all the workers who assisted.
Pictures
