Articles

The Dream of the Nineties

Dr. Marie Equi: Portland's Lesbian Anarchist Doctor

In the early 1900s, Dr. Marie Equi was one of Portland's most prominent physicians — and one of its most dangerous radicals. She provided abortions and birth control when both were illegal, lived openly with her female partner, adopted a child in one of America's first same-sex families, and was imprisoned for sedition. She was called "the most dangerous woman in Oregon." This is her story.

Mill Ends Park: The World's Smallest Park

In 1948, Portland newspaper columnist Dick Fagan looked out his office window and saw a leprechaun digging in an abandoned hole in a traffic median. He caught the leprechaun, wished for a park, and got exactly what he asked for: a circle two feet across, officially the world's smallest park. For decades it had a tiny swimming pool, hosted snail races, and was home to "the only leprechaun colony west of Ireland." Portland has never stopped being weird.

The Vanport Flood: A City Erased in 35 Minutes

Vanport was Oregon's second-largest city by 1948, home to 18,500 people — including most of Portland's Black population. On May 30, 1948, officials assured residents the dikes would hold. At 4:17 PM, they didn't. The city was underwater in 35 minutes. It was never rebuilt. The flood permanently reshaped Portland.