By Alison Lelko
Have you ever driven past the train-station shaped building at the intersection of N Vancouver and N Russel and wondered “What’s going on inside that building?” The answer is more delightful than you might imagine.
Inside the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Historical Society in the Eliot Neighborhood is a 60’ x 70’ HO-scale model of the Gorge, complete with intricately detailed models of Union Station, the Vista House, Multnomah Falls, in situ. HO scale trains, both steam and diesel, traverse the detailed landscape, which stretches from Portland to Bend.
As you enter the layout, you’re first greeted by miniature Portland, set in 1957, complete with the society’s newest building (built in 2025) – Portland’s own Franz Bakery with its spinning loaf. In this miniature world where people stand just ¾ inch tall, no detail has been spared. Amusement rides really spin at Oaks Park, an animated woodchopper chops logs in Hood River, and coal cars transport fuel along the Oregon Trunk Line.
The diverse group of Portlanders that maintains the layout comes from all walks of life – the oldest member is in their 90’s and the youngest members are just 12 years old. The Historical Society’s 140 members meet every Tuesday evening, at which time the public can pre-arrange to visit the layout, or attend a meeting to consider joining the society. Without a doubt, however, the best time to visit the layout in action, with trains galore, is during their biannual Open House, taking place in May and November.
The next CGMRHS Open House is Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday May 3rd, from 10 am – 5 pm. Tickets are available online and pre-purchase is encouraged: www.cgmrhs.org. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for kids aged 3 – 12, and free for under 3 years.
“Dumpster Days” are community waste collection events for items that don’t fit, or aren’t allowed, in curbside waste bins.
We are looking for some ‘hosts’ for lawn signs. They look like this – we have everything you need and can drop it at your house.
Please contact info@eliotneighborhood.org if you are able to host one through our event May 16th. Thank you!
Date: Saturday, May 16
Location: Legacy Emanuel Visitor Parking Lot, N Vancouver and N Graham Sts
Items accepted 10am – 2pm (or until dumpsters full)
Donations via cash, CashApp, Venmo or Paypal.
Suggested donations: $10 for a car, $20 per pick-up truck, $40 for full pick-up trucks.
No commercial vehicles, such as box trucks, please.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Led by Eliot NA co-Chair Allan Rudwick
When: Saturday, February 21st at 3pm
Where: Meet at Harder Day Coffee on MLK and Tillamook.
2031 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212
What:
This meeting will be in person at Cascadia Garlington Center (where the board meetings have been). Enter off of the parking lot.
Agenda
We’ll leave the room by 7:30pm
A local Eliot resident, known as Lady Max, attended our July general meeting to share her safety concerns during the open public comment period.
Her first concern is the overall volume of fast moving vehicle traffic on NE 7th, even after the speed bumps were installed. She feels that rush-hour traffic has also increased, possibly diverting away from MLK by apps like Waze, or drivers just wanting to bypass stoplights. On 7th, this higher traffic is clashing at busy pedestrians crossings as they near Knott, and an increase in cycling numbers since the Earl Blumenauer pedestrian and bicycle bridge opened across I-84 on NE 7th Ave in 2022.
On NE 7th, there is an added crash risk is from blocked crossing visibility from cars parked too close to crossings. Especially when cars park in marked no-parking zones close to corners
Lady Max shared one spot specifically that she has observed and photographed over 50+ violations in only a few months period. The location has a sign, in which the homeowner keeps very well pruned around, but drivers continue to park there. After hearing a neighbor’s dog yelp because a truck got super close close when its owner tried to cross at Russell, Lady Max got really mad and decided to take action for the sake of ALL the neighbors.
She asked various city staffers including PBOT’s Safe Streets program for ideas during community events. Considering PBOT budget limitations, she learned it might be necessary to do a little tactile urbanism. PBOT won a grant to paint 200 daylight corners but that doesn’t cover the need over all of Portland, it barely scratches the surface.
They suggested she attend her local neighborhood association meetings, and reach out to organizations like Strong Towns PDX. She created a petition to ask the city for traffic reduction with a diverter, and has several hundred signatures so far. She attended city counselor’s ‘Coffee in the park’ to bring attention to the matter. Lady Max rallied attendees to our August 11 Land Use meeting, which included Senior Council Aide Jacq Tjaden who works with councilor Sameer Kanal’s office and Mauricio Leclerc – a manager in the Area planning team at PBOT. Eliot’s Land Use and Transportation Committee (LUTC) met with some neighbors including Steve Cole from Irving neighborhood association. We talked for a bit and then went for a walk 7th. We left the meeting with no firm commitments from the City, but it was good to retell the story from our perspective and we think there may be room to continue the conversation there.
After the meeting, Lady Max and the LUTC came up with a plan to clean and paint the No-Parking section of the curb that Max had documented more than 50 violators at. Over Labor Day weekend, a few of us gathered to get the first curb done. It looks great and we are already seeing the impact of less drivers parking there.
We are always looking for community involvement and new ideas on how to make our neighborhood more livable and safe. This project was doable with tools we had readily available. If other neighbors want to do a similar project or have any other issues they want addressed feel free to reach out at info@eliotneighborhood.org or attend a future next meeting.
Our next LUTC meeting will be TODAY, September 8th at 6:30 PM – meeting indoors at 7th and Russell again.
This meeting will be in person. I would like to apologize for using the indoor space at 7th and Russell without putting it on the agenda last time, thank you for those who came and those who tried to come but didn’t find us.
We are back to our normal time and will be using space at the Russell Apartments again (enter on 7th). The space is at the corner of NE 7th and Russell.
Agenda
Public Comment & Agenda Additoins
Discussion of next steps for a diverter on NE 7th
Walking tour of 7th – look at fresh yellow paint in ‘no parking’ areas and other small changes neighbors can make
Fremont Bridgehead update – forming a committee is happening.
Parking update – Zone V enforcement season coming again in October, new signs with paid parking are coming but haven’t arrived yet. Link to more details
This meeting will be in person and will be a walking meeting on NE 7th.
We will be meeting with PBOT to talk about reducing the traffic on NE 7th as we have repeatedly advocated for.
We will start to gather at 5pm for early attendees, but will walk NE 7th during the meeting and observe traffic while discussing potential mitigations
If you are interested in helping out in any way, please contact info@eliotneighborhood
– sponsors / volunteers welcome
Board meeting coming July 21st
Land Use and Transportation items of interest:
– Zone V Parking permit changes coming – slightly larger area, meters instead of time limits. This has many benefits, but the primary reason is that it is much more enforceable. Roughly 200 tickets were given in the past 12 months under the sold system, less than the number of visiting cars on a single night.
People living in Eliot within the meter area will be able to buy permits (the addresses inside last year’s permit are and the expanded areas – apartment and house residents). If you plan to park on the street during these events it is expected that you should expect to be ticketed due to the new enforcement policies unlike last year.
https://www.portland.gov/transportation/parking/eliot-parking/apply-zone-v-parking-permit
It is expected that meter revenue will be used to subsidize permits in the area.
Board meeting coming June 16th
Land Use and Transportation items of interest
– Demolition Permit Application: 542 NE Brazee (https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/permit/2025-038870-000-00-RS/5153561_did/)
– Emanuel Displaced Persons 2 settlement bumped up to 8.5 M
– Bike Summer has kicked off! Find a ride here
A lawsuit filed in 2022 alleging the racist destruction and forced removal of Black families from what is now the Eliot Neighborhood and was previously known as the historic Central Albina Neighborhood has been resolved by the parties. This is subject to approval by Portland’s City Council and the Prosper Portland Board.
Plaintiffs ask City Council to approve this deal and, going forward, they urge the City to continue to find ways to compensate displaced families. “Now is the magical moment. City of Portland elected officials have the authority to go beyond the contents of this agreement and provide adequate redress and restitution for the families involved in this case and for other affected families,” said the Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2 (EDPA2).
“This settlement is a remarkable testament to EDPA2 and these 26 individuals’ commitment to honoring the dignity and hard work of their displaced elders, and to keeping alive a history that is as much a part of this city’s past as it is a part of its present. It is hard to fully right some wrongs, but their willingness to bring this fight has opened up new possibilities,” said Diane Nguyen, Legal Aid Services of Oregon, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.
Starting in the late 1950s and into the early 1970s, the City of Portland, Prosper Portland (then the Portland Development Commission), and Legacy Emanuel acted in concert to forcibly displace hundreds of families from their homes and businesses in Central Albina. Of the forcibly displaced households, 74% were Black, many of whom owned their homes free and clear. Between 1971 and 1973, the City and PDC demolished an estimated 188 properties – 158 of which were residential and 30 of which were commercial. Families, businesses, churches, and community organizations were all displaced.
The stated reason for the demolition was the expansion of Emanuel Hospital. That expansion never happened and, decades later, much of the land taken from Black families in Central Albina remains vacant or is used for parking.
Before the destruction, Black residents resided in the Central Albina community for economic, spiritual, social, and civic growth. They built lives and worked there; raised their children; paid taxes; purchased and maintained homes; built a community; safeguarded the area; and so much more. They were the stewards of the neighborhood, and because of their investments, Albina has blossomed into the economic powerhouse that it is today.
Some of the terms of the settlement have been released:
As you probably already know, this was only one of many government-driven land takings in the area during this time period. Others include the construction of I-5, the I-405 Kerby Ramps, Portland Public Schools headquarters, Memorial Coliseum and others. Two thirds of the population (from 12,000 to 4,000) was removed through these mechanisms to the two most affected census tracts that mostly overlap the Eliot Neighborhood Boundaries.
Board meeting coming May 19th
