The Architectural Heritage Center invites you to learn some little known Portland history: Guilds Lake Courts: an Impermanent Housing Project.
Guild’s Lake Courts in Northwest Portland was designed as temporary worker housing for the steel and shipyard industries during the Second World War. When constructed in 1942, it was one of the largest housing projects in the United States. The massive development consisted of 2,432 units of housing, five community buildings, five childcare centers, a grade school, and a fire station. The population of the community peaked in January, 1945 at 10,000. Many of the residents were children from across the U.S. and 20 percent of the population were African Americans who had relocated to Portland from the South. During its short existence, the community underwent three rapid evolutions before being demolished in 1951.
The lecture, by historian Tanya Lyn March, takes place Saturday, May 8th from 10am to 11:30am. She interviewed 30 former residents of the former housing project for her PhD dissertation. For more information visit the AHC website.
