Northwest Industrial is an almost entirely industrial neighborhood in the Northwest section of Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. According to the Portland Bureau of Planning, it "is one of the few remaining large urban industrial districts in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

" and "one of the premier heavy industrial
districts in the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

". It borders the neighborhoods of Linnton

Linnton, Portland, Oregon

Linnton is a Portland, Oregon neighborhood located between Forest Park and the Willamette River along U.S. Route 30 , close to the agricultural community of Sauvie Island. It borders the neighborhoods of Northwest Industrial on the south, St. Johns and Cathedral Park via the St...

 on the north, Forest Park

Forest Park, Portland, Oregon

Forest Park, a neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Portland, Oregon, combines rolling green pastures, views east and west, and proximity to the attractions of Northwest District. The Forest Park neighborhood is named because of its proximity to Forest Park, the southern portion of which lies...

 on the west, the Northwest District

Northwest District, Portland, Oregon

The Northwest District is a densely populated retail and residential neighborhood in the Northwest section of Portland, Oregon. Craftsman- and Old Portland-style houses are packed tightly together with grand old apartment buildings and sleek new condominiums, within walking distance of...

 on the south, and Cathedral Park

Cathedral Park, Portland, Oregon

Cathedral Park is a both a park and a neighborhood in the North section of Portland, Oregon on the east shore of the Willamette River.-Neighborhood:...

 (via the St. Johns Bridge

St. Johns Bridge

The St. Johns Bridge is a steel suspension bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, USA, between the St. Johns neighborhood and the northwest industrial area around Linnton. It is the only suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley and one of three public highway suspension...

), University Park

University Park, Portland, Oregon

University Park is a neighborhood in the north section of Portland, Oregon on the east shore of the Willamette River.* Acreage: 11.26* Acquired in 1953...

, and Overlook

Overlook, Portland, Oregon

Overlook is a neighborhood in the North section of Portland, Oregon on the east shore of the Willamette River. It borders University Park and Arbor Lodge on the north, Humboldt and Boise on the east, Eliot on the southeast, and Northwest Industrial and the Northwest District across the Willamette...

 across the Willamette River

Willamette River

The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...

 on the east.

Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1

Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1

The Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1 or BNSF Railway Bridge 5.1, also known as the St. Johns Railroad Bridge or the Willamette River Railroad Bridge, is a through truss railway bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States...

 allows Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 and BNSF trains to cross the Willamette, connecting the neighborhood to North Portland and Washington state beyond.

There are no schools or parks in Northwest Industrial, which has the smallest population of all 95 neighborhoods in Portland. Since 2001 almost all of the neighborhood has been designated the Guild's Lake Industrial Sanctuary, to preserve the land for long-term industrial use and to resist pressure for residential development.

History

The area was wetlands in the 19th century when Peter Guild, an early settler, received it as a donation land claim in 1848. In the 1880s the Northern Pacific Railroad built the Guild's Lake Rail Yard, and rail switching facilities have ever since played an integral role in the area's development (along with US Highway 30, which runs alongside the tracks here).

The Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905 took place on the shore of Guild's Lake

Guild's Lake

Guild's Lake was historically a flood-prone lowland near the confluence of Balch Creek with the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Indigenous Multnomah people established villages on nearby Sauvie Island but not in the swampy area along the Balch Creek side of the river in what later...

 and on a semi-artificial island in the middle of the lake. Water was constantly pumped from the Willamette River to keep it full. The lake was subsequently slowly converted to landfill, a process completed in the 1920s.

During the Second World War a massive temporary housing complex provided residences and schools for shipyard workers and their families. It was removed soon after the war to make way for development of the area as an industrial and warehouse district.

Interstate 505 was to have run through the neighborhood, connecting I-405

Interstate 405 (Oregon)

Interstate 405 is a short Interstate Highway in Portland, Oregon. It forms a loop from Interstate 5 that travels through downtown Portland west of the Willamette River.-Route description:...

with US Route 30 (St. Helens Road). The freeway spur was canceled in 1979, but US Highway 30 makes use of some of the infrastructure that was built before cancellation.

External links

• Guild's Lake Industrial Sanctuary Plan (Portland Bureau of Planning, 2001)