The Albina District (map) is home to cherry trees that are almost 60 years old! Did you know that these street trees were planted because of neighborhood improvement efforts by many leaders in Portland's African American community?
According to the website
BlackPast, "Albina [was] a neighborhood [ . . . ] that for most of the 20th century was home to the majority of the city’s African American population."
The Albina Neighborhood Improvement Project (
ANIP) was formed in part due to a lack of City investment in the area. This community organization called attention to much-needed improvements like parks, streetlights and sidewalks.
Street trees were also part of this important work. In 1964, over 500 flowering trees were planted in North Portland neighborhoods by the ANIP Tree Program. Read more about the project and see historical photographs on Historian Dave Hedberg’s blog post
here.
Volunteer efforts in the Albina community continue today! Sadly, some of the cherry trees planted long ago have died. In 2017, the Albina Neighborhood Tree Team organized a removal and replanting effort to bring new life to the neighborhoods that they love. Read
here about the new trees that were planted and how everyday people can get things done!
To see even more old photographs of Portland history, check out the Office of Civic and Community Life's latest newsletter here. They will be highlighting photos from the archives over the next few months.