Rural Hamlet Turned Early 20th Century “Company Town”
Located just south of the Columbia River in North Portland, Kenton was once a remote farming community. The streetcar and meat-packing industry then transformed this rural hamlet into a classic early 20th century “company town”. For several decades, Kenton was the Pacific Northwest headquarters of the Swift Meat Packing company with an enormous stockyard and adjacent packing plants.
The residential and commercial buildings still reflect the stratification of a working class neighborhood. We’ll start our walk at the iconic Paul Bunyan statue, the best remaining evidence of the 1959 Oregon Centennial celebration. We hope to have a short interior tour of the fully restored and very active Kenton Masonic Lodge (pictured above.)
Meet
Paul Bunyan Statue
N Interstate Ave & N Denver Ave
Portland, OR 97217
Duration
Approx. 2 1/2 hours
Price
$15. Cash or check accepted at the start of the tour, or you may pay online.
Difficulty
Easy – This is an easy urban walk covering about 12 city blocks.
Transit
Notes
Dress for the weather!
Tour Location
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