February 27, 2013
The
Portland observer Black History Month
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Fred Meyer
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New Front for Jefferson
Carl Flipper’s inspiration coming true
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C arl F lip p e r b e liev e d th at
Jefferson High School should ex
hibit a sense of pride in its surround
ings.
Designed by Morris Whitehouse
in 1909, the school facing North
Killingsworth Street between Com
mercial and Kerby avenues, just
celebrated its centennial as a his
torical landmark in Portland.
While Flipper is no longer with
us, his dream to open up the school’s
north property line, making it more
welcoming to the surrounding com
munity is finally coming true.
The Portland activist started the
plan more than 10 years ago as the
Jefferson Pavilion and Plaza Project.
Enlisting several com m unity
groups for support, he envisioned a
more inviting entrance where the
school’s football field flows into
Killingsworth with little forewarn
ing, one with tall shade sails behind
the stadium and a pedestrian-
friendly plaza for people to sit.
With supporters on board and
Carl Flipper
funding in place, Flipper contracted
Carlton Hart Architecture to draw
up the designs. Sadly, however,
when Flipper died in 2006, his project
fumbled and lost momentum.
But, while the city is busy with
plans to revitalize the Killingsworth
corridor and Portland Community
College moves forward with the ex
pansion of their Cascade campus,
the community decided to move
forward with Flipper’s dream.
“Carl, as a community leader, re
ally inspired a lot of people with this
project,” said Denyse M cGriff,
project manager at Portland Devel
opment Commission. “When he
passed away, the focus was lost.
Luckily, the community brought it
back.”
Jump starting the project were
members o f the Humboldt Neigh
borhood Association, representa
tiv e s from PC C C a sc ad e ,
McMenamins, and the Multnomah
County Library, the Portland Teach
ers Association, Jefferson’s Princi
pal Margaret Calvert and many oth
ers from the neighborhood.
Portland Development Commis
sion, whose Urban Renewal Advi
sory Committee dug up the project’s
original designs, will fund what they
now call the Jefferson High School
Frontage Improvements Project.
The budget is estim ated at
$600,000, said M cGriff. She ex-
continued
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