Two Portland sites join LGBTQ+ landmarks in National Register of Historic Places
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Two Portland sites have joined the list of LGBTQ+ landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.
On Monday, city leaders announced that the National Park Service added Erv Lind Field and McMenamins’ Crystal Hotel — previously known as Hotel Alma — to its list of places with historic significance in the LGBTQ+ community.
The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability reported that the city parks department originally constructed Erv Lind Field for the national softball championship tournament in 1948. And until 1964, it hosted the Erv Lind Florists that won two national titles.
Officials said the site was Oregon’s first and only sports facility built primarily for women’s major league sports.
“The field also served as one of the earliest and longest lasting gathering spaces associated with LGBTQ+ Portlanders, diversifying available public spaces during the period referred to as the ‘Lavender Scare,’ when intense anti-LGBTQ+ measures attempted to shut down known LGBTQ+ venues and purge LGBTQ+ employees from civil servant positions,” PBPS wrote.
Crystal Hotel was first deemed a historic place in 2009, but the most recent listing expands on its LGBTQ+ significance. The “mixed-used building” hosted multiple LGBTQ+ businesses and served as a more welcoming meeting space for the community, according to city officials.
Portland now holds three sites that have been nationally recognized for their part in LGBTQ+ history. Darcelle XV’s Showpace, founded by late drag icon Darcelle, was the first one added in 2020.
The planning and sustainability bureau expanded its LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project later in 2023, with grants from Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and NPS. The project aims to document local LGBTQ+ history landmarks.
“Portland's lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer communities have a long and complex history that must be preserved for future generations,” Commissioner Carmen Rubio said in a statement.