Cedar Street

In the first half of the twentieth century, densely populated Cedar Street was home to many thriving immigrant families. Starting in 1896, Portland's small Armenian population clustered along Cedar and the surrounding streets, establishing businesses and building a close-knit community. By the 1950s, this street and many others in Bayside were targeted by the Slum Clearance and Redevelopment Authority during Portland’s urban renewal in the middle of the 20th century and many of the residences were torn down. Some of these homes were replaced with commercial structures, but many of the sites have never been developed and remain vacant or are used as parking lots to this day.

The houses at 15 and 19 Cedar Street survived the purge of urban renewal, but they fell into disrepair nonetheless, likely due to the fact that the neighborhood was made less desirable for residences by urban renewal and the fracturing of the communities that used to call this space home. By the time of their demolition, these two structures had been significantly altered, yet their walls still held a piece of the Portland's immigrant story and their demolition represents a loss to a part of city's Armenian history.

Both properties were purchased by the Boys & Girls Club (they sat behind their Cumberland Ave Clubhouse) and they were torn down in 2021.

For more information on Cedar Street, read this blog post.