History of Marquam Hill & Homestead

Philip A. Marquam arrived in Oregon in 1851, bringing his law practice with him, and began investing in real estate.  He secured several prime properties within Portland and its suburbs, including the 1857 acquisition of 298.6 acres south of downtown which would come to be known as Marquam Hill.  P.A. Marquam foresaw the growth of the city and wished to have his land platted for development, but due to the topography of the area few sites were suitable.  The area chosen for P.A. Marquam's Homestead Neighborhood was a little island of a relatively flat spot on top of a ridge.  The land was divided into 200 ft. square blocks and quartered following the example of the square grids of downtown Portland, despite no relation to the steep terrain of the area.  The neighborhood retains this gridded configuration to this day.  At some point, Marquam sold a chunk of this property sight unseen to the Oregon-Washington Railway and Navigation Company, whom upon surveying realized the land is unsuitable for rail.  This company was persuaded by the Dean of the Medical Department of the University of Oregon to donate 20 (of over 100) acres as a site for a medical school.  In 1919, the University of Oregon Medical School was moved to a 20-acre tract on the hill where it remains to this day.  Much of Homestead's turn of the century housing stock is intact, but has been supplemented by infill apartment housing spanning several decades of growth at OHSU and its hospital.  Many Homestead residents settled where they are for the simple reason that their livelihoods are derived from the medical complex immediately adjacent.  By 1977, Homestead already had many rental units, largely occupied by young people attending the medical, dental, and nursing schools.  At this point, the university owned 106 acres of Homestead and the US government owned 25 for the veterans hospital.  Unstable hillsides with poor acess still limit development in the area, and Homestead has one of the largest percentages of undeveloped land in any neighborhood in the city.  By 1989, OHSU was the third-largest employer in Portland, with 5,300 employees and nearly 2,500 students and residents (plus nearly 3,000 patients daily) putting a strain on Homestead's limited road infrastructure, creating parking woes and mini-gridlock for Homestead residents and putting the neighborhood association at odds with OHSU.