The Vanport Mosaic Tour of Historic Sites - by Jason King

Every year the Vanport Mosaic offers narrated bus and self-guided walking tours of the original Vanport site. The tour begins at the Expo Center, and loops through the PIR grounds. This route includes the sites of historic Vanport’s most important civic functions as well as residential areas. Additionally, the Building D lobby at Expo will offer brief presentations about Vanport’s lasting impact on our communities. 

Sadly this popular program is on hold until we can safely gather again in person. We are grateful to Jason King for this detailed write up of his experience attending the tour in 2019. If you’d like to take an imaginary tour of the historic site of Vanport, read his blog post at HIDDEN HYDROLOGY.

We are grateful to our docents who year after year share their deep knowledge of Vanport: Ed Washington, James Harrison, Susan Barthel, Heather McAfee, Georgia Wier, and Ted Kaye.

The tours are made possible by the generous support of Port of Portland, Multnomah County Drainage District, Portland Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, Bureau of Environmental Services,  Expo Center, Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Metro, Portland International Raceway, and North Portland Neighborhood Services.