A BIG thank you to our volunteers who showed up to tackle the ivy in George Himes Park, along the Terwilliger Parkway.

It’s spring in Portland. Time to enjoy all the blooming native plants and trees. It’s also the time we see newly-born animals and birds traveling through our area. Please slow down and follow the speed limit. Look out for this little ones and give them the space and care they need.

Hillsdale-based Scout Troop 1 offered their muscles and tenacity at Friends of Terwilliger’s restoration site in the SW Bancroft right-of-way on EarthDay 2023.

You may have noticed on-going work here:

Friends of Terwilliger have been working with Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) for the past five years to restore a narrow strip (~120ft wide) of ~1 acre parkland centered around the Bancroft St right-of-way just below Terwilliger Parkway and the Marquam Hill hospitals.

As we develop the Walpole Garden and its related app-based guides to its Oregon native plants illustrated by 19th century artists such as Frederick Walpole, we hope to extend this effort into the adjacent sunny Hamilton Street Playground area to the south and the heavily forested Eagle Point to the north.

From the adjacent sunny Hamilton Playground to the heavily forested Eagle Point nature paths, these areas provide additional microclimates, while the Hamilton Playground Park area provides an opportunity to provide native plant learning to children and families using the playground.

Terwilliger Parkway got the best of both worlds last month! Volunteers put in native plants and had time to also do ivy removal! How good is that?

Students and coaches from Central Catholic High School gave a few hours of their time to help us clear some ivy near Duniway Track.

Match your Friends of Terwilliger charitable donation with a donation to the Oregon Cultural Trust and Double your impact while earning a tax credit for 2022!

Check out this sunrise photo taken by a Friend of Terwilliger volunteer.

Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) was honored to guide participants of the “Preserving the Historic Road International” (PHRI) Conference on a tour of Terwilliger Parkway during their conference being hosted in Portland in late September.

(photo from 1912 bus tour)

Hillvilla, where the Chart House restaurant is now located on Terwilliger Blvd, was most famous for its pumpkin pie and owner Ed Palaske’s special recipe. When restaurateur and baker Eddie Palaske died, the recipe was posted in the Oregonian in his obituary. The special seasoning for this pie is different, but makes the best pumpkin pie many have ever eaten and has become a tradition in many Portland homes for the holidays.

It is sure to get rave reviews!

Well, if you thought the harvest moon wouldn’t be visible from Terwilliger Parkway because of our smoky air, you were mistaken!

Eagle Point, the area of Terwilliger Parkway with spectacular views of the mountains to the east and the Willamette River, got a welcome clean up in July.

Portland and Seattle transportation agencies recently unveiled a program urging drivers to Slow the Flock Down!

Friends of Terwilliger spearheaded work with PGE to cut down a number of large “invasive” black locust trees in the Bancroft Right-Of-Way (ROW). These trees were threatening the main power lines coming up Bancroft St. PGE was told to leave them in place on the ground for Urban Forestry to handle.

Have you seen this pink octopus in Terwilliger Parkway?

Our native Lupine are thriving in Historic Terwilliger Parkway!

We had a tenacious group pulling ivy Saturday, May 21st. We freed 12 trees and cleared 200 sq feet of the forest floor to allow our native plants room to grow.

April 26^th was the 200^th anniversary of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s birthday.

Various lectures, symposiums, and discussions have been going on in 2022 to celebrate and call attention to the Olmsted family’s prolific and groundbreaking work. His sons, John Charles and Frederick Law Jr., carried on his work and worked in Portland on various projects starting in 1903. Most notable was their parks master plan for the city that recommended a “South Hillside Parkway” that became Terwilliger Parkway. A proclamation issued by Mayor Wheeler and the Portland City Council perhaps sums up best the impact of the Olmsteds:

You are invited to a Celebration of Life for Susan Travis Egnor:

May 18, 2022

3-4pm Reception and quiet contemplation

4-5:30 Remembrances–stories and memories

5:30-7 Potluck supper

West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

8470 SW Oleson Rd, Portland, OR 97223

Recent downed trees throughout the city and Terwilliger Parkway, have caused hazardous conditions to bike lanes, sidewalks, and trails.

On behalf of Friends of Terwilliger, Earthwise Law Center has recently submitted two sets of formal comments to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regarding the proposed upgrades and improvements to Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC):

FOT is concerned that the inadequate Draft Environmental Assessment and the VA’s conclusion of “no significant impacts” to Terwilliger Parkway by their Washington, DC office, will prevent effective mitigation in the final designs and construction and cause real harm to the Parkway and environment.

Look what has appeared uphill from the Lilac Garden in the Parkway!

With sadness, the entire Friends of Terwilliger community is mourning the loss of our board member and friend Susan Egnor.

Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) met with Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran on Thursday November 11, 2021 to brief her on the status of the Marquam Hill Connector, Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project and concerns that FOT has about these transportation projects and their potential to negatively impact Historic Terwilliger Parkway. We also met with our congressional representatives’ staff virtually.

The Marquam Hill Connector is part of the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project (SWCLRP) proposed by TriMet to provide a connection from the proposed new MAX station at Gibbs Street to Marquam Hill. Marquam Hill has become a complex area as it is home to Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU), the Veterans Administration of Portland, the Shriners Hospital, residences and supporting businesses, and attracts over 18,000 employees, patients, students, and residents each day from all around the region.

Friends of Terwilliger wants to acknowledge that where we live, work, and play, and what we build rests on stolen land.

This year marked the 18th year of No Ivy Day, an annual event put on by Portland Parks and Recreation, to rid our natural areas and parks of invasive ivy. Friends of Terwilliger was a co-sponsor.

60+ volunteer hours were spent clearing and planting 200 native plants in the Bancroft St. right-of-way last month. And that’s only the start!

Fred Meyer Rewards and Year-end Donation on website:

Did you know that you can support Friends of Terwilliger just by shopping at Fred Meyer with your Rewards Card, clicking “Donate Now” on our website, or both?

Our October restoration work party was well attended and the weather was cooperative too.

Thanks, Charlie, for clearing the path so all of us walkers and runners can enjoy our safe exercise space in the Terwilliger Parkway.

Have you noticed the flowers blooming in Terwilliger Parkway, between SW Terwilliger Blvd and SW Hamilton Terrace?

1. Walking.

2. Running.

3. Cycling.

4. Dog walking.

5. Goats!

Check out these natural elements seen in Historic Terwilliger Parkway recently.

It’s been a long time coming, but Terwilliger Parkway has finally been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1985 the Portland Park Bureau hired a consultant to prepare nominations to the National Historic Register for several older city parks. But then they never submitted them to the National Park Service for listing. Now FOT has completed the task!

Ever wonder what Bioswales are and what they do? Check out this fantastic video made by our partners at the Westside Watershed Resource Center.

Over a hundred years ago, civic leaders of the young city of Portland hired the world-famous Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm to create a comprehensive park plan.

September 13, 2019 as the “Harvest” full moon rose over Mt Hood, about 50 neighbors gathered at Eagle Point for a ice cream social viewing sponsored by Friends of Terwilliger and Homestead Neighborhood Association (HNA). In 2020 we sought to continue the tradition in a Covid-19 appropriate way.

We are a registered 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible. All donations go directly to support our restoration, advocacy and outreach efforts.

Congratulations to our Homestead Harvest Moon Photo Contest 1st Place winner: Paul Fardig.

Check out the beautiful and unique photo here taken from the Kohler Pavilion Tram Platform.

Congratulations to David Gridley 2nd place winner of our Homestead Harvest Moon Photo Contest!

Congratulations to Don Jacobsen, 3rd place winner of our Homestead Harvest Moon Photo contest!

Congratulations to Abby Becker 4th place winner of the Homestead Harvest Moon Photo Contest.

Honorable Mention award goes to Bob Bonner for the first of two photos.

Congratulations again to Bob Bonner for his second honorable mention Homestead Harvest Moon Photo submission taken at Elk Point.

These words were overheard in historical Terwilliger Parkway recently. We often take for granted the places we visit often, and that seem so familiar to us.

We’re happy to report that the recent Terwilliger Blvd. paving project has been completed. Yeah!

Throughout Portland, developed public parks and playgrounds are closed to limit the rate spread of Covid-19, but Terwilliger Parkway footpath and bike lanes are still open for use if we continue to practice social distancing. We can continue to walk, jog, or cycle in Terwilliger Parkway enjoying the nature and its splendid views as spring bursts forth, but let’s protect and look out for one another by practicing a few simple rules:

Here’s how we can continue to remember and honor Portland Commissioner Nick Fish.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has largely completed the installation of new LED light fixtures on the light poles along Terwilliger Parkway between Duniway Park and Capitol Hwy. The change is notable!

A few months ago, a realtor’s “For Sale” sign in Terwilliger Parkway prompted concern from neighbors and Parkway supporters, fearful that a development might threaten the integrity of this linear park. This led to calls to both Friends of Terwilliger and the Portland Parks & Rec (PPR).

On November 26, 2019, Commissioner Nick Fish and PP&R Director Adena Long presented “A Sustainable Future” to the Portland City Council for discussion and guidance. This is the first step to determine funding options for PP&R.

Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) Board Members met with the new Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) Director Adena Long and PP&R City Nature Manager, Rachel Felice recently. The goals for the meeting were to provide Director Long with information about FOT and its mission of protecting and advocating for Terwilliger Parkway, to describe the challenges FOT sees for the Parkway today, and to review the partnerships FOT has established with PP&R over the past 30 years.

November’s restoration work party brought us back to the Norris “foundation” to remove tree and ground ivy as well as blackberries. This 2-acre site was once considered by the Portland chapter of the Rhododendron Society for its test garden before locating to its current site at Crystal Springs.

Thanks go out to all of you hearty volunteers who made the most of our calm fall weather to rid Terwilliger Parkway of those nasty invasive plants.

Thanks to everyone who attended Friends of Terwilliger’s 2019 Harvest Moon Social September 14th. The moon made a spectacular appearance but so did this Barred Owl. Eagle Point offered a wonderful vantage point to view this event.

Students from Lewis & Clark College, as part of their New Student Orientation (NSO) Service Day, helped Friends of Terwilliger “groom” Eagle Point in preparation for the upcoming Harvest Moon Social September 14th. Check out the before and after photos!

Be the first in your running club or neighborhood to wear Friends of Terwilliger socks!

It’s only March and already Friends of Terwilliger’s dedicated volunteers have planted hundreds of native plants.

WOW, another year of amazing Terwilliger Parkway restoration comes to an end. December 15th was our last work party of the year. Mark your calendars for a productive 2019!!

NEW!!

Check out @friendsofterwilliger on both Facebook and Instagram

A trio of big development proposals with profound implications for Terwilliger Parkway are working their way through the public approval process. All three relate to OHSU and how people get there and are located on Terwilliger at Campus Drive. It’s early in the process for all three proposals and FOT is determined to be there every step of the way to advocate for the preservation and enhancement of the parkway. The involvement and support of you, our Friends, will be critical to whether or not these projects improve the parkway or alter it irreparably.

A Metro steering committee has decided that a new Southwest Portland light rail line will travel out Barbur Blvd. from downtown Portland to Tigard and Tualatin. A planned station at SW Gibbs St. (below the tram) is intended to serve OHSU and other Marquam Hill institutions that are located several hundred feet up a steep hillside with Terwilliger Parkway lying in between. TriMet and Metro have proposed a “Marquam Hill Connection” to get people up the hillside from the SW Barbur MAX station to OHSU. Three of the proposals involve a combination of above-ground elevator towers and bridges and ramps, most of which would be located in Terwilliger Parkway and will necessitate the removal of many trees and significant alterations to the park. A fourth proposal is to build a pedestrian tunnel under the hillside with an underground elevator to bring people up to OHSU.

In our last newsletter, we announced receiving a Portland Parks Foundation grant to conduct a targeted social media campaign. The object of our campaign: to engage a new, younger, generation of volunteers to help preserve Terwilliger Parkway for the future. Looking to get the word out about Terwilliger Parkway, we hope to target audiences of younger adults.

One Saturday morning in July, Friends of Terwilliger(FOT) hosted a water/Gatorade table to engage with Parkway users. We wanted to know the who, what, and why stories behind people’s choice of Terwilliger Parkway as a place to exercise and enjoy day and night. We counted over 300 people exercising in the 4 hours we were there: half were runners and a third cyclists. Walkers, dogs with owners, strollers, and a skateboard were there too! Of the 300 active exercisers, we were able to engage with 200 asking them 3 questions:

Ask Larry McLaughlin why he volunteers in Terwilliger Parkway, and he’ll say he just likes to feel he’s accomplished something worthwhile.

Friends of Terwilliger has contacted the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) to express our concern for the Totem Pole in the Terwilliger Parkway. The Totem Pole has numerous holes inflicted by wood-boring woodpeckers and is in need of protective restoration, repainting, and care.

The RACC public art “Totem Pole” is located at the Elk Point Viewpoint in the Terwilliger Parkway and was carved by Chief Lelooska in 1959. It became a partof RACC’s Public Art Program in the late 1980’s.

We just learned that the Portland Parks Foundation has awarded Friends of Terwilliger a grant to fund our new social media campaign. Want to get involved?

April 2018-Volunteers worked to rid the Terwilliger Parkway of invasive plants.

Earlier this winter Friends of Terwilliger board member Wesley Risher wrote to the City of Portland’s Urban Forestry to find out how to replace the dead Douglas-fir tree (Pseudotsuga Menziesii) planted as part of BES’ SW Vincent Place/SW Capitol Hwy Sewer Replacement Project.

Did you know that you can support Friends of Terwilliger just by shopping at Fred Meyer with your Rewards Card?

You already knew it, right? Yes, we’ve learned that OregonLive.com has recently published an article about the 16 most beautiful places in Portland and Terwilliger Parkway is one of them.

2018 is off to a good start as we battle invasive species, particularly that darn ivy.

We’ve hosted 5 work parties, so far this year, with volunteers coming from all over the Portland metro area as well as from around the world!

Say Hello to Friends of Terwilliger’s dedicated president Anton Vetterlein. Anton has contributed hundreds of volunteer hours to benefit Terwilliger Parkway and Portland’s natural landscapes. A graduate of University of Oregon’s architectural school, he has an eye for design and the tenacity needed to keep the city adhering to the Terwilliger Parkway design guidelines.

Do you know what the state flower of Oregon is?

It is this beautiful woodland native plant, Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium, that can be found growing along Terwilliger Parkway and throughout most of the city. Oregon designated the Oregon grape blossom as the official state flower in 1899. The following description of this remarkable plant has been adapted from the Portland Nursery website (http://portlandnursery.com/plants/natives/mahonia.shtml).

Have you ever noticed the need for street repairs or clean-up as you run, walk or bike in Terwilliger Parkway; or anywhere in the city for that matter? PDX Reporter provides this easy connection with our city departments and employees.

Friends of Terwilliger volunteers have spent thousands of hours over the past 23 years removing invasive vegetation in Terwilliger Parkway. Perhaps chief among the bad-news invasives is English or Irish ivy. We all know what it looks like and that it is Bad—but what is it, really?

With a few good workers, Friends of Terwilliger was able to rid the Terwilliger Parkway of more invasive plants.

We’re Back!! September is upon us and the return of our Terwilliger Parkway restoration work parties.

For over 25 years, board member Susan Egnor and her husband have lived
with and enjoyed the natural beauty of Terwilliger Parkway; just outside their
front and back doors.

What does the Totem Pole at Elk Point, within the Terwilliger Parkway, have in common with the 1959 Oregon’s Centennial Celebration, Operation Deep Freeze, New Zealand, Antarctica, The Oregon Zoo and John F. Kennedy?

You’ve probably been hearing the term partnership more often lately. Especially here in Portland where collaborative spirit runs deep. Partnership is defined as an association of persons for business, companionship, or an alliance of persons for a common enterprise. Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) has been in existence over 30 years and find ourselves in the company of many like-minded and similarly focused organizations. Here’s the story of one of them.

What would you say is the most identifiable and “iconic” thing about Terwilliger Parkway? The views and lush natural vegetation may be what people most like about Terwilliger, but they don’t really signify the parkway itself. The roadway and adjoining path are the spine of the linear park and are the most significant piece of park infrastructure, but they aren’t very iconic. We think that the historic streetlights that line the roadway are its most identifiable feature.

English Ivy (Hedera Helix) was brought to Oregon in the mid-1800’s as a way to remind early settlers of home. What started out as an innocent plan has come to represent one of the toughest problems Portland’s natural areas face today. It now invades more and more of our parks and will ultimately destroy our cherished tree canopy unless we remove it now. By allowing ivy to grow unchecked it will climb trees where it will mature, produce seeds, and continue the “seeds of destruction” by being transported by non-native birds.

Terwilliger Parkway has provided a fitness course with many exercise stations since the late 1970s​, but they haven’t been maintained and are largely lost to the public.

From our interviews with neighbors, we know that many locals walk, run, and bike through the Parkway. But can you guess how many?

Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) continues to partner in restoration grants awarded in SW Portland. As a founding member of the West Willamette Restoration Partnership (WWRP), we help define the restoration parameters to measure and areas to target for invasive plant removals, as well as coordinating and doing restoration work.

Friends of Terwilliger President Anton Vetterlein describes why we need well-designed signage to help identify just what Terwilliger Parkway is.

That’s a prerequisite for effective preservation!

Twenty years ago, we began partnering with a Multnomah County program called Alternative Community Service (ACS) for on-the-ground restoration efforts in the Terwilliger Parkway natural areas.

After 110 years, once-private Eagle Point on the Terwilliger Parkway has become a public overlook.

A blog post by Laura O. Foster

[Read the full post].

My guidebooks offer walking explorations of the neighborhoods, trails and parks of Portland, Oregon and its nearby towns. More info: lauraofoster.com

Sep 29, 2014