Portland, Oregon Mills End’s Park

 Posted by on October 10, 2011
Oct 102011
 
Mill End’s Park
Portland, Oregon
Mill Ends Park is a small park located in the median strip of SW Naito Parkway near SW Taylor Street in downtown Portland, Oregon. It was created on St. Patrick’s Day, 1948, to be “the only leprechaun colony west of Ireland,” according to its creator, Dick Fagan. It is the smallest park in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records, which first granted it this recognition in 1971.
In 1948, the site that would become Mill Ends Park was intended to be the site for a light pole. When the pole failed to appear and weeds sprouted in the opening, Fagan, a columnist for the Oregon Journal, planted flowers in the hole and named it after his column in the paper, “Mill Ends” (a reference to leftover irregular pieces of wood at lumber mills). Fagan’s office in the Journal building overlooked the median.
Fagan told the story of the park’s origin: He looked out the window and spotted a leprechaun digging in the hole. He ran down and grabbed the leprechaun, which meant that he had earned a wish. Fagan said he wished for a park of his own; but since he had not specified the size of the park in his wish, the leprechaun gave him the hole. Over the next two decades, Fagan often featured the park and its head leprechaun, named Patrick O’Toole, in his whimsical column.
Fagan died of cancer in 1969, but the park lived on, cared for by others. It was named an official city park in 1976
The day I visited it was nicely planted with clover and a very small pine tree.
Share

  7 Responses to “Portland, Oregon Mills End’s Park”

  1. bfarr says:
    October 10, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    What a charming story. I love the little ‘park’.

  2. RedPat says:
    October 10, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    Fabulous! May it survive for many more days and years.

  3. lisa says:
    October 10, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this with us today at The Creative Exchange. I am so glad that people have decided to maintain this park.

    Have a great evening!

    lisa.

  4. EG Wow says:
    October 10, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    Ha! What a great idea.

  5. gina says:
    October 11, 2011 at 12:10 am

    Trust you to find the smallest park in world! I love the story that goes with it. Your close up of the clover and plants is lovely!

  6. Cathy H. says:
    October 11, 2011 at 12:24 am

    This is wonderful!! What a fun story and a cool park!! I finally got to post on your blog today!! I don’t know what has been wrong, I’m just glad it worked this time! I loved the bridge post, also! Awesome bridge!

  7. Oliag says:
    October 11, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    Love it! A park couldn’t be cuter:)

error: Content is protected !!