The Forgotten Story of Harbor Drive: Portland's Demolished Freeway

As a Portland native, it is fascinating to learn more about our cities infrastructure history. I would love to see you cover the history of I-205. Great video!

I live in Zürich, Switzerland, where planners in the 50s and 60s wanted to build three freeways through the middle of the city and along the river Limmat, destroying most of the medival old town. Some of their "ideas" were rejected - thank God - but some were not. And the city still suffers from these sins. Hats off to Tom McCall for his vision at a time when practically nobody thought of the environment.

I am from New Zealand, and we drove through Seattle as they were underway with the project. I remember saying to my husband, "Why would you built all that built up freeway right next to the water- you can't even see it!" We were very relieved when we saw all the signs detailing the fact it was all coming out.

I just spent 40 minutes watching a video about a freeway in a city I've never been to and will probably never visit. That's how good your narration and presentation is. I'm loved your ACI video and SPSF merger video. I'm looking forward to more of your work!

Robert Moses was a national tragedy, He also proposed an expressway edging the French Quarter at the Mississippi, The people of New Orleans protested and stopped it

This was a refreshingly engaging documentary. Fascinating topic, excellent production.

I am truly amazed by the quality of this video. Research, narration, graphics, music. This it really a top quality documentary. Thank you. The effort, time and love put into this was certainly immense.

There's so many great shots of downtown Portland at various times-- I have to keep pausing it to admire them. Thx for posting.

as a native Oregonian and my husband a native to portland, we cannot thank you enough for both this and the other video you made about the unbuilt freeways. your videos are some of the best ive seen, giving so much interesting information about the cities past . please i hope you will keep making more videos about the history and many stories about portland and oregon in general . :) . again just amazing videos, we were captivated the whole time and bummed when it was over :) .

Going down that ramp into Waterfront park on a bicycle is a weird feeling, using this massive concrete structure that abruptly ends in a grassy park.

Woah- Portland resident for my entire life, never heard of this and it answers some of the questions I had about Portland-

I am a Washington state resident who just discovered your channel and I can’t get enough! Keep it up! Learned so much about the PNW history

everything about this is so polished and informative. absolutely cannot wait for more from you!! i like how you label changes in topic as "detours" it's funny

We need another Tom McCall. The concept of all beachfronts & navigable waterways being accessible is so foreign to those outside of Oregon. Many places you cannot even see the waterfronts because of all the development & private ownership. That & urban growth boundaries has made Oregon a wonderful state. Sadly there are still many environmental issues that need to be addressed.

Awesome video! Being a truck driver that drives through & delivers within Portland, I always assumed I-405 was the original pathway of I-5. I’ve driven along the waterfront & never even knew it used to be home to the original highway. Keeps up the great videos! Thanks!

Love your channel. I'm not from the US but have a real interest in American infrastructure and Freeway removals. Keep up the good work!

Wow Peter. This is a fantastic documentary. I first visited to Portland in 1959 and moved here in 1969. In 1959 the trip from Salem north through Portland was a nightmare that seemed like it took the better of a day. My dad, a Montana boy was a nervous wreck. We had to stay the night in Vancouver to be able to face the trip east on the old Evergreen Highway. This video brought back lots of good memories as to the progress Portland made in transition to and away from the Harbor freeway. Thanks for all the good work

We need more state governors like Tom McCall.

I didnt realize Robert Moses did damage on the west coast too

Very nice doc! I'm a Portland native and hadn't realized all of the complex stubs and weird bits & pieces left over were part of something I wasn't even aware of. God bless Tom McCall for his work. I can't imagine where we'd be if he hadn't done the hard work of getting these things implemented. Thanks so much for your work revealing the heroes and villians of our beautiful city.