Remembering Franklin Street before the Arterial.

By Craig Lorimer

The construction of the Franklin Arterial in the late 1960s helped speed traffic into the heart of Portland from the new Interstate. It also eradicated close-knit neighborhoods of primarily Italian, Lithuanian, and Jewish immigrant families who lived along Franklin Street from I-295 to Commercial Street. Mildred Kaplan Drees, who grew up on the north side of Franklin Street during the 1930s, gives us a glimpse into her old neighborhood before the Arterial sundered it.

Read the full story in the digital magazine above.