Stark Street is an east-west-running street in
Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The street is named after
Benjamin Stark, and Southeast Stark Street and Southwest Stark Street are divided by the
Willamette River.
In late 2017, activists proposed renaming Southwest Stark Street for gay rights activist
Harvey Milk, noting that Stark was an unapologetic racist who advocated for slavery. In June 2018, the city council approved renaming that 13-block stretch of Stark, which is entirely within
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
, as SW Harvey Milk Street.
The name change took effect immediately upon the council's approval of the ordinance enacting it.
In
Washington County, West Stark Street acts as the dividing line between the streets prefixed with Northwest and those with Southwest.
On the east side of the
Willamette River and in parts of
Washington County, Stark Street follows the
Willamette Baseline.
See also
*
LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon
*
References
External links
*
Harvey Milk
LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon
Streets in Portland, Oregon
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