The field at the southwestern corner of Lone Fir Cemetery, labeled “Block 14” on cemetery maps, remains quiet for now. Only a few signs reveal its history as the Chinese section of the cemetery. Behind the scenes, however, the site has been the focus of nonstop work toward building a new memorial there. That work is now headed into a new phase.
“A lot of the past two years has been spent in preparation work – research, hiring consultants, community engagement, design, those sorts of things that are somewhat invisible to anyone walking by the site,” said Metro senior planner Karen Vitkay. “That’s going to be true this year, too, as we go through the next phase: land-use approval, permitting, getting construction bids, hiring contractors. The actual construction work, which is scheduled to begin in 2026, is really just the last fraction of a much longer process.”
The project was first proposed almost two decades ago. Over the years, the vision for the memorial has evolved as new information was discovered and additional feedback from community members was received. However, the central purpose of the memorial remains: to honor those who were buried in the space.
This photo from the Oregon Historical Society show what Block 14 looked like in the early 1900s, when visitors would leave offerings and burn incense at the Chinese altar and burn larger offerings in the ceremonial funerary burner.
Between the 1860s and 1920s, more than 2,800 people of Chinese ancestry were buried in Lone Fir Cemetery – the majority of them in Block 14. Not all of those bodies remain: Over the years, many were exhumed and returned to their family burial plots in China, in accordance with cultural practice.
The Oregon Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) oversaw this practice, as well as Block 14’s upkeep and record-keeping. By the early 1900s, the block held funerary burners and an altar for making offerings to the deceased.
But when Multnomah County took over ownership of Lone Fir Cemetery in 1928, it began working to remove the Chinese area of the cemetery. In 1947, it pressured the CCBA to remove all remaining bodies from Block 14 so that the land could be used for a maintenance facility. By 1953, the site had been built over.
When the county transferred ownership of the cemetery to Metro in 1994, it no longer included Block 14. Some years later, the county announced plans to demolish the building and sell that parcel for development, prompting outcry from community members and organizations. When the site’s previous status as sacred ground became clear, the county deeded it to Metro. In 2007, it was reconnected to the cemetery and work began on a design for a memorial garden.
It wasn’t until voters passed the 2019 parks and nature bond that Metro had the funding in place to begin work. That work is now entering an exciting new phase as the project continues toward its goal of opening by the end of 2026.
New findings
Once Metro Council allotted $4 million of bond funding toward the memorial, the project team could begin due diligence, including researching the site and the burials it may have held.
At the time, it was widely believed that patients from the 19th-century Oregon Hospital for the Insane were also buried in or near Block 14. However, researchers determined that it was highly unlikely that any patients were buried in that block, and that many were instead buried in Block 10, which was once known as the “asylum grounds” in cemetery records. A separate project is now underway to erect headstones for those patients whose burial locations were identified during the research.
These samples show possible color combinations for the spirit tablets that will compose a circular screen at the memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery's historic Chinese section.
From design to construction
From 2022 through 2024, the project team held a number of events to engage with community members, some with particular focus on Chinese American community members. It became clear that certain elements needed to be part of the memorial: Culturally relevant plantings, storytelling, space for making offerings to the departed, and seating areas.
The design has evolved to meet these needs. Plans show a square walled entrance area to the west of the site. Lined with metal plaques telling the story of the place, it holds a circular pavilion with a stone altar in its center. Surrounding the pavilion is a curtain of metal tablets inscribed with the names of known burials at the site, taken from ledgers kept by the CCBA. A curved walkway leads through ginkgo and magnolia trees to a seating area and interpretive space where the Chinese altar once stood.
Challenges remain
Building on ground that still holds human remains presents challenges.
“We can’t dig deep into the ground or build permanent structures if we think there’s even the possibility of bodies being buried there,” explained Vitkay. “That’s why the structures have been placed at the west end of the site. We know the west end was private property and not incorporated into the cemetery until 2007, so graves would not have been placed there. The walkway and plantings in the middle have been designed to discourage walking on potential gravesites.”
Meanwhile, construction costs have escalated since 2019. That and the sensitive nature of the site have presented financial challenges for the project. Part of this next phase will involve determining how financially feasible the design is and whether or not certain elements will need to be revised or eliminated to stay within budget.
Artists Sophia Xiao-fan Austrins and Qi You ask community members for ideas about the memorial's altar at an engagement session held in December 2024.
Public art
All public construction projects in Oregon set aside a certain percentage of their budget for public art. In late 2024, Metro announced an intent to award that funding. Lead Pencil Studio, an artist collective run by Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, will receive $180,000 to create art at the site. The studio has produced many well-known art installations, including Inversion Plus Minus on Portland’s Hawthorne Street, the memorial at Oregon State Hospital, and exhibits at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle.
Additionally, Metro has awarded about $20,000 to Portland-based artists Qi You and Sophia Xiao-fan Austrins to work with community members on ideas for the memorial’s altar and ways to create connection between ancestors and the living.
Telling the stories, finding a name
The project team has hired local historian Dr. Jennifer Fang to help create interpretive materials for the site. In December, she shared her ideas for the themes with Chinese American community members at an information session. Those themes included the history of Block 14 as well as the history of Chinese American immigration in the greater Portland region.
While community engagement around the memorial’s design is largely complete, there will still be opportunities over the coming year for community members to learn about and weigh in on other aspects of the project, including the public art projects and the memorial’s permanent name.
Learn more about the project and sign up for updates