Construction has begun on a memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery, in Southeast Portland.

More than 3,100 people of Chinese ancestry were from the 1880s to the early 1900s, mostly in the cemetery’s southwest corner (“Block 14” on maps), according to Metro. When Multnomah County took ownership of the cemetery in 1928, officials began pushing to have the Chinese section cleared of graves. Eventually, the area was paved over, and a maintenance facility was built there. The building was later demolished, and Metro became the property owner in 2007, according to Metro.

The new Lone Fir Chinese Memorial is intended to honor the memories of the people who were once buried at Block 14, Metro stated.

Crews started work last week on the project, which is being overseen by Metro’s Parks and Nature department. The site is around 1.2 acres of the cemetery, which is mostly within Southeast 20th and 26th avenues and Southeast Stark and Morrison streets.

Landscape architect Knot Studio is leading a multidisciplinary project team that includes contractor Paul Brothers Inc. of Boring. Allied Works, a subconsultant, designed the memorial walls and spirit tablet pavilion – one of the memorial’s key features, Metro spokesperson Cory Eldridge stated in an email. Other contributors to the project include historical researchers, archaeologists, interpretive designers and artists as well as civil, structural and electrical engineers, and others.

Much of the construction will be concentrated on the site’s western edge, which was never used as a cemetery and can accommodate sufficient digging to support a large structure, Metro stated in a press release. A curved walkway and plantings in the site’s central portion will help discourage visitors from walking in the area most likely to hold human remains.

Screened windows in the memorial walls will draw from traditional Chinese design.

“The leaf pattern of the screens was inspired by a graphic detail in the original burial ledgers the Oregon Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association discovered in 2004,” Eldridge stated.

A new, circular altar will include a trough of sand for burning incense sticks. The top will be engraved with the words “we honor you as though you were present” in Chinese calligraphy. The phrase was on the plaque of an altar that formerly stood at the site’s east end, according to Eldridge.

A Portland-based artist team, Qi You and Sophia Xiao-fan Austrins, has guided development of art for the site. They presented opportunities for community members to – frequently food, which people would leave as offerings to the deceased, Eldridge stated. Clay creations will be cast in bronze and mounted around the site.

Lone Fir Cemetery will remain open during construction. However, to ensure visitors’ safety and allow the contractor access, the cemetery’s southwest portion will close temporarily. The walkway from Southeast Morrison Street will be closed, and the original cemetery access from Southeast 20th Avenue will be used exclusively by construction crews. Also, some internal cemetery roads will close temporarily.

Construction is expected to wrap up by early 2027, with a grand opening to follow in the spring.

Metro expects the total project cost to be approximately $6 million. Funding is coming from a $475 million bond measure approved by voters in 2019 and from Multnomah County.

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