The evolution of Zidell Yards on Portland’s waterfront

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The announcement that the Portland Diamond Project signed a letter of intent to acquire the South Waterfront’s Zidell Yards — with hopes of it becoming the next MLB stadium — is the latest chapter in a long history intertwined with Portland’s development as a city.

The 33 acres of prime land along the Willamette River is an open landscape now, a long way from its roots as the site of an industrial workhorse. Currently, Zidell Yards hosts everything from the Waterfront Blues Fest (during the socially-distanced pandemic) to “Light the Night” celebrations along with other social and civic events.

For more than a century, the Zidell family has owned the land, with enterprises that helped make Portland a world-class city.

In 1912, Sam Zidell emigrated to the United States from Russia and began selling second-hand machinery in Roseburg. He moved to Portland the following year and acquired the plot along the south waterfront.

In 1946, shortly after World War II, Zidell’s son Emery purchased the shipyard of Commercial Ironworks and turned it into a company that dismantled ships, also called shipbreaking.

With scrap steel in high demand, the Zidell Ship Dismantling Company became America’s largest shipbreaker. Then in 1960, the Zidells got into the business of building ships. Along with the Kaiser Shipyards on Swan Island, Portland became known as a ship building city.

“The shipyard era, that’s really when Portland grew as the city it was to become,” said Kerry Tymchuck of the Oregon Historical Society. “Population went up exponentially in the World War II and post-World War II era as people emigrated here to Portland to find work in the shipyards.”

Emery Zidell established Zidell Marine in 1960, building new barges and launching them from the South Waterfront. Beginning in 1961 the company built and launched more than 300 vessels, with the last barge leaving the yard in 2017.

The operations left a legacy — and industrial contaminants.

Starting in 2011, the Zidell company embarked on a $20 million project to clean up the yards, restore wildlife habitat and replant foliage along the banks of the Willamette River.

For most of the past decade, the Zidell companies — now led by Jay Zidell — has searched for the right fit and has considered multiple options for the future of this property.

It appears a major league baseball stadium could very well be that fit, adding vibrancy to that part of the city.

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