The Whiteaker Neighborhood
Origin
The Whiteaker neighborhood started when John Whiteaker, Oregon’s first governor bought ten blocks of land in the early 1890’s. It prospered along with the rest of Eugene, but it was only until U.S. Route 99 was decided to be paved through the neighborhood in 1930 that it really started booming. Once this happened, the Whiteaker neighborhood, locally called the Whit, experienced a huge growth in population and in reputation. During this time period the majority of Whiteaker residents were farmers who specialized in cow and other livestock. This is where the basis for the neighborhoods economy came from.
John Whiteaker
Political History
Although Whiteaker was primarily an agricultural community this didn’t last forever. In 1960 the community became popular for people who represented counter culture. This is what really put the Whiteaker neighborhood on the map. The neighborhood experienced this migration pattern until about the 1980’s. During these ten years there was an increase of community activism and also an increase of crime related to drug use. Because of the amount of crime and uncommon ideals the neighborhood developed a bad reputation. This didn’t stop the neighborhood from thriving as a haven for anarchists and politically radical youth. During this time in the neighborhood’s history several activism campaigns were created. The most memorable one was the Whiteaker neighborhood riot. It happened in June 1999 when a protest against globalization turned violent. The rioters looted a Taco Bell and Seven Eleven, and had planned on continuing until the Police responded with pepper spray and tear gas.
Gentrification
Along with strong political ideals we also see a strongly knit community that believes in its small local businesses. This, unfortunately, wasn’t ideal for the corporations and business that began to sprout up in this progressive neighborhood. The beginning of the Gentrification process started when the popular brewery Ninkasi was established in 2006. Of course there were other business that were seen as non-local, but the Ninkasi brewery brought a lot of attention to the neighborhood. Realizing Ninkasi’s success in the neighborhood, the Hop Valley Brewing Company also started to sell its product and create more momentum for big business. Once these businesses were established the neighborhood started to see a rise in not only corporations but also in tourists.
Current State
There are mixed feelings about the Gentrification in neighborhood. There was a personal account where someone felt so offended and frustrated with how the neighborhood was turning out that they decided to pack up and move. Being a community who isn’t afraid to protest and show their opinion, there has been several instances with vandalism. There once was an account of vandalism on a Mediterranean restaurant who had their windows vandalized with hateful writing. All we know is that the restaurant didn’t last long. Although some see the neighborhood changing negatively, we also see some residents who look kindly on the changes. The opposing side believes that the rise of business and tourism brings an increase to jobs. Changing over to more a neutral town will also bring in more tourism, which will then give them the money to make the already great neighborhood even better.
