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Inventory Form

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:404 SW Kingston Ave historic name:Washington Park Amphitheater
Portland, Multnomah County (97205) current/other names:Peacock in the Park
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot: / 200
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:1S 1E 5
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:Site height (stories): total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:
elig evaluation: eligible/contributing NR Status:
prim constr date:1925 second date:1930 date indiv listed:
primary orig use: Music Facility orig use comments:
second orig use: Outdoor Recreation
primary style: Not Applicable prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: siding comments:
secondary siding:
plan type: architect:WPA
builder:
comments/notes:
Survey sheet indicates plans drawn by WPA. Could not verify this through other sources, needs further investigation. (cc-12/26/2012)
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   Portland Parks ILS 2006 Survey & Inventory Project 2006
   WPA Structures (Works Progress Administration) Thematic Grouping
Farmstead/Cluster Name:Washington Park
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: N/A
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date: 04/24/2024
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
Roughly located at 400 SW Kingston Avenue, Washington Park Amphitheater is an open, flat landscape surrounded by multiple sets of stairs. A large, raised concrete platform is located in the east of the grass area and is surrounded by large parterres. The sitting area has a C-shape opening to the east. The surrounding landscape includes roses plated in organized planters in the south and west, with more organic natural vegetation on the north. This amphitheater is accessed by SW Kingston Avenue in a central area of Washington Park.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
Washington Park Amphitheater, located at the north end of the International Rose Test Garden, served as the site of Peacock in the Park between 1987 and 2004. Peacock in the Park was an outdoor summer drag and variety show founded by Imperial Sovereign Rose Court of Oregon Rose Empress XXIX Lady Elaine Peacock in 1987. Despite Lady Elaine’s passing in 1993, LGBTQ+ Portlanders Maria Peters Lake and Kimberlee Van Patten continued the outdoor summer event through 2004. Washington Park Amphitheater is locally significant under National Register Criterion A in the area of LGBTQ+ history as the site of a long-running outdoor drag and variety show featuring LGBTQ+ art and entertainment.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library: University Library:
Historical Society:Oregon Queer History Collective Other Respository:
Bibliography:
Peacock Productions Inc. "History of Peacock Productions Inc." About Us. https://peacockinthepark.org/history-of-peacock-productions-inc/. Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. "Lady Elaine Peacock Eldwood "Woody" Johnson." Queer Heroes Northwest. https://www.glapn.org/6328peacock.html. “Peacock in the Park.” Just Out, June 1, 1991, 10. Lauderdale, Thomas. “A Community Mourns.” Just Out, November 15, 1993. O'Bryan, Will. “Sequins in the Sun.” Just Out, June 21, 1996, 23. Oral history interview with Maria Council, by Gary Knapp and A. Krummenacker, 2010 February 19, SR 11457, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Oral history interview with Kimberlee Van Patten, by Katie Horton and Amy Sherwood, SR 11291, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Blair, Stephen. “Return of the Peacock.” Just Out, June 18, 1999, 43. Hochman, Anndee. "Eldwood Johnson, a.k.a. Lady Elaine Peacock." Just Out, September 1, 1989, 15. Hochman, Anndee. "Snap Shots of Diversity: The Year in Profiles." Just Out, June 1, 1990, 18. Waters, Poison. "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together…" Just Out, June 18, 2004, 43. Peacock Productions Inc. "Rosey Waters interviews Lady Elaine Peacock 9/1/1993." Youtube video, 1:33:25. September 2, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_fmNcy-Ghs.