This fuzzy image from a 1902 real estate ad shows Hawthorne Park just after the land west of 9th Avenue has been prepared for development. In the lower left corner is the intersection of 12th and Hawthorne near Hawthorne Springs. The northern boundary of the park is Belmont and Salmon crosses the water on a bridge in the middle. Note that Asylum Slough continues under Belmont and originally flowed through a 20 foot deep ravine all the way to the river.
The slough takes it’s name from the mental hospital operated here by Dr. J.C. Hawthorne and others until 1883. The building burned in 1888 and the land around it became part of a large park owned by Rachel Hawthorne, the doctor’s widow. As land values increased, lots were platted in the western end of the park. A strong neighborhood push to preserve the land as a public park failed to win support in City Council.
A short article in the Oregonian for December 11, 1908 describes the demise of “…a natural park covered with a growth of fir, oak, and maple trees…” The article continues “However, the platting of the tract will result in the filling of the ravine and the disposition of the flow of water from Hawthorne Springs between Hawthorne avenue and Belmont street, where at present there is a long lake of water. This ravine occupies many blocks of much value, which undoubtedly will be filled. Trees in the park have been girded and killed and will be cut down.”