Lents, Portland, Oregon

Lents
Neighborhood
Lents Farmers' Market, at 92nd and Foster
Lents
Coordinates: 45°28′31″N 122°33′43″W / 45.47540°N 122.56207°W / 45.47540; -122.56207Coordinates: 45°28′31″N 122°33′43″W / 45.47540°N 122.56207°W / 45.47540; -122.56207 PDF map
Country	United States
State	Oregon
City	Portland
Government
• Association	Lents Neighborhood Association
• Coalition	East Portland Neighborhood Office
Area
• Total	3.03 sq mi (7.86 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	20,156
• Density	6,600/sq mi (2,600/km2)
Housing
• No. of households	7169
• Occupancy rate	93% occupied
• Owner-occupied	3192 households (55%)
• Renting	2564 households (45%)
• Avg. household size	2.81 persons

The Lents neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon is bordered by SE Powell Blvd. on the north, the Clackamas County line or City of Portland line on the south (whichever is farther south), SE 82nd Ave. to the west, and roughly SE 112th on the east. The NE corner overlaps with the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. In addition to Powellhurst-Gilbert on the north and east, Lents also borders Foster-Powell, Mt. Scott-Arleta, and Brentwood-Darlington on the west and Pleasant Valley on the east.

The neighborhood is one of the larger in the city at 3.75 square miles (9.7 km²); one of its oldest; and one of its most diverse, with many Asian, Russian/Eastern European, and Latino immigrants,.

Lents is six miles (10 km) southeast of downtown Portland and lies within the 97266 ZIP code.

Lents was originally platted as the Town of Lent by Oliver P. Lent (1830–1899) in 1892. The original town was bounded by SE Foster Rd., SE Duke St., SE 92nd Ave, and SE 97th Ave.

Lent's town was originally built as a self-sufficient town and suburb of Portland. In 1912, with a population nearing 10,000, Lents was annexed into the city of Portland. Because of its distance from central Portland and lower income class, it was repeatedly neglected by the city in terms of street and sewer improvements. The I-205 Freeway was originally destined for 39th Avenue, but the powerful residents of Portland's Laurelhurst neighborhood successfully lobbied to have the path changed to 52nd Avenue. By the time it came to final planning the city had grown and decided to move the freeway's path further out to 95th Avenue, effectively cutting the Lents neighborhood in half. In contrast, Maywood Park was able to establish itself as its own city and sued to stop construction of the freeway and a compromise was eventually reached.