Captain John H. Couch deeded the five blocks to the city in 1865, and they were officially platted for a municipal park in 1869.

[5] Use of the North Park Blocks declined, especially as the 1924 zoning code did not preserve residential uses near them.

[3] A problem with the homeless and aggressive panhandlers led to Daisy Kingdom and the U.S. Customs House to hire security guards, and park sprinklers were set to intermittently spray sleepers.

In 1989, the problem was worse; that year the local Montessori School found drug users and discarded needles in the city playground.

[6] In 2002, Chinese foundry owner Huo Baozhu donated Da Tung and Xi'an Bao Bao, full-size bronze reproductions of Shang dynasty elephant statues, to Portland.