Constructed in 1895, the Mayo House is a Queen Anne Cottage with a complex history. Moved twice previously, Eliot neighborhood residents Cleo Davis and his wife Kayin Talton Davis saved the house from development pressure after appealing to Portland City Council to waive $40,000 in fees required to move the house once more. For the Davises, the City’s approval of the plan holds greater significance than a means to save a historic home from yet another wrecking ball–it signifies a step toward recognition of and atonement for Portland’s decades-long campaign to seize Black-owned homes under the guise of “urban renewal.” To ward against supposed “blight,” the City actively targeted black homeowners with fines, fees, and intimidation from the 1940s through the 1990s. Cleo Davis’ grandmother was one such owner who, in the 1980s was forced to relinquish ownership of her boarding house and watch it be demolished. The Mayo House now sits on the property, representing an opportunity to repair a grave injustice. The Davises envision the Mayo House with a multipurpose future by creating a hub for African American arts, history, and culture.
