"Vanport City, Oregon, was conceived in 1942 as a temporary housing project for the families of men and women who came to the Pacific Northwest to work in the Kaiser shipyards and further the war effort (World War II). Situated on a flood plain between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, the Columbia River reclaimed the city for its own in a flood on Memorial Day, 1948. In its brief but vital lifetime, Vanport pushed the Portland area into a new era of change and development, leaving a legacy that is felt even today. During its time, Vanport was the largest housing project in the United States, (perhaps the world) and the second largest city in Oregon"--Cover