Below is a list of both private and publicly-funded facilities in the Portland, Oregon metro area (Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties) whose function is detention.
We estimate over 2,500,000 Oregonians have been locked up in the institutions listed. Expand the list to include facilities simular to those below for the entire state, 1860-2025, and our estimation increases to 3,240,000. An estimated cumulative population (1850–2025): 8.3 Million to 9.2 million unique individuals
Two basic reasons for detention – psychiatric illness and allegation or conviction of a crime. Facilities listed without indicated cities are or were in Portland. Jails and local prisons are included, considering the high percentage of those arrested, convicted, imprisoned are people with mental illness and / or addiction.
No effective or reliable treatment for addiction or alcoholism was available in Oregon until the 1980s. Today, long waitlists (over 30 days), low pay for staff, ineffective services, and lack of sober housing result in high relapse rates which sabotage treatment, resulting in a 70-90% post-treatment failure rate. Similarly, quality of life improvements and social engagement rates for Oregonians with severe mental illness active in treatment and supportive services remain very low, with patients reporting 10-30% improvement after five or more years. Note – over 50% of people with severe mental illness in Oregon receive no services at all. Poor health services for addiction and mental illness inflate the perceived need for involuntary detention, jails, and prisons.
The 95+ facilities are listed in rough chronological order. Fifty-three of the 95 are designed specifically for people with psychiatric illness (and all the variations). Some facilities, marked with an asterisk, no longer have secured areas. Some, both historical and current, are or were facilities with a combination of involuntary and voluntary participants; current would include facilities like Cedar Hills Hospital or Unity Center. Note the meaning of terms associated with “voluntary” and “involuntary” have shifted significantly during the duration of this list. The list does not include perhaps dozens of publicly-funded privately-operated halfway houses for people exiting prisons where former inmates were told to stay or their parole would be revoked; names and histories of these halfway houses are (so far) lost to history. This practice was common until the 2000s but informal and untracked. Psychiatric halfway houses where judges order physical restrictions (such as RTF and SRFT houses) are included.
The word “sanitarium” as used in western US in the early 20th century usually indicated a private home or cluster of homes privately owned by a medical doctor (or in many cases, someone who claimed to be a doctor). Sanitariums pre-date private hospitals and had a variety of uses – some including but not exclusively as confinement.
Oregon civil commitment law changed in 1973 when House Bill 2251 and Senate Bill 436 was enacted as Chapter 697, Oregon Laws. Prior to 1973, the “Need for Treatment” standard was applied and judges deferred to doctors, to police, and often to professionals, to husbands and fathers to determine the criteria for commitment. The two bills marked a shift from a “medical model”—where doctors held the primary power to institutionalize people—to a “legal model” that prioritized due process and individual liberty.
Prior to 1973 instead of proving that a person was an imminent danger to themselves or others, the state only had to show that the person had a mental illness and was in “need of treatment.”
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Medical Discretion: Because the standard was so broad, judges deferred almost entirely to the opinions of doctors. If a psychiatrist testified that a person would benefit from being in a state hospital, that was often sufficient for commitment.
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Lack of Specificity: There were no clear definitions for what constituted being “gravely disabled.” This allowed for the commitment of elderly individuals with dementia or people with chronic alcoholism who were not necessarily “dangerous” but were seen as unable to thrive independently.
Oregon Advocacy Center v. Bobby Mink aka Disability Rights Oregon v Oregon Health Authority or Sejal Hathi (2001 – current) continues the tussle between medicine and law in the context of transferring persons alleged to have mental illness from jails to the state hospital.
| Statutory Element / Year | Historical Language / Standard | Current Status (2026 Update) |
|---|---|---|
| Criteria A (1973) | Dangerous to self or others. | Unchanged: Core safety standard remains the primary path for commitment. |
| Criteria B (1973) | Unable to provide for basic personal needs. | Refined: Now colloquially known as “Gravely Disabled.” |
| Evidence Bar (1979) | Shifted from “Beyond a reasonable doubt” following Addington v. Texas. | Clear and Convincing: This remains the constitutional standard in 2026. |
| Chronic Illness (1987) | Added a fourth criterion for people with “chronic mental illness.” Generally this definition does not include addiction, intellectual disorders, or personality disorders. | Active: Applies to those committed 2x in 3 years who show signs of re-deterioration. |
| Dangerous Persons (2013) | New category for individuals with acts of extreme violence (GEI); “Extremely Dangerous Persons.” | Long-term Supervision: Requires intensive oversight and long-term state placement. |
| Due Process | Right to counsel and a 5-day hearing window. | Strengthened: Enhanced by modern “Aid and Assist” legal protections. |
In 2025 Oregon ranked last in the nation (51st) for adult prevalence of severe mental illness, which effectively turns jails into the region’s largest behavioral health providers. According to the 2025 Multnomah County Grand Jury Report and current budget filings for FY 2026, the following percentages apply to the Portland metro jail population:
| Data Category | Multnomah County (Portland) | Washington/Clackamas (Metro) |
|---|---|---|
| Any Mental Health History | Over 50% of adults in custody | ~45% — 50% |
| Serious Mental Illness | 25% — 40% of adults in custody | ~20% — 25% |
| Co-occurring Drug Use | 65% — 75% of mental health cases | ~60% |
| Juvenile In-Custody | ~40% significant mental health needs | ~40% (Regional Average) |
| Recidivism (Re-arrest Rate) | High (Avg. 4 bookings per year for SMI) | 85% report prior incarceration |
PORTLAND AREA DETENTION FACILITIES
Oregon Territory Jail (Oregon City) Opened: 1842 | Closed: 1846 (fire)
The Shanghai Tunnels (1850s – 1941)
- These are a set of tunnels between skid row buildings, which included cells for drunken sailors prior to being sold off as forced labor to ship captains.
Portland City Jail (The Log Cabin Jail) Opened: 1851 | Closed: 1854 (burned by inmates) | Capacity ~5.
- Used by Multnomah County and first Federal Courtroom (1859–1875)
Oregon Territorial Penitentiary Opened: 1853 | Closed: 1866 (built for 30-80, 116 inmates were relocated to Salem in 1866)
Washington County Jail Opened: 1853 | Status: Open | Capacity 572
The “William King” Holding Rooms Opened: 1854 | Closed: 1866 | Capacity: a set of rented rooms in private commercial building
Hawthorne Asylum # Opened: 1862 | Closed: 1883.
- Owned by Doctors James Hawthorne and Abraham Loryea, succeed by the Oregon Hospital for the Insane.
Oregon Hospital for the Insane Opened: 1862 | Closed: 1883. Succeed by the Oregon State Hospital – Salem. State Psychiatric Hospital.
- Located in inner SE Portland, this walled facility and surrounding farm was the first publicly-funded “medical facility” on the west coast.
Oregon State Hospital – Salem # Opened: 1868 | Status: Open | Peak Population: 3,500 | Current Population: ~550. State Psychiatric Hospital.
Hillside Farm for the Poor Opened: 1868 | Closed: 1910
Oregon School for the Deaf * (Salem) Opened: 1870 | Status: Open – Also known as The Turner School aka Oregon Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, Oregon School for Deaf-Mutes, Oregon State School for the Deaf, Oregon School for the Deaf
- Until the mid-1970s, many deaf students were effectively segregated from the general public. While not “secured” for safety or legal reasons, the dormitories were highly regulated. Doors were locked at night, and movement was strictly supervised by “supervisors.”
Portland Police Jail — Opened: 1872 | Closed: 1984 located at Multnomah County Courthouse, replaced by the Multnomah County Detention Center aka Justice Center. | Capacity: 250 to 300
- Chronic overcrowding, no exercise, medical neglect, sanitation (broken plumbing resulted in 1972 Coley v. Multnomah County; result was consent decree where Judge James M. Burns closed the jail.
Pioneer Courthouse Opened: 1875 | Closed: 1933 | Capacity: ~3 or 4 short-term holding cells
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center — Psychiatric Ward # Opened: 1875 | Status: Open
- Sisters of Providence aka St. Vincent’s Hospital “Nervous” Wards, located on NW Westover
Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center — Psychiatric Ward # Opened: 1875 | Closed: 2017
The Customs House Opened: 1882 – Chinese immigration detention
Hawthorne Sanitarium # Opened: c. 1884 | Closed: c. 1920s.
- Separate from Hawthorne and Loryea’s Hawthorne Asylum, this one launched by Drs. Bailey and J. B. O. Philips.
Ladies’ Relief Society Children’s Home aka The Children’s Home Opened 1884 | Capacity: 90-100. Evolved into The Parry Center
Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon * Opened: 1885 | Status: Open – no longer involuntary
Portland Sanitarium # Opened: 1886 by Dr. L. J. Belknap | Closed: unknown Seventh Day Adventist Hospital – 60th and Belmont
St. Mary’s Home for Boys (Beaverton) Founded 1889, became a residential treatment center for adolescent boys in 1968 – current
Manning Home for the Friendless (The House of the Good Shepherd Precursor) – dubious history
Oregon State Reform School / MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility (McMinnville) Opened: 1891 | Status: Open Also known as: Oregon State Reform School, Oregon State Training School for Boys, MacLaren School for Boys
The U.S. Custom House – Opened:1901 | Closed: 1933 | Capacity ~15 to 20
Frazer Detention Home for Boys Opened: c. 1905–1910 | Closed: c. early-to-mid 1950s | Capacity: Several hundred
Morningside Hospital / Dr. Coe’s Sanitarium Opened: 1904 | Closed: 1968 | Peak Population: ~5,000 (early 1950s) (PICTURED RIGHT)
- Also known as: Dr. Coe’s Nervous Sanitarium, Mt. Tabor Nervous Sanitarium, Crystal Springs Sanitarium – all different addresses, Morningside Asylum – all owned by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe or successors. Original architect of the hospital was Joseph Jacobberger.
- Dr. Coe’s Nervous Sanitarium Opened: c. 1890 | Closed: c. 1905
- Mt. Tabor Nervous Sanitarium Opened: c. 1900 | Closed: c. 1905
- Crystal Springs Sanitarium Opened: 1905 | Closed: 1910
- Mindease Sanitarium Opened: ? | Closed: ?
Kelly Butte Jail and Quarry Opened: 1906 | Closed: 1952
- Aka “The Rockpile” this was a forced labor jail
Wahneta Sanitarium Opened: c. 1907 | Closed: c. 1922 (Absorbed by Portland Sanitarium)
Fairview Training Center (Salem) Opened: 1908 | Closed: 2000 | Capacity (at peak) 3000
- Also known as: State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, Oregon Fairview Home, Fairview Hospital and Training Center. In the late 1960s, Fairview housed approximately 3,000 residents across a 275-acre campus consisting of 61 buildings, over 10,000 persons over the history of the facility.
Mountain View Sanitarium Opened in 1908 | Closed around 1920
- Operated by Dr. Lyman L. Hicks for “alcohol, drug, and mild mental cases.”
Lee Miller Sanitarium # Opened: c. 1910 | Closed: c. 1930
Klock Sanitarium # Opened: c. 1910 | Closed: c. 1930
- Operator Dr. Guy A. Klock, rest-cures and confinement for addicts
Weir Mitchell Sanitarium # Opened: 1914 | Closed: c. 1930 – convalescent and psychiatric patients
Multnomah County Poor Farm (Troutdale) Opened: 1911 | Closed: mid-20th century.
- aka Hope Farm.
Oregon State Hospital – Pendleton Opened: 1913 | Closed: 2014 | Peak Population: 1,864 State Psychiatric Hospital
- Also known as: Eastern Oregon State Hospital, Eastern Oregon Hospital and Training Center, Eastern Oregon Psychiatric Center, Blue Mountain Recovery Center.
Waverleigh Crest Sanitarium for Nervous Diseases # Opened: c. 1915 | Closed: 1939
North Portland Precinct Jail Opened: 1915 | Status: Open
Tuality Community Hospital / Hillsboro Medical Center # Opened: 1918 | Status: Open
Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center — Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit # Oregon City | Status: Open
- At the same location – Hutchinson General Hospital — founded 1918 (maternity hospital), Doctors’ Hospital — 1954 (community hospital), Willamette Falls Community Hospital — 1961 (community hospital / current building), Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center — October 1, 2009 (current name)
- The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit has 22 inpatient beds total — six private beds for children and 16 for adolescents.
Kelly Butte Isolation Hospital aka Portland or City Detention Hospital Opened: 1920 | Closed: 1960s? | Capacity: 60. Used for non-psychiatric medical quarantine – smallpox, venereal diseases, polio, TB
East Portland Precinct Jail — Opened: 1927 | Closed: 1973
Gus Solomon Federal Courthouse Opened: 1933 | Closed: 1997 | Capacity: 30–40
Camp Withycombe Armory Opened: 1934 | Status: open – includes “Military Disciplinary Rooms”
University of Oregon Medical School State Tuberculosis Hospital # Opened: 1939 | Closed: 1963. 1954
- Oregon law explicitly authorized forced quarantine for patients who refused treatment — a significant shift from the original voluntary model. Prior privately operated Portland Open-Air Tuberculosis Sanatorium Opened: c. 1905 | Closed: c. 1910 was voluntary.
OHSU — Psychiatric Wards # Opened: c. 1940s | Closed: 2017 | Capacity: two separate wards of 60+ each
Rocky Butte Jail Opened: 1942 | Closed: 1983 Also a forced labor quarry.
The Portland Assembly Center Opened & Closed 1943
- 3,800 people of Japanese ancestry from Oregon and central Washington were forcibly detained in animal stalls. Located at the Pacific International Livestock Exposition, now called the Metropolitan Exposition Center.
Swan Island Precinct Jail (temporary) Opened: 1943 | Closed: 1945
Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Portland Opened: 1948 | Status: open – holding cells for military personnel
Multnomah Precinct Jail Opened: 1954 | Closed: c. 1960
- Pioneer Place, Washington Square, Lloyd Center, Jantzen Beach, Galleria, Clackamas Town Center, Eastport Plaza
- Most major retailers, including Fred Meyer, Target, Home Depot, Safeway, New Seasons, Nike, etc.
Dammasch State Hospital (Wilsonville) Opened: 1961 | Closed: 1995 | Capacity: 450-600. State Psychiatric Hospital.
Woodland Park Hospital — Psychiatric Hospital # Opened: 1962 | Closed: 2004
East Portland Precinct Jail — Opened: 1973 | Closed: 1996
Providence Portland Medical Center — Psychiatric Ward # Opened: 1941 | Status: Open
VA Portland Health Care System — Psychiatric Ward # Opened: 1929 | Status: Open
Hooper Detoxification Stabilization Center # Opened: 1971 | Closed: 2005 (voluntary services remain open) Seven holding cells in sub-acute area
Cedar Hills Hospital — Psychiatric Hospital # (Washington County) Opened: 1972 | Status: Open | Capacity: 96
Gresham City Jail (Gresham) Opened: 1971 | Status: Open
Residential Treatment Facilities Opened: c. 1970s–1990s | Status: Open | Capacity: unknown. SRTFs and RTFs are usually 9 – 16 beds each. Operators include Central City Concern, ColumbiaCare, Jackson House, New Narrative, Sequoia, and others.
Secure Residential Treatment Facilities — physically secure and locked facilities.
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- SRTF – Halsey St
- SRTF Class 2 – 72nd Ave Place – Moderate Security, Limited Medical Capability
- SRTF Class 2 – Arbor Place – Moderate Security, Limited Medical Capability
- SRTF Class 2 – Barbara Roberts East – Moderate Security, Limited Medical Capability
- SRTF Class 2 – Barbara Roberts West – Moderate Security, Limited Medical Capability
- SRTF Class 2 – Fairview Firs – Moderate Security, Limited Medical Capability
- SRTF Class 1 – Faulkner Place – Highest Level of Security & Medical Capability
- SRFT 122nd M——- Court
- SRTF – Johnson Creek
- SRTF – Arbor Hill
- SRTF – Townsend
- SRTF – Clackamas
- SRTF – BH-OR-OPCO MLK Center, LLC aka Jackson House
- SRTF – Cleveland Commons
- SRTF – Pacific Street
- SRTF – Mill Street
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Residential Treatment Facilities — restricted by legal status (PSRB, civil commitment) but not necessarily by physical security. While they are highly supervised, the doors are not locked to keep residents inside.
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- RTF – Alberta
- RTF – Alder Creek
- RTF – Andrea Place
- RTF – Aspen Hill
- RTF – Bonaventure
- RTF – Columbia Rose
- RTF – Fairview Firs
- RTF – Kellogg Creek
- RTF – Leland
- RTF – McCarthy Place
- RTF – Mountain View – Opening Mid-2026
- RTF – Nadine’s Place
- RTF – Pearl House
- RTF – Piedmont
- RTF – Pine Ridge
- RTF – Rita May Manor
- RTF – Treeline at 174th
- RTF – Willamette Rose
- RTF – Pacific Street
- RTF – Mill Street
- RTF – Cameron Care aka Cameron’s Crazies
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- Firefly – unknown licensing designation (see Oregon Senate Bill 710 2021)
- Glisan Street – STP — Stabilization, Treatment and Preparation (new perhaps unique designation tho this facility has been in operation for decades.)
- Instar – unknown licensing designation
- Prescott Terrace – unknown licensing designation
- 75th Home- unknown licensing designation
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Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center — Psychiatric Ward # (Gresham) Opened: c. 1970s | Status: Limited services
Legacy Meridian Park Hospital — Psychiatric Ward # (Tualatin) Opened: c. 1970s | Status: Limited services
Multnomah County Detention Center – Opened: 1983 | Status: Open | Capacity: 448, including courtroom holding cells
Inverness Jail Opened: 1983 | Status: Open | Capacity: 1,037
Pacific Gateway Hospital & Counseling Centers # Opened: 1983 | Closed: 2001
- Closed by the state as a result of police killing a patient – Jose Mejia Poot. Demolished by owners.
CareUnit Hospital of Portland # Opened: 1986 | Closed: 1987 |
- Residential facility for the treatment of alcoholics and addicts, court-ordered and voluntary patients.
Columbia River Correctional Institution – Opened: 1990 | Status: Open | Capacity: 595
Ryles Center for Evaluation and Treatment – Opened 1991, closed mid-2000s.
- Short-term residential, operated by Mental Health Partners
Northeast Portland Precinct Jail Opened: 1994 | Status: Holding cells only
Southeast Portland Precinct Jail Opened: 1994 | Status: Holding cells only
Oregon State Hospital – Portland Opened: 1995 | Closed: 2015 | Capacity: 60 beds
Providence Crisis Triage Center # Opened: 1997 | Closed: 2001 | Capacity: unknown (probably under 20)
Telecare Gresham aka Steve Wilson Recovery Center – Opened: 2002 | Status: Open | Capacity: 80.
- Legally classified as a highly supervised residential treatment facility, exterior doors are locked 24/7.
Adventist Health Portland — Psychiatric Ward # Opened: c. 1950s | Closed: 2017
Clackamas County Jail (Oregon City) – opened 1959, capacity 434
Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center Opened: c. early 1960s | Status: Open
Legacy Emanuel Medical Center — Psychiatric Ward Opened: c. 1960s | Closed: 2017
Kaiser Permanente Portland — Psychiatric Unit Opened: c. 1970s | Closed: 2017
Providence Milwaukie Medical Center — Senior Psychiatric Unit (Milwaukie) Opened: c. 1990s | Status: Open
Portland Public Schools
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Elementary: Bridger, James John, and Woodmere: Middle/K-8: Pioneer Special School Program, Beaumont, Roseway Heights, and Lane: High School: McDaniel, Roosevelt, and Franklin all use “quiet rooms,” or some other euphemism, with a variety of rules. In recent years most uses have been voluntary.
Clackamas County Community Corrections Center – Opened: 2010 | Status: Open | Capacity: 80
Northwest Regional Re-Entry Center – Opened: 2005 | Status: Open | Capacity 150
Albertina Kerr Centers
- Secure Inpatient Program (Gresham) – Opened: 2024 | Status: Open | Capacity: 6
- Children’s Crisis Psychiatric Care – Opened: 1997 (most recent building) | Status: Open | Capacity: 24
Washington County Community Corrections Center – Opened: 1998 | Status: Open | Capacity 215
Federal Detention Cells – all current
- Department of Homeland Security Processing Center – Opened: 2011 (under violation notice as of 2026) : Capacity: 12 hours (Legal Limit)
- Portland Immigration Court – Immigration and Customs Enforcement- holding cells Capacity: <10
- Department of Homeland Security at PDX – short-term detention cells
- Customs and Border Protection at PDX- short-term detention cells
- U.S. Marshals Service at Mark Hatfield Court House. Capacity: 120–150
- Department of Health and Human Services – Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement – Unaccompanied Children Program, at Morrison Center Opened 2009 | Status: Open | Capacity: 75
- Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building – Interrogation and holding cells for FBI, IRS, DEA. Capacity: <10
Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel # Opened: 2012 | Status: Open has a psychiatric emergency department for children
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- Emanuel Children’s Hospital — founded 1960, Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital — renamed at some point post-1989 merger.
- Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel — renamed 2011, new building opened 2012
Crisis Assessment and Treatment Center # Opened: 2011 | Status: Open Operated by: Telecare Corporation
Oregon State Hospital – Junction City Opened: 2015 | Status: Open | Capacity: 174. State Psychiatric Hospital.
Legacy Unity Center for Behavioral Health # Opened: February 2, 2017 | Status: Open | Capacity: 80 adult + 22 adolescent beds
Madrona Recovery # Tigard | Opened: 2017 – open. A psychiatric residential treatment facility for teens ages 13–17. Both voluntary and accepts court and child welfare placements.
Tigard Recovery Center – operated by Telecare. Opened: 2021 | Capacity: has an involuntary “Seclusion Room”
Multnomah County Court Holding Facility Opened: 2024 | Status: Open
Oregon State Industrial School for Girls (Salem) also known as Hillcrest School for Girls in 1941, then Hillcrest School of Oregon, then Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility – opened 1914 – closed 2017, capacity 244 youth
Trillium Family Services also known as Parry Center for Children and Waverly Children’s Program aka The Baby Home (circa 1888)
- Secure Children’s Inpatient Program – opened 2005, and along with Trillium’s Children’s Farm Home in Corvallis has a capacity of 125 youth
- Psychiatric Residential Treatment Services – opened unknown, capacity unknown.
Rosemont Treatment Center and School 1902-2024, peak capacity 54 adolescent girls.
- The building is still in use for long-term residential care for children in the custody of the Unaccompanied Children Program through the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and operated by Morrison Center.
Janus Youth Programs
- Cordero House opened in early 1980s and capacity is 8-12 youth
- Buckman Residential Program opened 1992, capacity is unknown
- Atlas Enhanced Independent Living Program (formerly Imani House) – date opened is unknown, capacity is unknown
Parrott Creek Child and Family Services (Oregon City) opened 1968, capacity 40 youth
Northwest Behavioral Healthcare Services (Gladstone) opened ?, closed 2017. Likely operated between 16 and 24 beds.
Clackamas County Women’s Community Corrections Center (Clackamas County) Opened: c. 2001–2002 | Capacity: ~40 beds
In addition: emergency rooms at OHSU Hospital, OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, Providence Portland Medical Center, Adventist Health Portland, VA Portland Health Care System, Providence Milwaukie Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center, Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Hillsboro Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center, Providence Newberg Medical Center all detain approximately 15,000 – 20,000 people using temporary holds, most with psychiatric illnesses, each year. This is a modeled estimate — Oregon does not publish a real-time or annual census of involuntary ER patients.
TYPES OF TEMPORARY HOLDS IN OREGON
| Type of Hold | Oregon Statute | Legal Purpose & Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation Hold | ORS 426.231 | Allows a doctor in a clinic or non-hospital setting to authorize law enforcement to take a person into custody and transport them to a hospital. Max Duration: 12 hours. |
| Two-Party Hold / Agreement | ORS 426.070 | Allows any two adults with firsthand knowledge of a person’s dangerous behavior to initiate an investigation for civil commitment, requesting police transport to hospital. Max Duration: 12 hours. |
| Emergency / Hospital Hold | ORS 426.232 | Allows a physician/Licensed Independent Practitioner to involuntarily detain a patient already at a hospital for stabilization when they meet “danger” criteria. Max Duration: 5 judicial days. |
| Law Enforcement Custody | ORS 426.228 | Initiated by police to bring individuals to facilities for physician evaluation when they appear to be a danger to self or others. Max Duration: Until physician evaluation. |
| Public Intoxication & Incapacitation | ORS 430.399 | If a person is intoxicated by alcohol or drugs in public and is incapacitated (unable to make rational decisions about their own safety), a physician at a treatment facility or sobering center can hold them. Max Duration: 48 hours at a treatment facility or 24 hours at a sobering center |
| Warrant of Detention | ORS 426.070 |
Judicial order to take a community member into custody for psychiatric examination. |
| Medical Safety Hold | OAR 309-114-0015 | If a person lacks the capacity to understand, is medically delirious, that leaving the hospital would result in their death or serious physical injury, the physician can hold them until they are stable or a guardian is appointed. Max Duration: Until medical capacity returns. |
| Administrative Hold | ORS 433.121 | For medical quarantine – recent examples 2026 measles, 2013 tuberculosis. Home stay or medical facility only. Max Duration: 72 Hours (by county medical director) / up to 21 days (with judicial order) |
Note: in Oregon involuntary transportation to a medical facility for psychiatric assessment is done by police, in handcuffs. Ambulance is used if the individual has a co-occurring medical emergency. Community mental health staff, as authorized by county commissioners, can transport people involuntarily but that practices is rare – if done at all.
STILL RESEARCHING
Vanport Hospital – 150 capacity Isolation Ward 1942 1948 flood
Mocks Bottom Barrack Opened: 1942 | Closed 1945 | Capacity 5+ (isolation ward) Federal housing project for shipyard workers; used as a “detention” or isolation ward to quarantine during outbreaks of influenza or other contagious diseases.
Pierce Sanitarium # Opened: 1914 | Closed: c. 1928–1930 | Capacity: 20-25 (PICTURED RIGHT)
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Run by Dr. Jerry (J.G.) Pierce, a specialist in “Nervous and Chronic Diseases.” Catered primarily to middle- and upper-class patients suffering from neurasthenia, mild mental health issues, and recovery from surgery or addiction. Located at at Cedarcrest Farm off Terwilllger.
Hahnemann Hospital Opened: 1914 | Status: name change to Holiday Park Hospital 1923-1924 and shift to general medicine. Hahnemann was a homeopathic hospital which maintained a maintained a psychiatric wing.
- Originally a homeopathic hospital, it maintained significant psychiatric and “emergency” wards for the East Side, often serving as a triage point for police-initiated “mental holds” before the rise of modern crisis centers.
Doctor Grey’s Sanitarium James D. Gray – 1915–1928 Advertised as “the only reliable place for confinements in Portland. Regular licensed physicians and professional trained nurses, perfect seclusion, honest dealings. Infants adopted. The finest equipped sanitarium for the cure of chronic and rebellious diseases in the Northwest. Diseases of women a speciality. Graduate lady physicians in attendance. Terms very reasonable.”
Salvation Army White Shield Home Opened: 1899 | Status: Closed/Relocated (Current building 1917) | Capacity: ~50–75.
- Detention Type: Maternity and “rescue” home. Young women were often sent here by families or the court to hide “scandalous” pregnancies, remaining until they gave birth (and often until the child was adopted out). The Salvation Army “Door of Hope” (Downtown 1897–1920s)
Louise Home for Girls – Opened: 1908 | Status: merged to become Albertina Kerr Nursery Home in 1940 and then rebranded to be Albertina Kerr Centers in 1950. Capacity: ~60.
- Used for the detention of “delinquent” girls and pregnant teens, often involving court commitments.
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd aka The Villa St. Rose aka The Magdalen Laundry aka St. Rose Industrial School aka Rosemont Opened 1902 | Closed 1972 | Capacity 60-100 girls (PICTURED RIGHT)
- A girl/women’s reformatory. While some entered voluntarily, many were court-committed, placed by foster case, or brought by parents for grueling, unpaid domestic labor as a form of penance and to fund the institution – for long durations, often life. The building was heavily fortified with high fences and locked doors. Escape attempts were frequent and often reported in local newspapers. Detention was intended to save the girls from the moral vices of the city. Now converted into assisted living. Furnace gate of the laundry is pictured below,
The Baby Home / Waverly Baby Home (1888–1950)
Christie School aka Christie Home for Orphan Girls) – in Oswego as of 1859
Run by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary at Marylhurst, the Christie School took in orphaned and “disturbed” girls/women, part of the network of institutions that handled delinquent youth.
The Children’s Home – operating as of 1867
The Refuge Home (1889–1900s) – Women’s Christian Temperance Union
The Patton Home for the Friendless – Opened: 1894 | Status: now 69 units of affordable housing owned and operated by Community Development Partners
- Operated by the Ladies’ Union Relief Society of Albina.
St. Agnes Baby Home (1902–1950) worked in tandem with Christie School and Villa St. Rose – located in Oregon City
The Oregon Detention Home – early 1900s Context: Before the state built the large Hillcrest facility in Salem, Portland maintained its own “Detention Home” for girls. It was often a repurposed large Victorian house where “incorrigible” girls were held under lock and key while awaiting a more permanent state placement.
The Martha Washington Hotel (Correctional Era)
- Period: 1920s–1940s.
- Location: SW 10th and Montgomery.
- Role: While famous as a “respectable” residence for working women, it had a strict, reform-minded management that cooperated with the Portland Police “Women’s Protective Division.” Girls picked up for “vagrancy” or “curfew violations” were often sentenced to live there under the supervision of “matrons” rather than being sent to jail.
The Manning Home (The House of the Good Shepherd Precursor)
- Period: 1890s.
- Location: SW 17th and Couch Street.
- Context: Before moving to the massive Villa St. Rose campus in North Portland, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd operated out of this smaller urban site. It was a high-walled “reformatory” where girls were kept in total seclusion, often performing laundry work for the city’s hotels to pay for their stay.
The Ranch – aka Industrial Farm for Boys – operating in 1910 perhaps part of Juvilne Court
Florence Crittenton Refuge Home (1890 – 1932)
St. Agnes Foundling Asylum – operating as of 1902 just north of Oregon City
The Portland Commons Industrial Home – child labor
NOT DETENTION BUT OF INTEREST
Nisbeth Sanitarium – general surgical and maternity North Portland hospital
Moore Sanitarium – now Holman’s Funeral Home on Hawthorne – the “Milk Cure” & Electro-Osteopathy
Northern Permanente Foundation hospital at the Kaiser Vancouver shipyard – may have had isolation and quarantine functions
Forest Grove Sanitarium (1911 – ?) at the Isaac Macrum House (still exists) unlikely used for detention.
Fir Grove Sanatorium (1910–1930) operated by Dr. J.P. Tamiesie and Dr. George W. Tamiesie
The Keeley Institute aka “The Gold Cure” had several operators in Portland. Keeley was a franchise quack cure for alcoholism and addiction. The Gold Cure was four injections per day of trace amounts of strychnine, causing a quick jolt of energy, atropine or hyoscyamine, causing dry mouth, dilated pupils, and blurred vision; physical symptoms to prove the inject had an effect, and apomorphine, an emetic used to induce nausea if mixed with alcohol.
- J. S. McInerny – 1891–1893 Goodnough Building approximately 705 SW 5th Avenue
- Dr. James Barr – 1901 to 1903, 6 N Tillamook Street
- George M Alvord and Dr. C. H. Wheeler – roughly 1903–1915, 1st and SW Montgomery, 314 SW Sixth Street, and other locations (including former Portland Sanitarium)
Portland Commons Mission – later became the Pacific Coast Rescue and Protective Society
Albertina Kerr Nursery – Opened 1911, merged with Louise Home for Girls