Mill Ends Park

Mill Ends Park is a circular flowerbed with a diameter of roughly 2 feet (60 centimeters), set into the median strip of SW Naito Parkway near the Willamette River. A metal sign from the municipal parks department marks the spot where a single tree and seasonal plantings grow.

Journalist Dick Fagan planted flowers in 1948 in an empty hole originally intended for a light pole and named the spot after his newspaper column. The city officially recognized the plot as a park, and in 1971 Guinness recorded it as the smallest green space in the world.

The site takes its name from a newspaper column written by its founder and is said to house a leprechaun colony belonging to the Irish folk hero Patrick O'Toole. Visitors still leave tiny objects at the edge or photograph the changing decorations that reflect Portland's fondness for quirky civic furniture.

The garden sits at the intersection of SW Naito Parkway and Taylor Street near the waterfront, and you can spot it by the municipal park sign beside the sidewalk. Pedestrians should take care because the location is directly in traffic and offers no separate stopping area.

Municipal gardeners maintain this plot with the same tools they use for all other parks, even though the entire bed is smaller than an average desk. Some passersby leave small coins or miniature figures as offerings for the supposed resident.

Location: Portland

Inception: 1948

Website: https://portland.gov/parks/mill-ends-park

GPS coordinates: 45.51611,-122.67333

Latest update: December 12, 2025 17:54