Tom McCall - Legacy

Legacy

In 1968 Governor McCall created the Harbor Drive Task Force to come up with proposals to replace the riverfront freeway with a public space. A 37-acre (150,000 m²) park was built in 1974, running along the Willamette River for the length of downtown Portland. McCall was honored after his death when the park was renamed Tom McCall Waterfront Park in 1984.

In 1969, McCall played a major role in the founding of SOLV, an environmental non-profit organization whose goal is to "build community through volunteer action to preserve this treasure called Oregon."

The Tom McCall Forum, which pairs prominent speakers with opposing political viewpoints, is presented annually by Pacific University.

The Nature Conservancy named a nature preserve in Wasco County, Oregon after McCall.

Oregon schools that have been named for him include: Tom McCall East Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove and Tom McCall Elementary School in Redmond.

In 1998 McCall was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at University of Oregon's School of Journalism.

On October 10, 2006, the Salem Statesman Journal announced plans by a "committee of citizens" to fund and place a life-size bronze statue of the late governor in Salem's Riverfront Park.