Mill Ends started in 1948, when Oregon Journal journalist Dick Fagan noticed a forgotten hole outside his office on Front Street. He planted flowers and began to write a weekly column about goings-on there.
When Fagan died in 1969, Portland took up the tradition and dedicated Mill Ends as an official city park in 1976. Sometimes it has a swimming pool for butterflies, with diving board, a miniature Ferris wheel, and statues. It hosts snail races, weddings, and regular rose plantings.