Oregon Public Broadcasting

A project to honor the women of the nation will be opened at Portland State University Wednesday. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

The Walk of the Heroines is a garden and pathway telling the stories of hundreds of women and what they did to improve society.

Holly Locke helped raise about $3 million to get it built.

Holly Locke: “There’s only one building on the PSU campus named after a woman, and that’s of course the childcare center. Even Neuberger Hall is named after Richard, who was a U.S. Senator, but Maureen was also a U.S. Senator, we have a garden and a bench named in her honor.”

Across Portland, Locke says, there are about 300 city parks. Five of which are named after women.

The ‘Walk of the Heroines’ has a fountain and benches. There’s also a computer where you can look up the histories of the hundreds of women honored.

The project is not finished, however. Supporters are trying to raise another $1 million to build a stage and add more honorees.