The Wishing Tree (NE 7th and Morris)

On a residential corner at NE 7th Avenue and Morris Street, a horse chestnut has been quietly collecting the wishes of strangers since the spring of 2013. Nicole Helprin and her two children tied a few handwritten wishes to its branches before leaving on vacation, and they came home to find that neighbors had picked up where they left off. A wooden clipboard, blank shipping tags, and markers sit at the base, restocked by the family in the house behind the tree, so anyone passing can write a wish and tie it to a branch.

The wishes range from a pony to world peace, from new love to more time to play. Atlas Obscura calls it the original of Portland's wish trees, and the 2017 book Wise Trees included it among the world's notable trees. Tying a wish to a tree is one of the oldest folk practices on record, from prayer trees and holy well rags across Europe and Asia to Yoko Ono's Wish Trees. Portland's version simply lives on an ordinary sidewalk, kept by nobody except the neighborhood.

Visiting

The tree stands on the street at 2954 NE 7th Avenue, Portland, Oregon. Visit any time. Add a wish gently, tie without breaking twigs, and leave everyone else's wishes hanging.