A Portland coalition, including former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts and business owners, is hoping to rename 13 blocks of Southwest Stark Street after slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 and then assassinated in 1978. He was one of the first openly gay men to serve in office in the United States.

Portland has previously renamed streets to honor civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King, Jr, Boulevard was named in 1990; Naito Parkway in 1996; Rosa Parks Way in 2007 and César E. Chávez Boulevard in 2009.

"I am proud to add my enthusiastic support to this proposal to recognize Harvey Milk here in Portland," Roberts said in a release sent out by the group. "He was a role model of courage and honesty for our country."

The coalition said in their release that "over three quarters of the commercial entities on Southwest Stark Street" are on board with the plan, "as well as dozens of community groups, LGBTQ community organizations, and other members of the downtown business community."

While Milk didn't have a connection to Portland, Southwest Stark Street was once the epicenter of Portland's gay culture. The area was called "The Pink Triangle" and featured establishments that served the city's gay community.

Now, the only business that remains from that original collection -- which included places like Silverado, The Brig and Boxxes -- is Scandals. In the last decade, the neighborhood has morphed into a stretch of expensive eateries and fancy boutiques.

Still, said the group, they want to honor the neighborhood's past. "As the LGBTQ community has grown in Portland to areas well beyond SW Stark Street," the release reads, "so too has Southwest Stark become emblematic of the diversity and community values demonstrated by current local business owners."

Stacy Brewster, with the office of Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman said Tuesday that he is working with the group to help navigate the process around street renaming. The coalition said their formal application is "being submitted to the Portland Bureau of Transportation to begin the renaming process."

Stark Street is currently named after Benjamin Stark, one of the men who founded Portland, who later became a pro-slavery Oregon politician.

Grant Butler contributed to this report.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker