Jamison Square
Encyclopedia
Jamison Square is a city park in the area of downtown
Portland
, Oregon
, known as the Pearl District
. It was the first park added to the neighborhood.
.
The park was designed by Peter Walker
, Homer Williams and Partners Landscape Architecture. The park was initially designed as an outdoor art gallery, with square rocks and steps at the center, but no water. Water, running at random times over the rock, was added to keep skateboarding teenagers from using them. The water on the rocks ended up turning the park into an urban beach
, attracting children and families who use it as a wading pool, with the intermittent nature making it a "manmade tidal pool", also called "the community pond" by locals. A wooden boardwalk
, made of ipê
, connects Jamison Park to Tanner Springs Park
, two blocks away, and is intended to eventually connect to the Willamette River
.
The square includes 30-foot modern totems, created by Kenny Scharf
and Paige Powell in 2001, named Tikitotmoniki. The Oregonian
lampooned the art in late 2002, saying "the Pearl Arts Foundation commissioned '80s art star Kenny Scharf to put up goofy Tiki Totems" in the park. The Pearl District kept a cancer survivors' memorial from being placed in the park. The park also features orange steel sculptures by Alexander Liberman
.
The park, considered a pocket park
, opened in May 2002, based on a 1999–2000 master plan for parks in the Pearl District, all connected by a water theme. It was named for William Jamison, an art gallery owner who was a proponent of the Pearl District and died of AIDS
in 1995. The Portland Streetcar
passes on both sides of the park.
, Pedalpalooza, and Portland Bastille Day
festival, complete with the French-inspired Portland Waiters Race. The Portland Bastille Day festival attracted 5500 visitors in 2007. A form of boules
, Pétanque
, plays in a court at the park. The park has also been home to portions of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
's Time-Based Art Festival
, beginning in 2003 with a performance by Eiko & Koma
, and Anna Halprin
's "Blank Placard Happening" in 2008. Fenouil, a well-regarded local French brasserie
, has a special "picnic in the park" menu and will deliver lunch to the park.
. The Oregonian called it "Portland's biggest kid magnet". Architect Laurie Ohlin remarked "I was astonished over the social conflicts there. They seem savage and uncivil, the poor behavior between the two groups: parents with kids and people with dogs. It seems like a health hazard. I find it puzzling in its sociology, not in its design." It's been observed that it's a "water park for kids" that is "nestled among the Pearl's poshest pads and toniest boutiques". The park has also been criticized for being a "missed opportunity to produce something visionary". Joe Fitzgibbon of The Oregonian calls Jamison Square "just another symbol of the Pearl District's transformation from industrial neighborhood to sleek, 21st-century community."
The popularity of the park with children has led to requests and plans for a public restroom as early as spring 2009, but encountered resistance from residents concerned about the noise and crime it might bring due to being open 24 hours a day.
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, known as the Pearl District
Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significant urban renewal since the late 1990s, including the...
. It was the first park added to the neighborhood.
Design
At a cost of $3.6 million, the park was designed and built during the 12-year tenure of Mayor Vera KatzVera Katz
Vera Katz is a Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 45th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. Growing up in New York City, she moved to Portland in 1962 and was elected to the Oregon...
.
The park was designed by Peter Walker
Peter Walker (architect)
Peter Walker is a landscape architect in the United States.-Biography and Influences:Peter Walker grew up in California and attended the University of California, Berkeley. Walker initially started out in Journalism but quickly changed his field...
, Homer Williams and Partners Landscape Architecture. The park was initially designed as an outdoor art gallery, with square rocks and steps at the center, but no water. Water, running at random times over the rock, was added to keep skateboarding teenagers from using them. The water on the rocks ended up turning the park into an urban beach
Urban beach
An urban beach, or urbeach,is defined as a space that includes an intellectually, artistically, or culturally sophisticated water feature that is also an aquatic play area, and is located within a culturally or artistically significant area of a city...
, attracting children and families who use it as a wading pool, with the intermittent nature making it a "manmade tidal pool", also called "the community pond" by locals. A wooden boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
, made of ipê
IPE
Ipe or IPE can refer to:* Ipê, trees in the genus Tabebuia and their wood* Ipe , an extensible drawing editor* Individual Plant Examination in nuclear power plant probabilistic risk assessment* Institute of Public Enterprise in India...
, connects Jamison Park to Tanner Springs Park
Tanner Springs Park
Tanner Springs Park is a city park in the area of downtown Portland, Oregon known as the Pearl District.-History:Part of a 1999 Pearl District plan, the park was originally named North Park Square, but was renamed in April 2005....
, two blocks away, and is intended to eventually connect to the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
.
The square includes 30-foot modern totems, created by Kenny Scharf
Kenny Scharf
Kenny Scharf is an American painter who lives in Brooklyn, New York. The artist received his B.F.A in 1980 at the School of Visual Arts located in New York City. Scharf's works consist of popular culture based shows with made up science-related backgrounds...
and Paige Powell in 2001, named Tikitotmoniki. The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
lampooned the art in late 2002, saying "the Pearl Arts Foundation commissioned '80s art star Kenny Scharf to put up goofy Tiki Totems" in the park. The Pearl District kept a cancer survivors' memorial from being placed in the park. The park also features orange steel sculptures by Alexander Liberman
Alexander Liberman
Alexander Semeonovitch Liberman was a Russian-American magazine editor, publisher, painter, photographer, and sculptor. He held senior artistic positions during his 32 years at Condé Nast Publications.-Biography:When his father took a post advising the Soviet government, the family moved to Moscow...
.
The park, considered a pocket park
Pocket park
A pocket park, parkette or mini-park is a small park accessible to the general public. In some areas they are called miniparks or vest-pocket parks....
, opened in May 2002, based on a 1999–2000 master plan for parks in the Pearl District, all connected by a water theme. It was named for William Jamison, an art gallery owner who was a proponent of the Pearl District and died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in 1995. The Portland Streetcar
Portland Streetcar
The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. It is currently a single line that is almost long and serves some 12,000 daily riders, but a second line is expected to open in 2012.As with the heavier-duty MAX...
passes on both sides of the park.
Recreation
Many events are held at the park, including the Kids Marching Band, Kids in the Pearl Block Party, Movies in the Pearl, weekly Splashdance "movement-based storytelling" by BodyVoxBodyvox
BodyVox is a dance company based in Portland, Oregon, United States, and was formed in 1997 on commission from the Portland Opera. The company blends contemporary dance with dance theater, and often makes use of other performance art form such as live music. In addition to their performances, the...
, Pedalpalooza, and Portland Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
festival, complete with the French-inspired Portland Waiters Race. The Portland Bastille Day festival attracted 5500 visitors in 2007. A form of boules
Boules
Boules is a collective name for games played with metal balls.Two of the most played boule games are pétanque and boule lyonnaise. The aim of the game is to get large, heavy balls as close to the 'jack' as you can. It is very popular especially in France, but also Italy, where it may often be seen...
, Pétanque
Pétanque
Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...
, plays in a court at the park. The park has also been home to portions of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art in Portland, Oregon, United States was founded in 1996 by Kristy Edmunds, formerly the Director of the Portland Art Museum's "Art on the Edge" program...
's Time-Based Art Festival
Time-Based Art Festival
The Time-Based Art Festival is an annual interdisciplinary art and performance festival presented by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art . It occurs over a ten-day period in September in Portland, Oregon in the United States...
, beginning in 2003 with a performance by Eiko & Koma
Eiko & Koma
Eiko Otake and Takashi Koma Otake, generally known as Eiko & Koma, are a Japanese performance duo. Since 1972, Eiko & Koma have worked as co-artistic directors, choreographers, and performers, creating a unique theater of movement out of stillness, shape, light, sound, and time...
, and Anna Halprin
Anna Halprin
Anna Halprin helped pioneer the experimental art form known as postmodern dance and referred to herself as the breaker of modern dance. Halprin, along with her contemporaries such as Trisha Brown, Simone Forti, Yvonne Rainer, John Cage, and Robert Morris, collaborated and built a community based...
's "Blank Placard Happening" in 2008. Fenouil, a well-regarded local French brasserie
Brasserie
In France and the Francophone world, a brasserie is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed, upscale setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word 'brasserie' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing business"...
, has a special "picnic in the park" menu and will deliver lunch to the park.
Reception
The park has been very popular with locals, and has been considered a modern success in the vein of Pioneer Courthouse SquarePioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square, affectionately known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full 40,000 ft² city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States...
. The Oregonian called it "Portland's biggest kid magnet". Architect Laurie Ohlin remarked "I was astonished over the social conflicts there. They seem savage and uncivil, the poor behavior between the two groups: parents with kids and people with dogs. It seems like a health hazard. I find it puzzling in its sociology, not in its design." It's been observed that it's a "water park for kids" that is "nestled among the Pearl's poshest pads and toniest boutiques". The park has also been criticized for being a "missed opportunity to produce something visionary". Joe Fitzgibbon of The Oregonian calls Jamison Square "just another symbol of the Pearl District's transformation from industrial neighborhood to sleek, 21st-century community."
The popularity of the park with children has led to requests and plans for a public restroom as early as spring 2009, but encountered resistance from residents concerned about the noise and crime it might bring due to being open 24 hours a day.