South Park Blocks
Encyclopedia
The South Park Blocks form a city park in downtown
Portland
, Oregon
. The Oregonian
has called it Portland's "extended family room", as Pioneer Courthouse Square
is known as Portland's "living room".
Twelve blocks in length, it is intersected by the Portland Streetcar
and forms the Portland Cultural District and the greenspace
at the center of Portland State University
. The New York Times
stated the blocks are "literally at the heart of the city's cultural life." Every block contains public art, such as the 1926 Joseph Shemanski Fountain, "Rebecca at the Well", designed by Carl L. Linde, with drinking wells, including special drinking wells for dogs. Other art includes Paul Sutinen's "The Shadow of the Elm" (built into the pavement), and three large blocks of granite titled "Peace Chant". Two large statues are in the block: a $40,000, 18 feet (5.5 m) bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt
on a horse, designed by Alexander Phimister Proctor
, commissioned by Roosevelt's personal friend and Portlander Henry Waldo Coe
and added in 1922, and one of Abraham Lincoln
, "facing north, slump-shouldered and pensive", added in 1928, commissioned by Coe in 1926, sculpted by George Fife Waters. The park also contains approximately 337 elm, oak, and maple trees valued at $3.4 million, as well as roses. A plaque from the Lang Syne Society was placed in the South Park Blocks at Jefferson Street in 1991, commemorating the Great Plank Road
.
ted in 1845, then Daniel H. Lownsdale
purchased land south and west of the original platting. He drew up a plat in 1848 that included 11 narrow blocks, 100x200 feet, instead of the standard 200x200 feet. He then brought on Stephen Coffin and William W. Chapman
as partners, and dedicated the South Park Blocks and midtown park blocks in 1852. This made them the first official greenspace in Portland. While they were dedicated to the city, they weren't owned by the city until September 22, 1870, when Mayor Bernard Goldsmith and Chapman agreed on selling the South Park Blocks and the two Plaza Blocks
(Chapman and Lownsdale Squares) to the city for $6,250. Most of the purchase price was for the Plaza Blocks, since the park blocks were at the edge of the developed city.
Ownership of the continuous park blocks was not without dispute, however. After Lownsdale died without a will, and then his wife Nancy died, his estate challenged that his plat didn't require the central section to be dedicated to public use since Nancy had not signed over legal title to the land. The courts agreed in 1865. Benjamin Stark
reneged on the donation of two north central park blocks to the city, instead offering to sell them for $138,000. Captain John H. Couch
deeded his section, which became the North Park Blocks
to the city on January 25, 1865, only ten days after receiving the federal patent for the land. Six of the South Park Blocks were lost to private parties in the 1870s, and elected city officials were unwilling to spend the asking price of $6,000 per block to purchase them so soon after the city had bought the land for Washington Park. Only a year later, a proposal to acquire the six blocks for $92,000 was brought by the city council, showing the increase in prices in that year.
A 1907 tax bond issue was brought to the voters. It would have been a $2 million bond, likely including money to buy back the blocks. The measure failed, and some time later, the street name changed from "West Park" to Southwest 9th". Two missing blocks have been recaptured since then: O'Bryant Square was purchased in 1973, and Director Park
opened in 2009.
mansions.
By the 1920s, the central park blocks were home to the 12-story Stevens Building
and the 12-story Woodlark Building, as well as six or more hotels. Edward H. Bennett
proposed making the Park Blocks continuous in 1912, part of his "Greater Portland Plan". Otherwise, the next spark was the conversion of one central park block into O'Bryant Square in 1972. The next block to be reclaimed was Director Park
, dedicated as a park in 2009, inspired by a 1995 plan to turn the block into a 12-story parking lot.
In 1933, the area surrounding Skidmore Fountain
was "tawdry" and nearly neglected, and there was an effort to move the fountain to the South Park Blocks. This did not happen.
After a 1990 Dutch elm disease
outbreak in Portland, including one diseased tree at Park and Market in the South Park Blocks, the elm trees have been immunized with Tiabendazole. Portland's first outbreak of Dutch elm disease occurred in 1976 at Overlook Park, and the peak infections were in 2003.
began with a parade of cars from the South Park Blocks, on the newly completed Historic Columbia River Highway.
The Portland Rose Festival
began and was centered in the South Park Blocks in 1936, but were outgrowing the blocks by the 1950s. Residents sued to prohibit the Rose Festival from using the parks and lost. By 2007, the festival centered around Tom McCall Waterfront Park
.
The first Earth Day
, on April 22, 1970, was celebrated with a fair on the blocks. In 1975, the Portland Town Council held Portland's first gay pride
fair along the park. It was moved to Tom McCall Waterfront Park
the following year. The Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
, known as STP, concluded in the South Park Blocks from 1979 to 1998, then moved to Cathedral Park. In 1997–1999, Tony n' Tina's Wedding
, an interactive theatre, took place using the park as the stage; the wedding was held at the First Unitarian Church and later at the Oregon History Center, and the reception was held at the Portland Art Museum
, being a "little street theater" on the park blocks.
After the September 11 attacks, the Park Blocks filled with a candlelight vigil and a memorial concert by the Oregon Symphony
, which was free in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
and was also broadcast into the blocks.
The South Park Blocks, especially near Portland State University, have been home to protests and marches. A workers' rights protest on May 1, 2000, organized by the May Day Coalition, gathered 300–400 people. Police chief Mark Kroeker said 19 people, some "dressed like anarchists and (carrying) gas masks" were arrested, and Portland Police used bean bag rounds
, with fears of repeating the 1999 WTO riots in Seattle unless sufficient force was shown early. The police declared emergency at 3:45 p.m. after a lit newspaper box was thrown at officers, then the police corralled the marchers into a smaller space with mounted officers and ordered them to disperse. A protest march against the police action was held on May 4, 2000, stating that the show of force
was excessive and contrary to the city's community policing ethos. 23 complaints of excessive police force led to a large citywide hearing on June 28, 2000. The 2009 May Day rally, supporting immigration reform, attracted 1500 people.
In 2006, approximately 1,200 protesters, primarily Latino high-school age students joined by Jobs with Justice
, took part in the 2006 United States immigration reform protests
. In 2007, 15,000 protesters of all ages began a rally and march as part of the March 17, 2007 anti-war protest
, including local activists affiliated with the radical Students for a Democratic Society
. After a fringe group broke off from the protest and burned a US soldier in effigy
, Michelle Malkin
stated that "Portland hates America." The Drudge Report
, Lars Larson
, and conservative blogs also commented on the effigy, and protest organizers with the American Friends Service Committee
stated "We had a massive, peaceful demonstration against the killing and destruction going on every day in Iraq, a positive experience for thousands of people from different walks of life, and apparently the right-wing fringe is going to pick up that little portion."
Other events have included Artquake, an art festival that attracted 200,000 people on Labor Day weekends in the Park Blocks from 1982 until at least 2003 and based on an art show that began in July 1949, a 1983 protest against U.S. nuclear missiles placed in Europe (3,000 protesters), an Oregon Public Employees Union strike in 1987, a rally with presidential candidate Michael Dukakis
in 1988, Shakespeare in the Park
s in 1989, a 1990 rally to pay tribute to Mulugeta Seraw
, killed in Portland by white power skinheads in 1988, which had 1,500 people with 150 police officers defending against skinheads, and the Homowo
Festival of African Arts held from 1990 to at least 2004. Lara Flynn Boyle
filmed scenes from The Temp
in the South Park Blocks in 1992, and The Hunted was filmed partially in the South Park Blocks in 2003, including a crash scene by Benicio del Toro
.
In celebration of Harley-Davidson
's 100th anniversary in 2003, an event called Rose City Thunder was held in the South Park blocks, to send riders off for the "Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Ride Home". Two appeals seeking a venue change were held prior to the event, but the City Council rejected them, with City Commissioner Jim Francesconi stating "We don't discriminate against groups, period. That's the rules and that's what we abide by." Featuring live music, beer gardens, and thousands of people, it led to questions about why the residential Park Blocks were used, rather than a venue such as Tom McCall Waterfront Park
. An editorial in The Oregonian stated the celebration was "more potbelly than pot smoking", but held the loud exhausts, public address systems, and rows of portable toilets weren't appreciated in a neighborhood setting. Organizers estimated 15,000 visitors, plus 2,000 motorcycles attended.
In 2006, because of the implosion
of the cooling tower
at Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
, a group got together in the South Park Blocks and brought down a 25-foot model tower to celebrate the implosion.
More events included a pro-choice
march, rally, and workshops in 1989 with 2700 to 7500 attendees, a Tiananmen Square
anniversary memorial ceremony in 1990, the "Earth Fair" (celebrating Earth Day
, held in at least 1990 and 1991; 1990 saw 15,000–20,000 visitors in the rain), a 1991 Fourth of July parade to honor returnees from Operation Desert Storm (called the Defenders of Liberty Welcome Home Parade), the Potluck in the Park homeless meal (held from 1991 until 1996, when it was moved to O'Bryant Square), a 1,000-strong rally for Rodney King
on May 2, 1992, the Oregon Trailfest, a 1993 celebration of the Oregon Trail
(including an authentic encampment with teepees and wagons), Portland's first Critical Mass
, held on September 24, 1993 with 100 cyclists in the South Park Blocks, the Portland Arts Festival (part of the Portland Rose Festival
) held in 1998 through at least 2006, a gun control rally in 2000, the 2,000 people (which included the Million Mom March
) for the Amala Peace Walk in 2000, welcoming the Dalai Lama
, an AIDS Walk
in September 2000, the "PDX AIDS Day Promise Vigil" at the Shemanski Fountain to mark World AIDS Day
in 2006, a campaign rally and speech by Al Gore
in October 2000, the Twilight Criterium
from 2002 to 2006 (attracting 10,000 spectators, moved in 2007 to the North Park Blocks
due to construction), a protest by about 150 people against the use of deadly force by Portland Police in a racially-motivated traffic stop, a march of grandmothers and mothers on Mother's Day
2004 titled "Mothers Acting Up", a reading of Pablo Neruda
's poetry on the 100th anniversary of his birth (July 2004), a protest with 150 people to "mourn for the loss of our country" in November 2004 when John Kerry
lost the 2004 presidential election
, a celebration of the Oregon State Quarter's launch in 2005, a parade titled "Procession for the Future" for "climate stabilization and ecological well-being", "worker dignity", "think outside the (water) bottle", "just security and global justice", as well as costumed George W. Bush
, Dick Cheney
, and Condoleezza Rice
"dressed as jailbirds" held on March 4, 2008.
Many protests and marches have been held in response to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. There were several anti-war rallies in 2001 through 2003, including 20,000 at a January 18, 2003 rally, and 20,000–45,000 for the March 15, 2003 rally. Groups broke off from the protest to block roads and the Morrison Bridge
; these splinter groups were broken up by the police. John Lewis spoke at the rally.
Approximately 15,000 people protested the fourth anniversary of the war (March 2007). For the fifth anniversary, the Iraq Body Count Exhibit placed red and white flags in the South Park Blocks, signifying who had died between the Americans and Iraqis. There was a large fifth-anniversary protest and parade against the Iraq war ("thousands of protesters", March 2008), and a high school student protest against the war was held in March 2008, with 400 protesters.
Other events have been held, including the Park Block Revels (held from 1972 to at least 1992), the Oregon Historical Society's Holiday Cheer and Authors Party, the Portland Poetry Festival (held from 1972 to at least 1992), Shakespeare-in-the-Park by the Portland Actors Ensemble, the Meier & Frank
Holiday Parade (held from 1988 on), the Downtown Community Association's Ice Cream Social (held from 1990 to at least 1992), Carifest, a party by the Caribbean Cultural Association, held from 1996 until at least 2003, and PeaceQuake, "an event focused on refugee experiences and
alternatives to war", held by Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility in at least September 2002 and 2003. In 2008, a local resident was known for wheeling her piano down an elevator and 1.5 blocks to the Park Blocks, setting it up and playing "Chopin under the trees." The Bicycle Transportation Alliance
to support Bike to Work Month
in May 2009.
. Strikers barricaded streets surrounding the university and Park Blocks, causing them to become car-free, as they are now. Due in part to the Kent State Shootings on May 4, and 134 faculty members who had formally joined the strike, Portland State University was forced to close from May 6 to May 11. By May 6, the protesters formed an underground newspaper, called the Wallposter, and had four demands: "U.S. out of S.E. Asia now; troops, cops off campus; free Bobby Seale
; detoxify nerve gas." Posters with a logo were printed in the PSU Smith Center cafeteria, but protesters were evicted from the area by May 7 after a "wild, all-night party". On May 11, police officers charged protesters and forcibly removed a symbolic hospital tent (a geodesic dome
) placed on the blocks. 28 protesters were injured and taken to area hospitals, and four police officers were injured. Lawsuits following the protest led to Portland Police agreeing to never use force against non-violent protesters in the future.
The area was the focus of a Portland Development Commission
urban renewal based on a 1982 master plan, becoming an urban renewal district in 1985, and expiring in July 2008. The park blocks underwent serious renovations in 1987, adding plazas, large flower beds, lighting and irrigation, and newly paved sidewalks. Several apartment complexes specifically aimed at the middle class were built, including the University Park Apartments (125 units, $10.5 million, quickly sold and converted to condos), South Park Square Apartments (184 units, $16 million, completed May 1988), and Tom Mesher's Gallery Park Apartments (31 units, $3 million). In 1987, the New Theater Building of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts
was completed immediately next door to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
. The South Park Blocks Association, a commercial and institutional association, was started at that time, to attract residents and consumers to the area and to address security concerns.
and O'Bryant Square. A child molester known as "Krusty the Troll" who preyed on homeless teens in the South Park Blocks, was charged with 79 counts of sex crimes in 1996. There was a major police sweep of the Park Blocks in 1996 for ordinances such as sitting on the Abraham Lincoln statue, marijuana possession, littering, and loud radios.
Downtown crime was down 30% from 1996 to 2003, and down 7% from 2004 to 2005. Due to crime, Mayor Tom Potter
declared a 9 p.m. curfew
in 2005, stating walking is allowed, but "no one will be allowed to loiter, harass visitors or use the park as their personal camp." The Oregonian stated the curfew was due to a "verbally aggressive" in the area, after the group was displaced from the Burnside Bridge
by the Big Pipe Project. The curfew was still in effect in February 2006, when it was spread to other downtown parks, citing the reduction in drug dealing that was occurring in the South Park Blocks.
In 2006, students from the Art Institute of Portland
used stencils to advertise a concert for the Oregon Food Bank. The students believed they were using spray chalk, but after completion, they learned they were actually using spray paint. The students were told that even temporary markings count as graffiti, and the students offered to remove the paint and apologize to businesses affected. Criminal charges were not filed.
A portion of the park typically hosts the summer commencement
ceremony for Portland State University students. In 2008, 550 students participated in the ceremony, and it was held rain or shine. PSU also hosts an annual Party in the Park every fall after the school year begins.
The Saturday South Park Blocks location has been very popular, and has been credited with helping "make the city a national food destination". Beginning in March 2009, dogs were banned from the market, due to "some unfortunate incidents with dogs — tripping people, urinating on food, snatching muffins out of kids' hands". Other satellite locations still allow pets. The Saturday location was doubled in size for the 2010 season.
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...
. 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...
has called it Portland's "extended family room", as Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer 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...
is known as Portland's "living room".
Twelve blocks in length, it is intersected by 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...
and forms the Portland Cultural District and the greenspace
Open space reserve
Open space reserve, open space preserve, and open space reservation, are planning and conservation ethics terms used to describe areas of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside...
at the center of Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
stated the blocks are "literally at the heart of the city's cultural life." Every block contains public art, such as the 1926 Joseph Shemanski Fountain, "Rebecca at the Well", designed by Carl L. Linde, with drinking wells, including special drinking wells for dogs. Other art includes Paul Sutinen's "The Shadow of the Elm" (built into the pavement), and three large blocks of granite titled "Peace Chant". Two large statues are in the block: a $40,000, 18 feet (5.5 m) bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
on a horse, designed by Alexander Phimister Proctor
Alexander Phimister Proctor
Alexander Phimister Proctor was an American sculptor with the contemporary reputation as one of the nation's foremost animaliers.-Birth and early years:...
, commissioned by Roosevelt's personal friend and Portlander Henry Waldo Coe
Henry Waldo Coe
Henry Waldo Coe was a United States frontier physician and politician.Coe was born in Waupun, Wisconsin, to Dr. Samuel Buel Coe and his wife Mary Jane...
and added in 1922, and one of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, "facing north, slump-shouldered and pensive", added in 1928, commissioned by Coe in 1926, sculpted by George Fife Waters. The park also contains approximately 337 elm, oak, and maple trees valued at $3.4 million, as well as roses. A plaque from the Lang Syne Society was placed in the South Park Blocks at Jefferson Street in 1991, commemorating the Great Plank Road
Canyon Road
Canyon Road is a road connecting Beaverton and Portland, Oregon, United States. It was the first road between the Tualatin Valley and Portland and contributed significantly to Portland becoming the area's major deep water port, and subsequent early growth of the city.The total modern length is...
.
Continuous Park Blocks
Portland was platPlat
A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....
ted in 1845, then Daniel H. Lownsdale
Daniel H. Lownsdale
Daniel Lownsdale was one of the founders of Portland, Oregon, United States.Coming from Kentucky sometime before 1845, Lownsdale established the first tannery near the current location of Jeld-Wen Field just west of downtown. He served as a member of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon in 1846...
purchased land south and west of the original platting. He drew up a plat in 1848 that included 11 narrow blocks, 100x200 feet, instead of the standard 200x200 feet. He then brought on Stephen Coffin and William W. Chapman
William W. Chapman
William Williams Chapman was an American politician and lawyer in Oregon and Iowa. He was born and raised in Virginia. He served as a United States Attorney in Iowa when it was part of the Michigan and Wisconsin territories, and then represented the Iowa Territory in the United States House of...
as partners, and dedicated the South Park Blocks and midtown park blocks in 1852. This made them the first official greenspace in Portland. While they were dedicated to the city, they weren't owned by the city until September 22, 1870, when Mayor Bernard Goldsmith and Chapman agreed on selling the South Park Blocks and the two Plaza Blocks
Plaza Blocks
The Plaza Blocks, two courthouse squares known as Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square, are located in downtown Portland, Oregon. The blocks neighbor Terry Schrunk Plaza and are located near City Hall. The north square is named after Daniel H. Lownsdale , a native Kentuckian who settled in Portland...
(Chapman and Lownsdale Squares) to the city for $6,250. Most of the purchase price was for the Plaza Blocks, since the park blocks were at the edge of the developed city.
Ownership of the continuous park blocks was not without dispute, however. After Lownsdale died without a will, and then his wife Nancy died, his estate challenged that his plat didn't require the central section to be dedicated to public use since Nancy had not signed over legal title to the land. The courts agreed in 1865. Benjamin Stark
Benjamin Stark
Benjamin Stark was an American merchant and politician in Oregon. A native of Louisiana, he purchased some of the original tracts of land for the city of Portland. He later served in the Oregon House of Representatives before appointment to the United States Senate in 1860 after the death of...
reneged on the donation of two north central park blocks to the city, instead offering to sell them for $138,000. Captain John H. Couch
John H. Couch
John Heard Couch was an American sea captain and pioneer in the Oregon Country in the 19th century. Often referred to as Captain Couch, he became famous for his singular skill at navigation of the mouth of the Columbia River. He is one of the early residents and founders of Portland,...
deeded his section, which became the North Park Blocks
North Park Blocks
The North Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon.Captain John H. Couch deeded the five blocks to the city in 1865, probably officially platted and dedicated to the city in 1869. An ordinance was passed in 1904, setting aside one park block for women and children. In 1906, another...
to the city on January 25, 1865, only ten days after receiving the federal patent for the land. Six of the South Park Blocks were lost to private parties in the 1870s, and elected city officials were unwilling to spend the asking price of $6,000 per block to purchase them so soon after the city had bought the land for Washington Park. Only a year later, a proposal to acquire the six blocks for $92,000 was brought by the city council, showing the increase in prices in that year.
A 1907 tax bond issue was brought to the voters. It would have been a $2 million bond, likely including money to buy back the blocks. The measure failed, and some time later, the street name changed from "West Park" to Southwest 9th". Two missing blocks have been recaptured since then: O'Bryant Square was purchased in 1973, and Director Park
Director Park
Director Park is a city park in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 2009 at a cost of $9.5 million, it covers a 700-space underground parking garage, which connects underground to the Fox Tower and the incomplete Park Avenue West Tower...
opened in 2009.
Residential park blocks
By the late 1870s, the Park Blocks near the current location of Portland State University were fronted by formal ItalianateItalianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
mansions.
By the 1920s, the central park blocks were home to the 12-story Stevens Building
Stevens Building (Portland, Oregon)
The Stevens Building is a building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was designed by Whidden and Lewis. The design is similar to the Failing Office Building and Wilcox Building , also by Whidden and Lewis....
and the 12-story Woodlark Building, as well as six or more hotels. Edward H. Bennett
Edward H. Bennett
Edward Herbert Bennett was an architect and city planner best known for his co-authorship of the 1909 Plan of Chicago.-Biography:Bennett was born in Bristol, England in 1874, and later moved to San Francisco with his family...
proposed making the Park Blocks continuous in 1912, part of his "Greater Portland Plan". Otherwise, the next spark was the conversion of one central park block into O'Bryant Square in 1972. The next block to be reclaimed was Director Park
Director Park
Director Park is a city park in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 2009 at a cost of $9.5 million, it covers a 700-space underground parking garage, which connects underground to the Fox Tower and the incomplete Park Avenue West Tower...
, dedicated as a park in 2009, inspired by a 1995 plan to turn the block into a 12-story parking lot.
In 1933, the area surrounding Skidmore Fountain
Skidmore Fountain
The Skidmore Fountain is a historic fountain in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was dedicated September 22, 1888, in memory of Stephen G. Skidmore and partly financed by his will. It was designed by sculptor Olin Levi Warner for $18,000, all of which was donated...
was "tawdry" and nearly neglected, and there was an effort to move the fountain to the South Park Blocks. This did not happen.
After a 1990 Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
outbreak in Portland, including one diseased tree at Park and Market in the South Park Blocks, the elm trees have been immunized with Tiabendazole. Portland's first outbreak of Dutch elm disease occurred in 1976 at Overlook Park, and the peak infections were in 2003.
Events
On May 5, 1918, the dedication of the Vista House at Crown PointCrown Point (Oregon)
Crown Point is the name of a promontory on the Columbia River Gorge and an associated state park in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in eastern Multnomah County, approximately 15 miles east of Portland. Crown Point is one of the scenic lookouts along the Historic Columbia River Highway,...
began with a parade of cars from the South Park Blocks, on the newly completed Historic Columbia River Highway.
The Portland Rose Festival
Portland Rose Festival
The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region...
began and was centered in the South Park Blocks in 1936, but were outgrowing the blocks by the 1950s. Residents sued to prohibit the Rose Festival from using the parks and lost. By 2007, the festival centered around Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is , comprising 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland....
.
The first Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
, on April 22, 1970, was celebrated with a fair on the blocks. In 1975, the Portland Town Council held Portland's first gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
fair along the park. It was moved to Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is , comprising 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland....
the following year. The Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
The Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, or STP, is an annual one- and two-day supported bicycle ride from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon in the United States. The STP "is considered one of the 10 biggest recreational bicycle rides in the country, drawing riders from across the nation and...
, known as STP, concluded in the South Park Blocks from 1979 to 1998, then moved to Cathedral Park. In 1997–1999, Tony n' Tina's Wedding
Tony n' Tina's Wedding
-Film adaptation:The play was "freely" adapted for film by writer-director Roger Paradiso— "filmed primarily from the point of view of a lisping videographer"—with Joey McIntyre and Mila Kunis playing the title characters...
, an interactive theatre, took place using the park as the stage; the wedding was held at the First Unitarian Church and later at the Oregon History Center, and the reception was held at the Portland Art Museum
Portland Art Museum
The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it the oldest art museum on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the United States. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum became one of the twenty-five largest art museums in...
, being a "little street theater" on the park blocks.
After the September 11 attacks, the Park Blocks filled with a candlelight vigil and a memorial concert by the Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
, which was free in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , opened as the Portland Publix Theater before becoming the Paramount after 1930, is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States...
and was also broadcast into the blocks.
The South Park Blocks, especially near Portland State University, have been home to protests and marches. A workers' rights protest on May 1, 2000, organized by the May Day Coalition, gathered 300–400 people. Police chief Mark Kroeker said 19 people, some "dressed like anarchists and (carrying) gas masks" were arrested, and Portland Police used bean bag rounds
Flexible baton round
A bean bag round, also known by its trademarked name flexible baton round, is a baton round fired as a shotgun shell used for less lethal apprehension of suspects.-Description:...
, with fears of repeating the 1999 WTO riots in Seattle unless sufficient force was shown early. The police declared emergency at 3:45 p.m. after a lit newspaper box was thrown at officers, then the police corralled the marchers into a smaller space with mounted officers and ordered them to disperse. A protest march against the police action was held on May 4, 2000, stating that the show of force
Show of force
Show of force is a military term for an operation intended to warn or intimidate an opponent and to showcase one's own capability or will to act if provoked...
was excessive and contrary to the city's community policing ethos. 23 complaints of excessive police force led to a large citywide hearing on June 28, 2000. The 2009 May Day rally, supporting immigration reform, attracted 1500 people.
In 2006, approximately 1,200 protesters, primarily Latino high-school age students joined by Jobs with Justice
Jobs with Justice
Jobs with Justice is a national campaign for workers' rights in the United States. It was founded in 1987, and includes both individual members and affiliated organizations....
, took part in the 2006 United States immigration reform protests
2006 United States immigration reform protests
In 2006, millions of people participated in protests over a proposed change to U.S. immigration policy. The protests began in response to proposed legislation known as H.R. 4437, which would raise penalties for Illegal immigration and classify illegal immigrants and anyone who helped them enter or...
. In 2007, 15,000 protesters of all ages began a rally and march as part of the March 17, 2007 anti-war protest
March 17, 2007 anti-war protest
The March 17, 2007 anti-war protest was an anti-war demonstration sponsored by ANSWER Coalition that marched from Constitution Gardens in Washington, D.C. to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The date was selected to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and also the 40th...
, including local activists affiliated with the radical Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (2006 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society is a United States student organization representing left wing beliefs. It takes its name and inspiration from the original SDS of 1960-1969, then the largest radical student organization in US history...
. After a fringe group broke off from the protest and burned a US soldier in effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
, Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
stated that "Portland hates America." The Drudge Report
Drudge Report
The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website. Run by Matt Drudge with the help of Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt, the site consists mainly of links to stories from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many...
, Lars Larson
Lars Larson
Lars Larson is a conservative U.S. talk radio show host based in Oregon. Larson hosts a national talk radio show, which as of 2009 is syndicated by Compass Media Networks...
, and conservative blogs also commented on the effigy, and protest organizers with the American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
stated "We had a massive, peaceful demonstration against the killing and destruction going on every day in Iraq, a positive experience for thousands of people from different walks of life, and apparently the right-wing fringe is going to pick up that little portion."
Other events have included Artquake, an art festival that attracted 200,000 people on Labor Day weekends in the Park Blocks from 1982 until at least 2003 and based on an art show that began in July 1949, a 1983 protest against U.S. nuclear missiles placed in Europe (3,000 protesters), an Oregon Public Employees Union strike in 1987, a rally with presidential candidate Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
in 1988, Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare's works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
s in 1989, a 1990 rally to pay tribute to Mulugeta Seraw
Mulugeta Seraw
Mulugeta Seraw was an Ethiopian student and father who went to the United States to attend college. Seraw was killed in November 1988, at age 28, in Portland, Oregon by three racist skinheads...
, killed in Portland by white power skinheads in 1988, which had 1,500 people with 150 police officers defending against skinheads, and the Homowo
Homowo
Homowo is a festival celebrated by Ga people of Ghana. The festival starts in the month of May with the planting of crops before the rainy season starts. During the festival, they perform a dance called Kpanlogo...
Festival of African Arts held from 1990 to at least 2004. Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
filmed scenes from The Temp
The Temp (film)
The Temp is a 1993 thriller film about a cookie company executive whose temp starts killing his employers. The film stars Timothy Hutton, Lara Flynn Boyle and Faye Dunaway...
in the South Park Blocks in 1992, and The Hunted was filmed partially in the South Park Blocks in 2003, including a crash scene by Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
.
In celebration of Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
's 100th anniversary in 2003, an event called Rose City Thunder was held in the South Park blocks, to send riders off for the "Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Ride Home". Two appeals seeking a venue change were held prior to the event, but the City Council rejected them, with City Commissioner Jim Francesconi stating "We don't discriminate against groups, period. That's the rules and that's what we abide by." Featuring live music, beer gardens, and thousands of people, it led to questions about why the residential Park Blocks were used, rather than a venue such as Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is , comprising 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland....
. An editorial in The Oregonian stated the celebration was "more potbelly than pot smoking", but held the loud exhausts, public address systems, and rows of portable toilets weren't appreciated in a neighborhood setting. Organizers estimated 15,000 visitors, plus 2,000 motorcycles attended.
In 2006, because of the implosion
Building implosion
In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings...
of the cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
at Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant located southeast of Rainier, Oregon, United States, and the only commercial nuclear power plant to be built in Oregon. After sixteen years of service it was closed by its operator, Portland General Electric , almost...
, a group got together in the South Park Blocks and brought down a 25-foot model tower to celebrate the implosion.
More events included a pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
march, rally, and workshops in 1989 with 2700 to 7500 attendees, a Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
anniversary memorial ceremony in 1990, the "Earth Fair" (celebrating Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
, held in at least 1990 and 1991; 1990 saw 15,000–20,000 visitors in the rain), a 1991 Fourth of July parade to honor returnees from Operation Desert Storm (called the Defenders of Liberty Welcome Home Parade), the Potluck in the Park homeless meal (held from 1991 until 1996, when it was moved to O'Bryant Square), a 1,000-strong rally for Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
on May 2, 1992, the Oregon Trailfest, a 1993 celebration of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
(including an authentic encampment with teepees and wagons), Portland's first Critical Mass
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
, held on September 24, 1993 with 100 cyclists in the South Park Blocks, the Portland Arts Festival (part of the Portland Rose Festival
Portland Rose Festival
The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region...
) held in 1998 through at least 2006, a gun control rally in 2000, the 2,000 people (which included the Million Mom March
Million Mom March
The Million Mom March was a rally on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14, 2000, designed to promote tighter restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of kids and criminals. Supporters claimed that 750,000 people gathered on the National Mall...
) for the Amala Peace Walk in 2000, welcoming the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, an AIDS Walk
AIDS Walk
AIDS Walk is a walkathon fundraiser that raises money to combat the AIDS epidemic. The funds raised from AIDS Walks usually benefit a local AIDS service organization , which provide services and advocacy for local community residents who are infected with HIV...
in September 2000, the "PDX AIDS Day Promise Vigil" at the Shemanski Fountain to mark World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
in 2006, a campaign rally and speech by Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
in October 2000, the Twilight Criterium
Criterium
A criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short course , often run on closed-off city center streets....
from 2002 to 2006 (attracting 10,000 spectators, moved in 2007 to the North Park Blocks
North Park Blocks
The North Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon.Captain John H. Couch deeded the five blocks to the city in 1865, probably officially platted and dedicated to the city in 1869. An ordinance was passed in 1904, setting aside one park block for women and children. In 1906, another...
due to construction), a protest by about 150 people against the use of deadly force by Portland Police in a racially-motivated traffic stop, a march of grandmothers and mothers on Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
2004 titled "Mothers Acting Up", a reading of Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
's poetry on the 100th anniversary of his birth (July 2004), a protest with 150 people to "mourn for the loss of our country" in November 2004 when John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
lost the 2004 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, a celebration of the Oregon State Quarter's launch in 2005, a parade titled "Procession for the Future" for "climate stabilization and ecological well-being", "worker dignity", "think outside the (water) bottle", "just security and global justice", as well as costumed George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, and Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
"dressed as jailbirds" held on March 4, 2008.
Many protests and marches have been held in response to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. There were several anti-war rallies in 2001 through 2003, including 20,000 at a January 18, 2003 rally, and 20,000–45,000 for the March 15, 2003 rally. Groups broke off from the protest to block roads and the Morrison Bridge
Morrison Bridge
The Morrison Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.The original Morrison Bridge was a wooden truss swing span bridge completed on April 12, 1887 as the first Willamette River bridge in Portland and the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River...
; these splinter groups were broken up by the police. John Lewis spoke at the rally.
Approximately 15,000 people protested the fourth anniversary of the war (March 2007). For the fifth anniversary, the Iraq Body Count Exhibit placed red and white flags in the South Park Blocks, signifying who had died between the Americans and Iraqis. There was a large fifth-anniversary protest and parade against the Iraq war ("thousands of protesters", March 2008), and a high school student protest against the war was held in March 2008, with 400 protesters.
Other events have been held, including the Park Block Revels (held from 1972 to at least 1992), the Oregon Historical Society's Holiday Cheer and Authors Party, the Portland Poetry Festival (held from 1972 to at least 1992), Shakespeare-in-the-Park by the Portland Actors Ensemble, the Meier & Frank
Meier & Frank
Meier & Frank was a chain of department stores founded in Portland, Oregon, and later bought out by the May Department Stores Company. Meier & Frank operated in the Pacific Northwest from 1857 to 2006.-History:Summary...
Holiday Parade (held from 1988 on), the Downtown Community Association's Ice Cream Social (held from 1990 to at least 1992), Carifest, a party by the Caribbean Cultural Association, held from 1996 until at least 2003, and PeaceQuake, "an event focused on refugee experiences and
alternatives to war", held by Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility in at least September 2002 and 2003. In 2008, a local resident was known for wheeling her piano down an elevator and 1.5 blocks to the Park Blocks, setting it up and playing "Chopin under the trees." The Bicycle Transportation Alliance
Bicycle Transportation Alliance
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a 501 non-profit bicycle advocacy organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The BTA promotes bicycling and the improvement of bicycling conditions in Oregon and southwest Washington through advocacy, programs and events. The BTA has a membership...
to support Bike to Work Month
Bike-to-Work Day
Bike-to-Work Day is an annual event held on various days in the Spring across the United States and Canada that promotes the bicycle as an option for commuting to work...
in May 2009.
Portland State strike and riot
In May 1970, there was a Vietnam War protest held in the park blocks, held in response to the invasion of Cambodia and the Kent State ShootingsKent State shootings
The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre—occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970...
. Strikers barricaded streets surrounding the university and Park Blocks, causing them to become car-free, as they are now. Due in part to the Kent State Shootings on May 4, and 134 faculty members who had formally joined the strike, Portland State University was forced to close from May 6 to May 11. By May 6, the protesters formed an underground newspaper, called the Wallposter, and had four demands: "U.S. out of S.E. Asia now; troops, cops off campus; free Bobby Seale
Bobby Seale
Robert George "Bobby" Seale , is an activist. He is known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with Huey Newton.-Early life:...
; detoxify nerve gas." Posters with a logo were printed in the PSU Smith Center cafeteria, but protesters were evicted from the area by May 7 after a "wild, all-night party". On May 11, police officers charged protesters and forcibly removed a symbolic hospital tent (a geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
) placed on the blocks. 28 protesters were injured and taken to area hospitals, and four police officers were injured. Lawsuits following the protest led to Portland Police agreeing to never use force against non-violent protesters in the future.
Pedestrian access and renewal
The southern end of the South Park Blocks were closed to cars in 1973, removing traffic from the blocks and the center of the university.The area was the focus of a Portland Development Commission
Portland Development Commission
The Portland Development Commission is the urban renewal agency created by the city of Portland, Oregon. It promotes development, housing projects and economic development within the city's eleven urban renewal districts....
urban renewal based on a 1982 master plan, becoming an urban renewal district in 1985, and expiring in July 2008. The park blocks underwent serious renovations in 1987, adding plazas, large flower beds, lighting and irrigation, and newly paved sidewalks. Several apartment complexes specifically aimed at the middle class were built, including the University Park Apartments (125 units, $10.5 million, quickly sold and converted to condos), South Park Square Apartments (184 units, $16 million, completed May 1988), and Tom Mesher's Gallery Park Apartments (31 units, $3 million). In 1987, the New Theater Building of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts
Portland Center for the Performing Arts
The Portland Center for the Performing Arts is an organization within Metro that runs venues for live theatre, concerts, cinema, small conferences, and similar events in Portland, Oregon, United States....
was completed immediately next door to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , opened as the Portland Publix Theater before becoming the Paramount after 1930, is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States...
. The South Park Blocks Association, a commercial and institutional association, was started at that time, to attract residents and consumers to the area and to address security concerns.
Crime
A report in 1990 said the blocks were being "held hostage" by the homeless, mainly "aggressive panhandlers, stumbling drunks, violent drug users and the unpredictable mentally ill." Reports in the mid-1990s said "Downtown Portland had become a drug supermarket", with "marijuana and LSD .. being dealt openly in the South Park Blocks," and that the South Park Blocks, especially near the Lincoln statue, were home to "The Park People", who littered, used drugs, and damaged property. Youth reported they had moved to the South Park Blocks because they had been kicked out 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...
and O'Bryant Square. A child molester known as "Krusty the Troll" who preyed on homeless teens in the South Park Blocks, was charged with 79 counts of sex crimes in 1996. There was a major police sweep of the Park Blocks in 1996 for ordinances such as sitting on the Abraham Lincoln statue, marijuana possession, littering, and loud radios.
Downtown crime was down 30% from 1996 to 2003, and down 7% from 2004 to 2005. Due to crime, Mayor Tom Potter
Tom Potter
Tom Potter is the former Mayor of the city of Portland, Oregon in the United States. He was elected in 2004, and left office in January 2009. He was succeeded by City Commissioner Sam Adams. Prior to Potter's service as mayor, he was Portland's police chief....
declared a 9 p.m. curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
in 2005, stating walking is allowed, but "no one will be allowed to loiter, harass visitors or use the park as their personal camp." The Oregonian stated the curfew was due to a "verbally aggressive" in the area, after the group was displaced from the Burnside Bridge
Burnside Bridge
The Burnside Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.-Design:Including approaches, the Burnside has a total length of and a center span. While lowered this span is normally above the river. The deck is made of concrete, which contributes to its being one of...
by the Big Pipe Project. The curfew was still in effect in February 2006, when it was spread to other downtown parks, citing the reduction in drug dealing that was occurring in the South Park Blocks.
In 2006, students from the Art Institute of Portland
Art Institute of Portland
The Art Institute of Portland is a college in Portland, Oregon, United States that grants bachelor and associate degrees in advertising, apparel accessory design, apparel design, design management, design studies, digital film and video, game art and design, graphic design, industrial design,...
used stencils to advertise a concert for the Oregon Food Bank. The students believed they were using spray chalk, but after completion, they learned they were actually using spray paint. The students were told that even temporary markings count as graffiti, and the students offered to remove the paint and apologize to businesses affected. Criminal charges were not filed.
Notable places
- Portland State UniversityPortland State UniversityPortland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
- Peter Stott Center
- Branford Price Millar LibraryBranford Price Millar LibraryThe Branford Price Millar Library is the library of Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, United States. Built in 1968, the academic library was doubled in size in 1991 and houses over 1 million volumes...
- Lincoln HallLincoln Hall (Portland, Oregon)Lincoln Hall is a building containing a theatre and classrooms at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. It was originally home to Lincoln High School.-History:...
- Ladd Carriage HouseLadd Carriage HouseThe Ladd Carriage House is a building in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is one of the few surviving pieces of the former grand estates which once existed in the downtown core. It was on the National Register of Historic Places from 1980 until 2008. It was restored to the listing in 2010.The building...
- Ladd TowerLadd TowerLadd Tower is a 23-story residential building in Portland, Oregon completed in early 2009. The construction of Ladd Tower caused the Ladd Carriage House to be moved from its foundation, returning in October 2008. Holland Residential manages the building, which also has commercial space on the...
- Oregon Historical SocietyOregon Historical SocietyThe Oregon Historical Society is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserves, and makes available materials of historical character...
- Portland Art MuseumPortland Art MuseumThe Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it the oldest art museum on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the United States. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum became one of the twenty-five largest art museums in...
- Arlene Schnitzer Concert HallArlene Schnitzer Concert HallThe Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , opened as the Portland Publix Theater before becoming the Paramount after 1930, is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States...
- Arlington ClubArlington ClubThe Arlington Club is a private social club organized in 1867 by 35 business and banking leaders of Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. First called the Social Club and later re-named the Arlington Club, it offered its all-male members, most of whom were relatively wealthy and powerful, an...
Current events
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
ceremony for Portland State University students. In 2008, 550 students participated in the ceremony, and it was held rain or shine. PSU also hosts an annual Party in the Park every fall after the school year begins.
Portland Farmers Market
The primary Portland Farmers Market location, held in the South Park Blocks every Saturday from March to December attracts up to 14,000 people per weekend to the local food booths. It was originally held at Broadway and Naito beginning in 1992, but moved to the Park Blocks in 1998. A smaller market is held at the north end of the blocks on Wednesdays, and was held in Pioneer Courthouse Square until 1998.The Saturday South Park Blocks location has been very popular, and has been credited with helping "make the city a national food destination". Beginning in March 2009, dogs were banned from the market, due to "some unfortunate incidents with dogs — tripping people, urinating on food, snatching muffins out of kids' hands". Other satellite locations still allow pets. The Saturday location was doubled in size for the 2010 season.