Downtown Portland

Encyclopedia : D : DO : DOW : Downtown Portland

Portland, Oregon's skyline is centered mainly in the southwest district of the city. The skyline is usually viewed to the west, with the west hills in the background and the Willamette River in the foreground.

Portland is unique, in that in its founding, city blocks in downtown were made an even 61x61 meters (200x200 feet). This was to encourage easy walking and make more corner lots, which are more valuable. In addition, Portland's buildings are restricted in height.

The downtown area is usually considered to extend west from the Williamette River to Interstate 405, and south from W. Burnside St. to just south of the PSU campus (also bounded by I-405). Some might consider the South Waterfront area (currently in development) as a potential extension of downtown. (See adjacent districts, below).

Portland's skyline.

Contents

1 Success vs. Central City Decay
2 Bridges
3 Transportation
4 Buildings
5 Attractions
6 Adjacent districts
7 External links
8 Sources

Success vs. Central City Decay

Downtown Portland largely escaped the central city flight (or "urban hollowing") that befell many U.S. cities in the 1970s through a program of aggressive city planning and transportation reform as part of the rather groundbreaking 1972 Downtown Plan (unlike most major downtown revitalization projects throughout the country at this time which normally called for wide-spread demolition and reconstruction). In the early 1970s, Portland's central city was beginning to decay, with the creation of suburban shopping malls in the neighboring cities of Beaverton and Gresham drawing away money and people from downtown. However, the creation of a downtown transit mall (1976) (see Transportation, below), a new waterfront park (1978) later named after Governor Tom McCall, the creation of the Pioneer Courthouse Square (1984), the contruction of the Portland-Gresham light rail line in 1986 and the 1990 opening of Pioneer Place Mall successfully drew or retained businesses and lured customers. The downtown, which had been a virtual ghost town after 6pm, is now becoming more and more a vibrant all-hours shopping, dining, and business venue.

This apparent success due to Portland's policies has not been without criticisms. Some charge that the transit mall and increased pedestrian traffic has attracted transient and homeless persons from around the city, and aggressive panhandling has increased, despite periodic police crackdowns. Others argue that a proposed expansion of the transit mall is an unneeded expense, and that parking and traffic problems in the downtown area are an indication of the failure of Portland's transit policies to address growth-related problems.

Despite detractors, the majority of Portlanders believe in the success of its urban policies and many take pride in the accomplishments of the city and its regional planning in creating a very livable urban environment.

Bridges

Portland is sometimes known as the bridge city, due to the number of bridges that cross its two rivers. There are 8 bridges entering the downtown area. The bridges are (south to north):

Ross Island Bridge, which connects Powell Blvd and Mount Hood to the new south waterfront district high rises
Marquam Bridge, a two deck bridge carrying Interstate 5 across the Willamette River
Hawthorne Bridge, a Multnomah County owned bridge, highlighted in the movie The Hunted
Morrison Bridge, leading directly into central business district from the east side of the river
Burnside Bridge, connecting the east side to the northern part of downtown
Steel Bridge, the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world, and carrying MAX light rail into downtown
Broadway Bridge, connecting the Lloyd business district to the downtown one
Fremont Bridge, carrying I-405 through the Pearl District high rises and downtown Portland

Transportation

Most streets in downtown Portland are one-way and some of them are major ones. Naito Parkway (two-way) is the furthest east, while most of the high rises end by I-405 to the west. Interstate 5 runs on the opposite bank of the river, crossing over on the Marquam Bridge. US Highway 26 connects Portland to the coast and mountains.

The city's downtown is also served by a number of alternate transportation options. Because of its shorter blocks, walking is often preferred by the locals. TriMet, the local mass transit agency, operates MAX light rail east/west on Yamhill and Morrison street, and north/south on 1st Ave. An extensive transit mall (known as Portland Mall) on 5th and 6th Avenues is closed to cars in many areas and is where over 50 bus lines connect to one another and Portland's suburbs. Plans are currently in place to renovate 5th and 6th Avenues, and the transit mall, to accommodate light rail.

Additionally, the City of Portland also operates the Portland Streetcar system from Riverplace to the north into the Pearl District. The system is approximately 8 km (5 miles) long, and an extension to North Waterfront, a new urban district south of downtown, is under construction. Overall, as part of Fareless Square, all local transit rides are free.

An aerial tram is also under construction to connect the south waterfront high rises to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

Buildings

Portland has several high rise buildings. The 5 tallest are:

Wells Fargo Center: rises to 166 meters (544 feet) and was constructed in 1972
US Bancorp Tower, or "Big Pink": rises to 163 meters (534 feet) and was constructed in 1983
KOIN Center: rises to 155 meters (508 feet) and was constructed in 1984
PacWest Center: rises to 127 meters (416 feet) and was constructed in 1984
Fox Tower: rises to 113 meters (370 feet) and was constructed in 2000

*Please see sources

While not located in the downtown area, another notable building is the Oregon Convention Center, the largest Convention Center in the Pacific Northwest, which draws many people across the river to downtown.

Attractions

Adjacent districts

Old Town - immediately north, bordering the river
Chinatown - north, also adjacent/overlapping Old Town
Pearl District - north, adjacent to Chinatown
"Brewery Blocks" -- north, adjacent/overlapping Pearl District
"Goose Hollow" -- residential, west of PSU, north of US-26
"Southwest Hills" -- residential, west of PSU, south of US-26
"Pill Hill"/OHSU -- south, including OHSU and the Veteran's Hospital
RiverPlace
South Waterfront

External links

Sources

[Emporis Building Database]

Portland, Oregon neighborhoods

Alameda · Arbor Lodge · Ardenwald-Johnson Creek · Argay · Arlington Heights · Arnold Creek · Ashcreek · Beaumont-Wilshire · Boise · Brentwood-Darlington · Bridgeton · Bridlemile · Brooklyn · Buckman · Cathedral Park · Centennial · Center · Collins View · Concordia · Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill · Creston-Kenilworth · Crestwood · Cully · Downtown · East Columbia · Eastmoreland · Eliot · Far Southwest · Forest Park · Foster-Powell · Glenfair · Goose Hollow · Grant Park · Hawthorne · Hayden Island · Hayhurst · Hazelwood · Healy Heights · Hillsdale · Hillside · Hollywood · Homestead · Hosford-Abernethy · Humboldt · Irvington · Kenton · Kerns · King · Ladd's Addition · Laurelhurst · Lents · Linnton · Lloyd District · Madison South · Maplewood · Marshall Park · Mill Park · Montavilla · Mt. Scott-Arleta · Mt. Tabor · Multnomah · Northwest District · Northwest Heights · Northwest Industrial · Old Town-Chinatown · Overlook · Parkrose · Parkrose Heights · Pearl District · Piedmont · Pleasant Valley · Portsmouth · Powellhurst-Gilbert · Reed · Richmond · Rose City Park · Roseway · Russell · Sabin · St. Johns · Sellwood · South Burlingame · South Tabor · Southwest Hills · Sullivan's Gulch · Sumner · Sunderland · Sunnyside · Sylvan-Highlands · University Park · Vernon · Wilkes · West Portland Park · Woodland Park · Woodlawn · Woodstock

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