PORTLAND PLACES: Pioneer Courthouse Square by Robert D. West

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Pioneer Courthouse Square is a full city block in downtown Portland that is a public space that is referred to as "Portland's Living Room." This interesting space has a number of fascinating amenities and a colorful history. This page includes links to historical photographs from the Oregon State Library Photograph Collection, the Oregon Historical Society and HistoricPhotoArchive.net.

Elijah Hill purchased the block that is now Pioneer Courthouse Square in 1849 for $24 and a pair of boots. The block became the site of Portland's first public school building erected by public taxation, which opened on May 17, 1858. L. L. Terwilliger was Principal, Mrs. Mary J. Hensill was in charge of the Primary Grades and Owen Connelly was in charge of the higher section. 280 students were enrolled. As Portland's central school building, it was enlarged in 1873. It was used until July 3, 1885. The site was marked by the Columbia Society of Children of the American Revolution in 1926, and by the Lang Syne Society of Portland on September 14, 1965.

One block to the east, in 1875 the Pioneer Courthouse was completed to house the U.S. Federal Court and also served as a post office. Now the oldest standing public building in Portland, it is still occupied by the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals. It was dedicated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. It is open for public tours Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Historical Photo:

Pioneer Courthouse, 1877 (Oregon Historical Society)

Installed in 1986 on the sidewalks along the Morrison Street and Yamhill Street sides of the Pioneer Courthouse is Animals in Pools by Georgia Gerber, a series of fountain pools with bronze sculptures of bears, deer, ducks, sea lions and beavers: all animals native to Oregon.

The block on which Portland's first public school building sat was sold to railroad magnate Henry Villard in 1883. After the school was moved in 1885, Villard began building a hotel to serve rail travelers, but his finances ran out when only the foundation was finished. For the

Portland Hotel (1890-1951)

Oregon Historical Society Photo

next four years, the site was referred to as Villard's ruins. Eventually, a public subscription raised funds to complete the hotel. In 1890, the six-story, 284-room Portland Hotel opened. Over the next 60 years, eleven U. S. Presidents stayed at the hotel, but time took its toll, and the hotel closed in 1950 and was demolished the following year, replaced by a parking lot.

Historical Photos:

Postcard View of Portland Hotel (Multnomah County Genweb)

Streetcar on Morrison St. in 1948, with the Portland Hotel in the background (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Morrison St. with the Pioneer Courthouse and Portland Hotel on July 22, 1948 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

This gate and fencing along Sixth Avenue are all that remain of the old Portland Hotel. The installation is dedicated in honor of Melvin Mark.

For 30 years the parking lot occupied an entire city block in the heart of downtown Portland, until public discussions led to the decision to transform the site into a public park. Named after the historic Pioneer Courthouse that looked over it, Pioneer Courthouse Square was opened to the public on the weekend of April 6-8, 1984, coinciding with the birthday of the City of Portland and the Portland Hotel.

Historical Photos:

Demolished Meier & Frank parking lot, February 1981 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Pioneer Courthouse Square under construction, August 15, 1983 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

The Pioneer Courthouse Square Design Team included Design Architect Willard K. Martin, F.A.I.A., Project Architects Marcus C. Bevins and Cameron G. Hyde, Artist Robert Reynolds, Landscape Architect Douglas Macy, A.S.L.A., Historian Terence O'Donnell, Sculptor Lee Kelly and Writer Spencer Gill. A plaque describes the team's design philosophy:

"From travels through the world and human history we found remarkable examples of open examples of open spaces that are still alive, distinctive, legible symbols of free and equal citizens taking active part in political and social life.

Reorganizing the present vital forces shaping our own city, we searched for a symbol, appropriate for now and the future. We visualized that symbol as a special 'living room'; walls defined by the changing elements of the city, the roof formed by the sky, complete in its design only when occupied by its urban family.

Through our combined hopes, dreams, and skills, we hope that we have here designed a public square which will attract both use and affection, and thus become a vital place in the hearts of the people."

Historical Photos:

Pioneer Courthouse Square in the snow, December 1986 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Pioneer Courthouse Square's dominant feature is the Waterfall Fountain, designed by Will Martin and constructed in 1983. The fountain was sponsored by The Galleria and Morgan Park, Inc. In the center of the fountain is the entrance to a Visitor Information Center. At the top is a Keystone Lectern, sponsored by Pacific-Six Twenty by Mrs. Harold A. Miller, and flagpoles displaying the flags of the United States, Oregon and Portland, contributed respectively by Hayden Island, Inc., the Oregon Community Foundation and Dillingham Ship Repair in honor of their employees. The fountain was rededicated in 1997 in honor of Mary and Pete Mark for their inspiration, leadership and support.

This bronze statue of a man offering his umbrella is called "Allow Me" by J. Seward Johnson. It was given by Harry H. Schwartz of New York City as a gift to the City of Portland in 1983.

This Broadway Entrance Feature at the corner of Broadway and Yamhill Street was contributed by Norris, Beggs & Simpson.

This series of columns lines the Yamhill Street side of Pioneer Courthouse Square.

The Broadway side of Pioneer Courthouse Square is lined with these Wine Sycamore Maple Trees contributed by Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Mark, Jr.

The "Echo Chamber" amphitheater honors two pioneers who worked on or near this block: Garrison J. Gray, a carpenter from 1851, and George Neuner, a U. S. Attorney from 1925 to 1933. Included in the amphitheater are bronze tiles depicting Portland's past, handmade by Gail Martin.

This milepost sign on the east side of Pioneer Courthouse Square gives the distance to local attractions, Portland's sister cities and other locations around the world.

Northwest	North	Northeast
Suzhou: 5,815 miles Khabarovsk: 4,446 miles Sapporo: 4,456 miles	Lillehammer: 4,614 miles Mt. St. Helens: 72 miles Crozet Basin: 12,419 miles	Portland, ME: 2,540 miles Red Square, Moscow: 5,361 miles Col. Riv. Gorge: 8 miles Tipperary: A Long Way
West		East
Pacific Ocean: 82 miles Zoo/Elephants: 1.7 miles Washington Park/Rose Garden: 1.2 miles Tri-Met Info: 54 yards Mutare: 10,115 miles		Mecca: 7,691 miles Times Square: 2,443 miles Ashkelon: 6,930 miles Waterfront: 7 blocks Walden Pond: 2,530 miles Hermiston: 186 miles
Southwest	South	Southeast
Kaohsiung: 6,295 miles Ulsan: 5,282 miles Grt. Wall of China: 5,510 miles Alice Springs, Aus./Kangaroos: 8,003 miles	Corinto: 3,063 miles Crater Lk.: 245 miles Remote, OR: 182 miles Guadalajara: 2,035 miles Crozet Basin: 12,419 miles	Timbuktu: 6,726 miles Casablanca: 5,643 miles Mt. Hood: 70 miles Portlandia: 5 blocks Independence: 1,497 miles

The Weather Machine shows the temperature and air quality and forecasts the weather for the next 24 hours. It was designed by Richard Ponzi, Ray Grimm, Jere Grimm and Roger Sheppard and dedicated on August 24, 1988. Major contributors included Mary & Pete Mark, E. Kimbark MacColl, Alyce R. Cheatham, Meier & Frank, AT&T Foundation, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Standard Insurance Company and Alexandra MacColl. The symbol at the top gives the forecast: the sun goddess Helia for clear, sunny weather, the silver blue heron, Portland's city bird, for misty, cloudy and drizzly weather, or the copper dragon for storms with heavy wind and rain. A daily fanfare at noon shows all three symbols before showing the new forecast. The temperature is shown by lights on the edge of the column and lights at the top show air quality: green for good, amber for moderate and flashing red for poor.

Three bronze chessboards, designed by Soderstrom Architects, were added to the Morrison Street side of Pioneer Courthouse Square in June 2003.

Since 1986, Pioneer Courthouse Square has been on TriMet's MAX light rail system. It is currently served by the Blue, Red and Yellow Lines. The Banfield Light Rail Transitway Project was awarded Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement in the Pacific Northwest in 1986 by the Pacific Northwest Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Here are some photographs of MAX Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) around Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Type 1 LRV #108

Type 1 LRV #125

Type 2 LRV #246

Type 2 LRV #249

Type 2 LRV #251

Type 3 LRV #308

Part of the Pioneer Courthouse Square Design Team's philosophy was that Pioneer Courthouse Square would be the city's "living room," with "walls defined by the changing elements of the city." Since the buildings surrounding the square are essentially the walls of this "living room," they can almost be considered part of the square.

The Beaux Arts-style Jackson Tower at 806 SW Broadway was designed by Reid & Reid Architects and built in 1912 as the Oregon Journal Building. The 12-story building is 160 feet tall and the clock faces are 12.5 feet in diameter. The Oregon Journal newspaper occupied the building until July 4, 1948, when it moved to a larger building on the waterfront, where Tom McCall Waterfront Park is today. It is now named in honor of the newspaper's founder Charles Samuel Jackson. It was renovated in 1972 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1996.

Historical Photos:

Jackson Tower Clock (Oregon State Library)

Night View showing Jackson Tower in the snow, December 1986 (HistoricPhotoArchive.net)

Fox Tower was designed by Thompson Vaivoda and Associates and was completed in 2000. the 27 story building is 372 feet tall. It was built on the site of the Fox Theater, originally built in 1911 as the Heilig Theater and demolished in April 1997. Fox Tower is named after the former theater and appropriately enough includes a 10-screen theater itself.

The 11-story Pioneer Park Building is 154 feet tall and was completed in 1913. The Pioneer Park Building was placed on National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 1996.

The 15-story American Bank Building was designed by Doyle, Patterson & Beach and was completed in 1913. At 207 feet tall, it was the tallest building in Portland until 1927. The American Bank Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Meier & Frank was established in 1857. Meier and Frank Square, originally built in 1909, replaced the original Meier & Frank Building designed by Whidden & Lewis and built in 1897-1898. This was the first major commission of architect A. E. Doyle of Doyle & Patterson. The building was expanded in 1915 and again in 1932. It is 209 feet tall with 15 stories. Clark Gable worked at Meier & Frank before becoming famous, and this was the first building in Portland to have escalators. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1982, and was renovated into a Macy's store in 2006-2007.

The 10-story Pacific Building was designed by A. E. Doyle and Associates and was completed in 1926. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1992.

The 11-story Executive Building was completed in 1957.