Audrey McCall Beach | |
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![]() View of the beach from the Hawthorne Bridge, July 2020 | |
Coordinates: 45°30′44″N122°40′05″W / 45.5122911°N 122.6680385°W | |
Location | Portland, Oregon |
Offshore water bodies | Willamette River |
Audrey McCall Beach (also known as Eastbank Crescent Beach, or the Eastbank Crescent and Dock) [1] is an urban beach along the east bank of the Willamette River, near the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon, United States. [2]
Named after Audrey McCall, the opening was spearheaded by the Human Access Project (HAP). [3] [4] [5] [6] HAP removed 19 tons of concrete from what would become Audrey McCall Beach during 2013–2019 with assistance of volunteers and inmate work crews. [7] [8]
In 2015, HAP successfully lobbied City Council to create an improved public beach on the east side of the river, ostensibly Audrey McCall Beach. [9] [10]
On October 8, 2017, Tad McCall (son of former Oregon Governor Tom McCall and Audrey McCall) expressed support of development of a beach park to honor his mother. [11] [12] In 2018, HAP partnered with Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to produce Sunday Splashways in conjunction with PBOT's Sunday Parkways program. [13]
The beach opened as the city's second official public beach on July 5, 2019. [7] [14] [15] [16] HAP spearheaded the effort, acquiring necessary permits for the swimming area and funding a lifeguard program at the beach for the opening year. Lifeguards were stationed at the beach during select hours on Fridays through Sundays between July 5 and September 1, 2019. [17] [18] [19] In 2019 HAP partnered with non profit Ground Score to fund the hiring of homeless individuals to keep the beach clean in the summer. [20]
July 25, 2022, Portland Parks & Recreation in partnership with HAP named Audrey McCall Beach one of six recommended safer swimming areas on the Willamette River. [21]