Darcelle XV Plaza | |
---|---|
Location | SW Park Ave. and Washington St. Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Coordinates | 45°31′17″N122°40′48″W / 45.521435°N 122.679918°W |
Area | 0.46 acres (0.19 ha) |
Created | 1973 |
Operated by | Portland Parks & Recreation |
Darcelle XV Plaza (formerly O'Bryant Square) [1] is a square that was a small park and fountain at the intersection of Southwest Park Avenue and Southwest Harvey Milk Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It received the current name in July 2023. It was named after Hugh O'Bryant, Portland's first mayor. [2] [3]
The park has also been known as "Paranoid Park", [4] [5] "Paranoia Park", [5] "Needle Park", [6] and "Crack Park". [5] Aaron Mesh, writing for Willamette Week on an article discussing plans for a park space in Northwest District described city's reluctance to commit to a plaza because "junkie haven O'Bryant Square, or "Paranoid Park"—have been a security hassle." [4]
Darcelle XV Plaza was home to Fountain to a Rose , a bronze fountain in the shape of a rose. [7]
In 1971, the property was donated to the city by Mr. and Mrs. William E. Roberts, [8] having once contained a quarter-block building and surface parking. [9] Development of the park and underground parking cost $1.25 million, backed by federal grants and bonds built on the projected parking revenue. [9] The square and fountain were dedicated in 1973, and the park was named O'Bryant Square, for Portland's first Mayor, Hugh D. O'Bryant. [10] The park was popular in both the business and planning communities [9] and in 1976, received a national design award from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. [8]
Laurie Olin was brought on to redesign the park in 2006 when he was designing Director Park. [11] Olin called O'Bryant "a real ugly duckling". [11] In 2007, The Oregonian called it "a relic of 1970s urban design". [12]
In March 2018, the park was closed indefinitely by the City of Portland, citing safety concerns related to structural issues in the underground parking garage. [3] On 12 April 2023, Portland leaders voted to demolish the plaza. [13] On July 13, 2023, the park was renamed Darcelle XV Plaza. [14] It is currently in the process of being redeveloped and is set to open in either 2024 or 2025.
The new park will feature a stage and a dog park, as well as a large shade sail covering the center of the park. [15] It will become the first city park in Portland to be fenced in. [16] As part of the redevelopment, Fountain to a Rose was removed in 2023.
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a 36.59-acre (148,100 m2) park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 1978. The park covers 13 tax lots and is owned by the City of Portland. The park was renamed in 1984 to honor Tom McCall, the Oregon governor who pledged his support for the beautification of the west bank of the Willamette River—harkening back to the City Beautiful plans at the turn of the century which envisioned parks and greenways along the river. The park is bordered by RiverPlace to the south, the Steel Bridge to the north, Naito Parkway to the west, and Willamette River to the east. In October 2012, Waterfront Park was voted one of America's ten greatest public spaces by the American Planning Association.
Wells Fargo Center is a 40-story, 166.4 m (546 ft) tower and a five-story adjacent office building with three levels of parking below the surface in Portland, Oregon. The tower became the tallest building in the state of Oregon when it was completed in 1972.
Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found.
Old Town Chinatown is the official Chinatown of the northwest section of Portland, Oregon. The Willamette River forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District and the Kerns and Buckman neighborhoods. It includes the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been referred to as the "skid row" of Portland.
Linnton is a Portland, Oregon neighborhood located between Forest Park and the Willamette River along U.S. Route 30, close to the agricultural community of Sauvie Island. It borders the neighborhoods of Northwest Industrial on the south, St. Johns and Cathedral Park via the St. Johns Bridge across the Willamette on the east, and Forest Park on the west. The neighborhood extends north somewhat beyond Portland city limits into unincorporated Multnomah County, ending at the Sauvie Island Bridge.
Hugh Donaldson O'Bryant (1813–1883) was the first mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States, serving from 1851–1852. He later served as the President of the Oregon Territory’ Council chamber of the legislature, and was a member of Washington Territory’s legislature.
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Tanner Springs Park is a city park in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District.
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 Park Avenue West Tower. Located in downtown on Southwest Park Avenue, the nearly half-acre urban park lacks any natural areas and contains little vegetation.
Jamison Square is a city park in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District. It was the first park added to the neighborhood.
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".
Keller Fountain Park is a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. Originally named Forecourt Fountain or Auditorium Forecourt, the 0.92-acre (0.37 ha) park opened in 1970 across Third Avenue from what was then Civic Auditorium. In 1978, the park was renamed after Ira C. Keller, head of the Portland Development Commission (PDC) from 1958 to 1972. Civic Auditorium was renamed as Keller Auditorium in 2000, but is named in honor of Ira's son, Richard B. Keller.
Providence Park is a light rail station on the MAX Blue and Red lines located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. It is named after the adjacent stadium, Providence Park. The station primarily serves Providence Park and residential areas around West Burnside Street. The station, consisting of separate eastbound and westbound platforms built into city sidewalks between SW 17th and SW 18th Avenues on SW Yamhill and SW Morrison Streets, opened on August 31, 1997.
The Plaza Blocks, two courthouse squares known as Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square, are located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The blocks, as well as the adjacent Terry Schrunk Plaza, are surrounded by multiple government buildings including City Hall, the Green - Wyatt Federal Building, the Portland Building, the Multnomah County Justice Center, the Hatfield United States Courthouse, and the old Multnomah County Courthouse.
Terry Schrunk Plaza is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States.
Darcelle XV was the stage name of Walter Willard Cole, an American drag queen, entertainer, and cabaret owner and operator in Portland, Oregon. Guinness World Records had certified him as the oldest drag queen performer in 2016, with a career as an entertainer spanning 56 years at the time of his death.
Thompson Elk Fountain, also known as the David P. Thompson Fountain, David P. Thompson Monument, Elk Fountain, the Thompson Elk, or simply Elk, was a historic fountain and bronze sculpture by American artist Roland Hinton Perry. The fountain with its statue was donated to the city of Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1900 for display in Downtown Portland's Plaza Blocks. It was owned by the City of Portland.
Cart Blocks is a food cart pod in Portland, Oregon's Ankeny Square, in the United States. It is operated by Friends of the Green Loop.
Fountain to a Rose was a historic fountain in Portland, Oregon located in Darcelle XV Plaza. It was removed in 2023 as part of the park's redevelopment.
The Parks Bureau is reluctant to commit to a plaza, since the ones downtown—including junkie haven O'Bryant Square, or "Paranoid Park"—have been a security hassle.
it could turn into another O'Bryant Square, another missing Park Block now unofficially known as "Needle Park."