Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a 150,000-square-foot park in downtown Portland, Oregon, on the Willamette River. elimination of Harbor Drive in 1974, a main milestone in the freeway deduction movement, the park was opened for the public in 1978. The park comprises 13 taxable lots and is owned by the City of Portland (Parks and Recreation Portland). The park was renamed in 1984 to admiration Tom McCall, the governor of Oregon, who pledged his sustain for beautifying the west bank of the Willamette River and commemorating City Beautiful’s early-century plans for parks and walkways. Due to recreational use, lunchtime (11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) is the main time of use for the Waterfront Park. In addition to recreational use, the park is also heavily used by cyclists and pedestrians during peak hours (3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) as the park is simply accessible for employees in downtown Portland and offers a lovely drive-through away from vehicles traffic. It currently hosts the Waterfront Blues Festival, the Oregon Brewers Festival, the Gay / Lesbian Pride Festival, and the Bite of Oregon Festival. The park also hosts many rose festival events. On a hot day, look at Portland’s maritime history; discover Japanese-American the past in the Pacific Northwest, or cross the river to the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade. Waterfront Park is a great place to take in the loveliness of the city and the river that flows through it
Check out photos of the west bank of the Willamette River in Portland before the 1970s and you will see an entirely different river landscape. What is now tree-lined paths, sparkling fountains, and lawns frequented by flocks of Canadian geese were once a six-lane highway called Harbor Drive.
Waterfront Park was created in part because of the activism of community organizers who sharps out the lack of civic space by having a sequence of picnics on the narrow sidewalk b between the highway and the river. This great victory for Portland’s New citizens and politicians is credited with sowing the seeds of the green, bike-friendly city we know and love today.
Waterfront Park Features
The 1.5-mile-long park runs between Northwest Glisan Street (near the Steel Bridge) and the RiverPlace Marina, which is home to waterfront restaurants, shopping, and great views of the boat.
Japanese American Historical Plaza
Beginning at the north end of the park, the Esplanade (the wide paved walkway that runs along the riverside) passes the Japanese American Historical Plaza, which is in the area that was once Portland’s Japantown
1990 Dedicated in honor of Japanese-American history in the Pacific Northwest, the memorial serves as a memorial to the 120,000 Japanese forced into internment camps during World War II. The plaza also celebrates Portland’s relationship with its sister city Sapporo, Japan, and features a memorial to the Bill of Rights; 13 engraved basalt and granite stones; Poetry by Oregonians of Japanese descent; and 100 ornamental cherries that bloom every spring.