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37-673: The Multnomah Hotel , located in downtown Portland , Oregon , United States, is a historic hotel building listed on the National Register of Historic Places . It currently operates as the Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Downtown . The 700-room hotel was built by local entrepreneur Philip Gevurtz and opened on February 8, 1912. The nine-story building filled an entire city block. It was operated by Western Hotels, now known as Westin Hotels & Resorts , from 1931 until it closed in 1963. At

74-684: A property in Oregon on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Downtown Portland The downtown neighborhood extends west from the Willamette to Interstate 405 and south from Burnside Street to just south of the Portland State University campus (also bounded by I-405), except for a part of northeastern portion north of SW Harvey Milk Street and east of SW 3rd Ave that belongs to

111-559: A case for creating a waterfront park. The Portland City Club is a citizen-based research organization that conducts civic salons and publishes reports. In 1972, the creation of tax increment-funded Waterfront Urban Renewal District was proposed by the Downtown Plan Citizen Advisory Committee , which consisted of 18 private citizens of downtown Portland. In 2002–2003, the Waterfront Park Master Plan

148-457: A coin to determine the city's name. Had the outcome gone the other way, Portland would have been named after Boston, Massachusetts instead of Portland, Maine . Friendship Circle , located at the north end of Waterfront Park, was dedicated in 1990. It celebrates the sister city relationship between Portland and Sapporo , Japan. The Friendship Circle includes a pair of 20-foot stainless towers that generate electronic tones. This memorial

185-468: A plan to revitalize downtown Portland. Moses charted a highway loop around the city's central freeways, which would become Interstate 405 as it links with I-5 south of downtown. Additionally the creation of a downtown transit mall in 1977 , a new waterfront park in 1978 (later named after Governor Tom McCall ) in place of a freeway , the creation of the Pioneer Courthouse Square in 1984,

222-613: A portion of the nearby Lloyd District after 2001. However, in 2010, free rides became limited to MAX and streetcar service – no longer covering bus service – and the zone renamed the "Free Rail Zone", and in September 2012 the fareless zone was discontinued entirely, because of a $ 12 million shortfall in TriMet's annual budget. Several high-rise buildings are located in downtown Portland. The five tallest are: Tom McCall Waterfront Park Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park

259-466: A side, to create more corner lots that were expected to be more valuable. The small blocks also made downtown Portland pleasant to walk through. The 264-foot (80 m) long combined blocks divide one mile (1.6 km) of road into exactly 20 separate blocks. By comparison, Seattle 's blocks are 240 by 320 feet (73 m × 98 m), and Manhattan 's east–west streets are divided into blocks that are from 600–800 feet (183–244 m) long. By

296-506: Is a 36.59-acre (148,100 m ) 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 (Portland Parks and Recreation). The park was renamed in 1984 to honor Tom McCall ,

333-447: Is only sporadically accessible, as the museum does not abide by its posted open hours and is frequently closed without notice. The park has also been used as a speaking place during U.S. presidential campaigns in recent years. During the 2004 U.S. presidential election , an estimated 50,000 people gathered in the park to see John Kerry , and during the 2008 U.S. presidential election , an estimated 75,000 people (the largest gathering in

370-679: Is the farthest 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. U.S. Route 26 connects downtown Portland to the Oregon Coast and the Cascade Range . Downtown is also served by several forms of public transportation. TriMet , the regional mass transit agency, operates MAX light rail on two alignments in downtown, one running east–west on Yamhill and Morrison streets and north–south on 1st Avenue,

407-528: The Burnside Bridge . The lawn is used most intensively during the summer by a series of outdoor festivals and events. The USS Oregon was constructed in 1893. This memorial, erected in 1956, honors this "Bulldog of the US Navy" and its heroic fight in many naval battles. Underneath the memorial lies a time capsule : sealed on Independence Day, 1976, it will be unearthed and opened July 5, 2076. In recent years,

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444-555: The Hawthorne Bridge . It is dedicated to Portland Police who have laid down their lives in the line of duty. The Portland Rose Festival Foundation headquarters are located in a historic Northwest Modernist building designed by noted Portland architect John Yeon in 1948 to be the Portland Visitors Information Center . Salmon Street Springs is an artistic and play fountain that is extremely popular in

481-644: The Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. High-density business and residential districts near downtown include the Lloyd District , across the river from the northern part of downtown, and the South Waterfront area, just south of downtown in the South Portland neighborhood. Portland's downtown features narrow streets—64 feet (20 m) wide—and square, compact blocks 200 feet (61 m) on

518-643: 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

555-661: The Portland Public Market building also stood where Waterfront Park is now. In 1978, the Francis Murnane Wharf, the only public memorial to a labor leader in the state of Oregon, was dedicated in the park by Harry Bridges, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union . The memorial consisted of a bronze plaque and steps leading down to a floating dock on the Willamette River. Murnane

592-592: The Waterfront Blues Festival . The bowl also serves as the site of annual dragon boat races during the Portland Rose Festival . The beach along the river is known as Tom McCall Bowl Beach . Salmon Street Springs and the John Yeon building anchor the area north of Hawthorne Bridge . The fountain is set in a concrete plaza, which includes a set of sitting steps that leads to a viewing area over

629-400: The City of Portland. Important items within the plan: These needs were readdressed in the 1912 Bennett Plan; however, the City of Portland had its sights set on the city itself and not on access to geographical features. One problem for downtown Portland and its location on the Willamette was that the river would flood occasionally during the winter. In 1920, a seawall was built to protect

666-524: The National Trust for Historic Preservation. The hotel has hosted Paramahansa Yogananda , Queen Marie of Romania , Charles Lindbergh , Rudolph Valentino , Amelia Earhart , Jimmy Stewart , Bing Crosby , Jack Benny , Elvis Presley , and every president from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Nixon . Maurice Ravel and Lisa Roma concert in Ball Room Feb.15, 1928 8:30 pm This article about

703-581: The Pearl and Northwest Portland districts. The system currently has two routes, measuring 7.2 miles (11.6 km) end to end, and connects in South Waterfront with the Tram (aerial cableway) to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Starting in 1975 and continuing for almost four decades, all transit service in downtown was free , as downtown was entirely within TriMet's Fareless Square , which also covered

740-560: The city is attempting to reduce in order to promote higher density, create storefronts, and make downtown more vibrant. Some changes are being made slowly, such as the creation of the Smart Park garage system, and conversion of a surface-level parking lot into a park with underground parking at Park Block 5 between the Fox Tower and Park Avenue West Tower . In 2017, Human Access Project partnered with Portland Parks & Recreation to open

777-543: The city's first officially recognized public swimming beach, Poet's Beach . In 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic , Downtown Portland faced an increase in homeless camps and a reduction in office workers due to remote work . During and after the Black Lives Matter protests, there was an increase in graffiti, property damage, and windows being boarded up. Portland is sometimes known as "Bridgetown", due to

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814-532: The downtown core. The seawall removed access to the river, a problem that would be exacerbated in 1940 with the construction of Harbor Drive along the bank of the river. In the mid-1960s, the completion of the Marquam Bridge for Interstate 5 led to a drop in Harbor Drive traffic. The Waterfront for People, a humorous civil disobedience group, organized a picnic on the sliver of land between Harbor Drive and

851-539: The early 1970s, parts of Portland's central city had been in decay for some time. New suburban shopping malls in the neighboring cities of Beaverton , Tigard , and Gresham competed with downtown for people and money. Unlike many downtown revitalization efforts around the United States at this time, Portland's plan did not call for widespread demolition and reconstruction. Robert Moses , the designer of New York City 's gridded freeways, expressways, and bridges, designed

888-497: The memorial has been repeatedly painted with graffiti on multiple occasions; the city has not kept up with maintaining the monument, and the signage has been heavily cracked and weathered by the sun. This interactive fountain is dedicated to the memory of Portland businessman Bill Naito . It was opened in 2009 next to the Saturday Market Pavilion. This memorial honors William Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy , who tossed

925-647: The number of bridges that cross its two rivers. There are nine bridges entering downtown and immediately adjacent areas. The bridges are (north to south): Outside the downtown area there are three other road bridges within Portland limits that cross the Willamette River : the St. Johns Bridge and Sauvie Island Bridge (to the north) and the Sellwood Bridge (to the south). Most streets in downtown Portland are one-way. Naito Parkway (two-way, formerly known as Front Avenue)

962-520: The opening of the Portland–Gresham light rail line in 1986, and the opening of Pioneer Place mall in 1990 successfully drew or retained businesses and lured customers. After 1990, downtown Portland dominated the city's development, with 500,000 square feet (46,000 m ) more development there than on the east side ( Lloyd District , Central Eastside Industrial District, and Lower Albina ). Downtown Portland has many surface parking lots , which

999-636: The other running north–south on 5th and 6th avenues. On the latter two streets, an extensive transit mall —known as the Portland Mall —limits private vehicles and provides connections between more than fifty bus lines, MAX light rail, and the Portland Streetcar . The southern part of downtown and the West End are also served by the Portland Streetcar system, operating from South Waterfront north into

1036-511: The park is easily accessible to the downtown Portland workforce and provides a pleasant, off street thoroughfare away from vehicular traffic. It is currently home to the Waterfront Blues Festival , Oregon Brewers Festival , Gay/Lesbian Pride Festival and the Bite of Oregon festival. The park is also the host of many Rose Festival events. In 1903 the Olmsted Report identified several needs for

1073-538: The river. The current occupant of the historic John Yeon building, which abuts the fountain to the south, is the Portland Rose Festival Foundation. This area also acts as the moorage and embarking site for the Portland Spirit , a small cruise ship that provides 2-hour trips on the Willamette River . The central lawn is a dominant feature of the park, extending from Salmon Street Springs to

1110-424: The river. In 1968, Governor Tom McCall initiated a task force to study the feasibility of replacing Harbor Drive with open park space. ZGF Architects LLP was hired in 1971 to design the park. Removal of Harbor Drive began in 1974, and work progressed until the dedication of the park in 1978. The park gained instant popularity, and in 1984 it was renamed Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Along with Harbor Drive,

1147-569: The summer. It was dedicated in 1988 and recycles up to 4,924 US gallons (18,640 L) of water per minute through as many as 137 jets. A contemporary open-sided pavilion just north of the Bill Naito Legacy Fountain shelters Portland's Saturday Market on the weekends from March until December. The 1947 sternwheeler Portland , docked at Waterfront Park, houses the Oregon Maritime Center and Museum . The sternwheeler

Multnomah Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-583: The time of its closure, The Oregonian wrote that the Multnomah had been "one of the most famous hotels on the Pacific Coast". From 1965 to 1992 the building housed government offices. It was sold in 1995 and restored, its 700 rooms reduced to 276 suites, reopening in 1997 as the Embassy Suites Portland - Downtown. The hotel is currently a member of Historic Hotels of America , the official program of

1221-553: The top of the bank. In Waterfront Park, the greenway zone includes the walkway and part of the adjacent lawn areas as well. The Bowl is a relatively wide grass-lawn area that slopes down to the water just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. It anchors the southern end of the park, abutting the RiverPlace residential and commercial development. It functions as an informal amphitheater for concerts, including Oregon Symphony concerts and

1258-536: Was a leader of Portland ILWU Local 8 and a gadfly for historic preservation. In 2009, the plaque and steps were removed by the expansion of the Saturday Market. A large part of the creation of Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park was the engagement of citizens to shape the design and uses for the property throughout its development. In 1969, an analysis sponsored by the Portland City Club was conducted to make

1295-511: Was dedicated on August 3, 1990, in memory of Japanese immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens of Japanese descent who were deported to inland internment camps during World War II . The memorial includes artwork and sculpture that tells the story of Japanese people in the Pacific Northwest. There are one hundred ornamental cherry trees to the north of the plaza. The police memorial was constructed in 1993 at Southwest Jefferson adjacent to

1332-417: Was updated through citizen workshops, surveys, and public meetings with an average attendance of 500 private citizens. The park can generally be divided into five distinct zones. The Esplanade is a paved walkway along the river, part of a riverfront corridor extending on both sides of the Willamette River within which “river recreational” uses are promoted. Greenway regulations define this zone as 25' from

1369-569: Was voted one of America's ten greatest public spaces by the American Planning Association . The most common uses for the park are jogging, walking, biking, skateboarding, fountain play, lunching, basketball, fireworks viewing and boat watching. Due to its recreational use, lunch hours (11:00 am to 1:00 pm) are peak-use hours for the waterfront park. In addition to recreational use, the park is also highly used by bike and pedestrian commuters during rush hours (3:00 pm to 5:00 pm) because

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