10 Great American Public Spaces
What the APA Says: It won for “its role as the city’s central downtown meeting place, its integration with transit, and the precedent it set for other revitalization projects in Portland.”
Why They’re Right: “Keep Portland Weird” read bumper stickers around town. Spend any time in Pioneer Courthouse Square and you’ll find that it’s ground zero for the alternative lifestyle embraced by the city. The square, known as “Portland’s Living Room,” hosts organized concerts, anti-war rallies, all-city sleepovers, art installations, local political speeches, an annual Tuba Christmas gathering of 200 tuba and euphonium players, as well as frequent impromptu performance art. The square’s current design, completed in 1984, features easy access from all surrounding streets, small welcoming areas of activity and leisure, as well as grander, more public spaces where locals come to be seen, as well as to watch the “weird” unfold.
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