Pioneer Courthouse Square
Any visit to downtown Portland should start on Pioneer Courthouse Square at the corner of SW Broadway and Yamhill Street. The brick-paved square (restored in 2017) is an outdoor stage for everything from summer outdoor movies to food festivals to flower displays to concerts and protest rallies. A few decades ago it was a parking lot, created in 1951 when the Portland Hotel—a Queen Anne–style chateau and an architectural gem—was demolished. Long before that, Pioneer Square was the site of Portland’s first schoolhouse. The octagonal cupola of the Classic Revival Pioneer Courthouse (701 SW 6th Ave.) at the east end of the square has been a Portland landmark since it was completed in 1873. The first federal building to be constructed in the Pacific Northwest, the courthouse was designed by Alfred Mullet, who also designed the San Francisco Mint. The two large wings on its west facade were added in 1903.
Today, the square, with its waterfall fountain and freestanding columns, is Portland’s favorite downtown gathering spot, especially at noon, when the Weather Machine, a goofy mechanical sculpture, forecasts the weather for the next 24 hours. Amid a fanfare of music and flashing lights, the Weather Machine sends up clouds of mist followed by a sun (clear weather), a dragon (stormy weather), or a blue heron (clouds and drizzle). The Portland Visitor Information Center and Tri-Met ticket office are located behind and beneath the fountains, and a big Starbucks with outdoor tables overlooking the square anchors the corner above. Check the Pioneer Courthouse Square website (www.thesquarepdx.org) for upcoming events.
Any visit to downtown Portland should start on Pioneer Courthouse Square at the corner of SW Broadway and Yamhill Street. The brick-paved square (restored in 2017) is an outdoor stage for everything from summer outdoor movies to food festivals to flower displays to concerts and protest rallies. A few decades ago it was a parking lot, created in 1951 when the Portland Hotel—a Queen Anne–style chateau and an architectural gem—was demolished. Long before that, Pioneer Square was the site of Portland’s first schoolhouse. The octagonal cupola of the Classic Revival Pioneer Courthouse (701 SW 6th Ave.) at the east end of the square has been a Portland landmark since it was completed in 1873. The first federal building to be constructed in the Pacific Northwest, the courthouse was designed by Alfred Mullet, who also designed the San Francisco Mint. The two large wings on its west facade were added in 1903.
Today, the square, with its waterfall fountain and freestanding columns, is Portland’s favorite downtown gathering spot, especially at noon, when the Weather Machine, a goofy mechanical sculpture, forecasts the weather for the next 24 hours. Amid a fanfare of music and flashing lights, the Weather Machine sends up clouds of mist followed by a sun (clear weather), a dragon (stormy weather), or a blue heron (clouds and drizzle). The Portland Visitor Information Center and Tri-Met ticket office are located behind and beneath the fountains, and a big Starbucks with outdoor tables overlooking the square anchors the corner above. Check the Pioneer Courthouse Square website (www.thesquarepdx.org) for upcoming events.
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