Portland Then/Now: Pioneer Courthouse Square

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Byron Beck, GoLocalPDX Features Editor

Pioneer Square

Pioneer Courthouse Square, April 7, 1984. Portland Archives, A2000-020.7

Pioneer Courthouse Square, January 2014. Photo by Mario Ross.

Portland Then/Now: Downtown Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square's opening ceremonies took place April 7, 1984. The banner at the left edge reads, "A Square is Born Today."

THEN: In September 2014 GoLocalPDX shared a Portland Now/Then featuring the grand and long gone Portland Hotel, seen here.

The Portland Hotel stood between Southwest Morrison and Yamhill, on Sixth Street, facing the Pioneer Courthouse until its transformation into a parking structure in 1951.

Fast forwarding to the 1980's this image features the opening day ceremonies for Pioneer Courthouse Square in April of 1984.

NOW: Affectionately known as "Portland's living room," Pioneer Courthouse Square is the city's most highly visible public space.

Each year the park hosts over 300 programmed events, while helping bring together community volunteers and private sector contributions.

This unique relationship has helped designate the park as one of the most successful public spaces in the United States.

The photo featured here shows the dismantling of the annual holiday tree in early January, 2014.

The tree lighting ceremony, which takes place the day after Thanksgiving each year, is one of the most popular annual events at Pioneer Courthouse Square.