Director Park
Encyclopedia
Director Park is a city park in Portland
in the U.S. state of Oregon
. Opened in 2009 at a cost of $9.5 million, it covers a 700-space underground parking garage, which connects underground to the Fox Tower and the incomplete Park Avenue West Tower
. Located in downtown
on Southwest Park Avenue, the nearly half-acre urban park lacks any natural areas and contains little vegetation.
Features at the park include a fountain, artworks, a cafe, and a distinctive glass canopy. Director Park was designed by Laurie Olin
of the Olin Partnership, Philadelphia, and the Portland-based architectural firm ZGF Partnership. The park is part of what had originally been planned as a corridor of consecutive public parks stretching across downtown Portland. This plan included what are today the South Park Blocks
and the North Park Blocks
. Proposals to connect the two sets of park blocks arose in the 1970s, and in 1998 businessman Tom Moyer made a proposal for what became Director Park. Planning began in the mid-2000s, and construction began in 2008.
reserved the Park Blocks for public use in his 1848 plat
ting of Portland, but didn't actually donate land to the city. As historian E. Kimbark MacColl stated, "By no stretch of the imagination could he
be cited as a 'philanthropist.' He was greedy like most of his partners.... The record is clear: Daniel Lownsdale was a visionary but shifty character whose land speculation helped to spawn more litigation in Portland than in any other western city of comparable size." Chet Orloff wrote an editorial in 2001 stating "six crucial blocks were lost to greed, government reluctance, poor estate planning and an adverse court decision."
The park land was previously used for surface parking, and contained an early "food cart
institution", the Snow White House crêpe
rie.
Developer Tom Moyer wanted to redevelop the block since the 1970s. The City Club of Portland
held a significant meeting in 1992 about the fate of the Central Park Blocks, also called the Commercial Park Blocks. Moyer and the PDC opposed "the downtown parking magnate" Greg Goodman's plans to turn the block into a 550-space 12-story parking structure in 1995, which was to be called the Park Avenue Plaza. Neil Goldschmidt said the parking structure would be "like putting lipstick on a dead corpse" and Bill Naito
said that a "12-story garage won't go away. This is a chance to do something special. We should try to do something special every decade."
Moyer proposed the park in February 1998, in a move later described as Moyer's "march to reunite" the North and South Park Blocks. Both the Portland Development Commission
and the Portland Parks Foundation (Moyer, Goldschmidt) were in favor of Portland Planning Director Gil Kelley's 2001 recommendation for the area, which favored a new midtown Park Block as well as "thematically consistent development" along the blocks. The foundation raised $500,000 from 20 patrons, and had an agreement from building owner Joe Weston to donate a building to make way for the park blocks.
Others, including the Portland chapter of American Institute of Architects
, Vera Katz
, Laurie Olin
, and Michael Powell (of Powell's Books
) were against the plan, with Powell saying "I was sort of under the impression that people came downtown to work and shop, not to gain a rural experience". By 2004, the idea to reunite the Park Blocks through midtown was dead, due to Neil Goldschmidt
moving out of the spotlight during his sex abuse scandal, Vera Katz
's disapproval of the plan, and because Moyer was "tired of swimming upstream" against the city council.
The park was originally titled South Park Block 5. It was designed by Laurie Olin
with ZGF Partnership. Olin also designed Bryant Park
in New York, as well as the redesigns of Pershing Square
in Los Angeles and Columbus Circle
in New York. ZGF and Olin had competed against the team of Robert Murase
, SERA Architects, and Christian Moeller
. The budget in 2006 was $2.1 million, which included renovations to O'Bryant Square and Ankeny Park (which have not been renovated, as of 2010).
Developer Tom Moyer had previously donated $1 million and asked the park be named Marilyn Moyer Park, after his deceased wife. Moyer also donated the surface space for the park, using the space underground for 700 spaces of additional parking, connecting the parking of Moyer's Fox Tower and Park Avenue West Tower
.
During a time of budget shortfalls, the city, the public steering committee (headed by Chet Orloff), and Tom Moyer were willing to give away naming rights in exchange for further funding. Jordan Schnitzer, a local developer, donated $1.97 million for the plaza and asked city commissioners to name it for his maternal grandparents, Simon and Helen Director. Simon was born in Russia, Helen was born in Poland, and they met in Portland in 1916. Since plans for reconnecting the midtown Park Blocks had been squelched due to Moyer's announcement of Park Avenue West Tower
, which "drove a stake through its heart", the Park Blocks Foundation, started by Goldschmidt and Moyer but headed by Jim Westwood by 2007, suspended conversations to donating Park Blocks Foundation cash to build the surface of Park Block 5.
With Schnitzer's funding, the budget increased to $5.5 million when construction began in May 2008. The park, originally expected to be completed by late 2008, was dedicated on October 27, 2009, with a performance by BodyVox
.
The total cost was nearly $9.5 million, with $4.5 million from the Portland Development Commission
, $1.9 million from the City of Portland, and $2.9 million in private donations, mainly from Schnitzer and Moyer.
In 2011, Director Park was one of five finalists for the Urban Land Institute
's Amanda Burden
Urban Open Space Award. The award is meant to "[recognize] an outstanding example of a public open space that has enriched and revitalized its surrounding community." The other four finalists were Portland's Jamison Square
, Houston's Discovery Green
and Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion, and St. Louis' Citygarden
, the last of which ultimately won the prize on May 19, 2011.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
in the U.S. state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Opened in 2009 at a cost of $9.5 million, it covers a 700-space underground parking garage, which connects underground to the Fox Tower and the incomplete Park Avenue West Tower
Park Avenue West Tower
Park Avenue West, nicknamed PAW, is a high-rise building currently under construction in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. When completed it will stand at a height of 476 feet and become the third tallest building in Portland behind the Wells Fargo Center and the US Bancorp Tower.Park...
. Located in downtown
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
on Southwest Park Avenue, the nearly half-acre urban park lacks any natural areas and contains little vegetation.
Features at the park include a fountain, artworks, a cafe, and a distinctive glass canopy. Director Park was designed by Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin is an American landscape architect. He has worked on everything from private residences to large public parks. Olin grew up in Alaska, and earned his degree in Architecture from the University of Washington, in Seattle where he was mentored under Richard Haag. After graduating he...
of the Olin Partnership, Philadelphia, and the Portland-based architectural firm ZGF Partnership. The park is part of what had originally been planned as a corridor of consecutive public parks stretching across downtown Portland. This plan included what are today the South Park Blocks
South Park Blocks
The South Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. The Oregonian has called it Portland's "extended family room", as Pioneer Courthouse Square is known as Portland's "living room"....
and the North Park Blocks
North Park Blocks
The North Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon.Captain John H. Couch deeded the five blocks to the city in 1865, probably officially platted and dedicated to the city in 1869. An ordinance was passed in 1904, setting aside one park block for women and children. In 1906, another...
. Proposals to connect the two sets of park blocks arose in the 1970s, and in 1998 businessman Tom Moyer made a proposal for what became Director Park. Planning began in the mid-2000s, and construction began in 2008.
History
Daniel H. LownsdaleDaniel H. Lownsdale
Daniel Lownsdale was one of the founders of Portland, Oregon, United States.Coming from Kentucky sometime before 1845, Lownsdale established the first tannery near the current location of Jeld-Wen Field just west of downtown. He served as a member of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon in 1846...
reserved the Park Blocks for public use in his 1848 plat
Plat
A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....
ting of Portland, but didn't actually donate land to the city. As historian E. Kimbark MacColl stated, "By no stretch of the imagination could he
be cited as a 'philanthropist.' He was greedy like most of his partners.... The record is clear: Daniel Lownsdale was a visionary but shifty character whose land speculation helped to spawn more litigation in Portland than in any other western city of comparable size." Chet Orloff wrote an editorial in 2001 stating "six crucial blocks were lost to greed, government reluctance, poor estate planning and an adverse court decision."
The park land was previously used for surface parking, and contained an early "food cart
Food cart
A food cart is a mobile kitchen that is set up on the street to facilitate the sale and marketing of street food to people from the local pedestrian traffic. Food carts are often found in large cities throughout the world and can be found selling food of just about any variety.Food carts come in...
institution", the Snow White House crêpe
Crêpe
A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...
rie.
Developer Tom Moyer wanted to redevelop the block since the 1970s. The City Club of Portland
City Club of Portland
The City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was organized in 1916 by a small group of men who began meeting in a downtown Portland restaurant to discuss the city's public institutions and government...
held a significant meeting in 1992 about the fate of the Central Park Blocks, also called the Commercial Park Blocks. Moyer and the PDC opposed "the downtown parking magnate" Greg Goodman's plans to turn the block into a 550-space 12-story parking structure in 1995, which was to be called the Park Avenue Plaza. Neil Goldschmidt said the parking structure would be "like putting lipstick on a dead corpse" and Bill Naito
Bill Naito
William Sumio Naito , better known as Bill Naito, was a noted businessman, civic leader and philanthropist in Portland, Oregon, U.S...
said that a "12-story garage won't go away. This is a chance to do something special. We should try to do something special every decade."
Moyer proposed the park in February 1998, in a move later described as Moyer's "march to reunite" the North and South Park Blocks. Both the Portland Development Commission
Portland Development Commission
The Portland Development Commission is the urban renewal agency created by the city of Portland, Oregon. It promotes development, housing projects and economic development within the city's eleven urban renewal districts....
and the Portland Parks Foundation (Moyer, Goldschmidt) were in favor of Portland Planning Director Gil Kelley's 2001 recommendation for the area, which favored a new midtown Park Block as well as "thematically consistent development" along the blocks. The foundation raised $500,000 from 20 patrons, and had an agreement from building owner Joe Weston to donate a building to make way for the park blocks.
Others, including the Portland chapter of American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
, Vera Katz
Vera Katz
Vera Katz is a Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 45th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. Growing up in New York City, she moved to Portland in 1962 and was elected to the Oregon...
, Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin is an American landscape architect. He has worked on everything from private residences to large public parks. Olin grew up in Alaska, and earned his degree in Architecture from the University of Washington, in Seattle where he was mentored under Richard Haag. After graduating he...
, and Michael Powell (of Powell's Books
Powell's Books
Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores in Oregon's Portland metropolitan area. Powell's headquarters, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's City of Books is located in the Pearl District on the edge of downtown and...
) were against the plan, with Powell saying "I was sort of under the impression that people came downtown to work and shop, not to gain a rural experience". By 2004, the idea to reunite the Park Blocks through midtown was dead, due to Neil Goldschmidt
Neil Goldschmidt
Neil Edward Goldschmidt is an American businessman and former Democratic politician from Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the governor of Oregon, Goldschmidt is widely considered the most influential figure in the state's politics, both as an...
moving out of the spotlight during his sex abuse scandal, Vera Katz
Vera Katz
Vera Katz is a Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 45th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. Growing up in New York City, she moved to Portland in 1962 and was elected to the Oregon...
's disapproval of the plan, and because Moyer was "tired of swimming upstream" against the city council.
The park was originally titled South Park Block 5. It was designed by Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin is an American landscape architect. He has worked on everything from private residences to large public parks. Olin grew up in Alaska, and earned his degree in Architecture from the University of Washington, in Seattle where he was mentored under Richard Haag. After graduating he...
with ZGF Partnership. Olin also designed Bryant Park
Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan...
in New York, as well as the redesigns of Pershing Square
Pershing Square (Los Angeles)
Pershing Square is a public park in downtown Los Angeles, California. The park is exactly one square block in size, bounded by 5th Street to the north, 6th Street to the south, Hill Street to the east, and Olive Street to the west...
in Los Angeles and Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a major landmark and point of attraction in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South , and Central Park West, at the southwest corner of Central Park. It is the point from...
in New York. ZGF and Olin had competed against the team of Robert Murase
Robert Murase
Robert Murase was a world renowned landscape architect. His work throughout the Pacific Northwest demonstrates the skill and passion he had for landscape design. He was known as one of the best landscape designers locally and internationally.-History:Murase was born in San Francisco as a third...
, SERA Architects, and Christian Moeller
Christian Moeller
Christian Moeller is a German architect and artist.He is a professor of Design | Media Arts at University of California, Los Angeles. -Life:...
. The budget in 2006 was $2.1 million, which included renovations to O'Bryant Square and Ankeny Park (which have not been renovated, as of 2010).
Developer Tom Moyer had previously donated $1 million and asked the park be named Marilyn Moyer Park, after his deceased wife. Moyer also donated the surface space for the park, using the space underground for 700 spaces of additional parking, connecting the parking of Moyer's Fox Tower and Park Avenue West Tower
Park Avenue West Tower
Park Avenue West, nicknamed PAW, is a high-rise building currently under construction in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. When completed it will stand at a height of 476 feet and become the third tallest building in Portland behind the Wells Fargo Center and the US Bancorp Tower.Park...
.
During a time of budget shortfalls, the city, the public steering committee (headed by Chet Orloff), and Tom Moyer were willing to give away naming rights in exchange for further funding. Jordan Schnitzer, a local developer, donated $1.97 million for the plaza and asked city commissioners to name it for his maternal grandparents, Simon and Helen Director. Simon was born in Russia, Helen was born in Poland, and they met in Portland in 1916. Since plans for reconnecting the midtown Park Blocks had been squelched due to Moyer's announcement of Park Avenue West Tower
Park Avenue West Tower
Park Avenue West, nicknamed PAW, is a high-rise building currently under construction in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. When completed it will stand at a height of 476 feet and become the third tallest building in Portland behind the Wells Fargo Center and the US Bancorp Tower.Park...
, which "drove a stake through its heart", the Park Blocks Foundation, started by Goldschmidt and Moyer but headed by Jim Westwood by 2007, suspended conversations to donating Park Blocks Foundation cash to build the surface of Park Block 5.
With Schnitzer's funding, the budget increased to $5.5 million when construction began in May 2008. The park, originally expected to be completed by late 2008, was dedicated on October 27, 2009, with a performance by BodyVox
Bodyvox
BodyVox is a dance company based in Portland, Oregon, United States, and was formed in 1997 on commission from the Portland Opera. The company blends contemporary dance with dance theater, and often makes use of other performance art form such as live music. In addition to their performances, the...
.
The total cost was nearly $9.5 million, with $4.5 million from the Portland Development Commission
Portland Development Commission
The Portland Development Commission is the urban renewal agency created by the city of Portland, Oregon. It promotes development, housing projects and economic development within the city's eleven urban renewal districts....
, $1.9 million from the City of Portland, and $2.9 million in private donations, mainly from Schnitzer and Moyer.
Design
The park is paved in light granite and includes a 1000 square feet (92.9 m²) glass canopy with space for a cafe, meeting Moyer's requirement that 30% of the space be devoted to commercial activity. It is curbless on 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue, allowing pedestrians to take a greater priority, and for the avenues to be closed for larger events.In 2011, Director Park was one of five finalists for the Urban Land Institute
Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
's Amanda Burden
Amanda Burden
Amanda Jay Mortimer Burden is the director of the New York City Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission....
Urban Open Space Award. The award is meant to "[recognize] an outstanding example of a public open space that has enriched and revitalized its surrounding community." The other four finalists were Portland's Jamison Square
Jamison Square
Jamison Square is a city park in the area of downtown Portland, Oregon, known as the Pearl District. It was the first park added to the neighborhood.-Design:...
, Houston's Discovery Green
Discovery Green
Discovery Green is a public park in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. Opened in 2008, Discovery Green is located on Avenida de las Americas across from the George R. Brown Convention Center and the Hilton Americas Hotel, adjacent to Toyota Center...
and Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion, and St. Louis' Citygarden
Citygarden
Citygarden is an urban park and sculpture garden in St. Louis, Missouri owned by the City of St. Louis but maintained by the Gateway Foundation. It is located between Eighth, Tenth, Market, and Chestnut streets, in the city's "Gateway Mall" area. Before being converted to a garden and park, the...
, the last of which ultimately won the prize on May 19, 2011.