From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)
Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)
Sign at Washington Park
Garden near north entrance
Washington Park main entrance A blossoming tree at night in Washington park.
Washington Park is a public urban park in Portland, Ore- troversially high price for the time.[3][4] The area, desig-
gon. It includes a zoo, forestry museum, arboretum, chil- nated "City Park", was wilderness with few roads: Thick
dren’s museum, rose garden, Japanese garden, amphithe- brush, trees and roaming cougar discouraged access. In
atre, memorials, archery range, tennis courts, soccer the mid-1880s, Charles M. Meyers was hired as park keep-
field, picnic areas, playgrounds, public art, and many er. A former seaman without landscape training, he
acres of wild forest with miles of trails. Washington Park transformed the park by drawing on memories of his na-
covers more than 410 acres (166 hectares) on mostly tive Germany and European parks. By 1900, there were
steep, wooded hillsides which range in elevation from roads, trails, landscaped areas with lawns, manicured
200 feet (61 m) at 24th & W Burnside to 870 feet (265 hedges, flower gardens, and a zoo. Cable cars were added
m) at SW Fairview Blvd. It comprises 159.7 acres (64.63 in 1890 and operated until the 1930s.
hectares) of city park land that has been officially desig- In 1903, John Charles Olmsted of Olmsted Brothers,
nated as "Washington Park" by the City of Portland,[1] as a nationally known landscape architecture firm, recom-
well as the adjacent 64 acre Oregon Zoo and the 187 acre mended several changes to the park including the pre-
Hoyt Arboretum, which together make up the area de- sent name, location of the entrance, separate roads and
scribed as "Washington Park" on signs and maps.[2] pedestrian paths, and replacement of formal gardens
with native species. The name was officially changed
from City Park to Washington Park in 1909.[5]
History When the county poor farm closed in 1922, the 160
The City of Portland purchased the original 40.78 acres acres (64.75 hectares) were added to Washington Park.
(16.5 hectares) in 1871 from Amos King for $32,624, a con-
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)
Portland’s zoo was founded in Washington Park in • The International Rose Test Garden is the oldest
1887 near where the reservoirs are presently located. It official, continuously-operated, public rose test
moved in 1925 to what is now the Japanese Garden, and garden in the United States. It currently displays
moved again in 1959 to its present location at the park’s more than 7,000 rose plants of more than 500
southern edge. The only surviving structure from the old varieties. It includes a Shakespeare garden within its
zoo is the elephant barn, now converted into a picnic boundaries, as well as an alpine garden at its
shelter and decorated with tile mosaic of various animals southern end.
and a life-size brick relief sculpture of an elephant and • The Rose Garden Children’s Park is a playground that
calf. was completed in 1995 with $2 million in donations.
It includes a large, colorful play structure designed
Notable features to accommodate all children, including those with
disabilities. Adjacent to the Children’s Park is the
Elephant House Picnic Shelter, converted from the
old zoo’s elephant barn.
• The Washington Park Amphitheater hosts many
public concerts, including the Washington Park
Summer Festival, an annual free concert series
normally presented in the first two weeks of
August.[6]
View eastward of Mount Hood from Washington Park am-
phitheatre
• Washington Park has over 15 miles (24 km) of trails,
some of which are part of the 40 Mile Loop
connecting Washington Park with Pittock Mansion
and Forest Park to the north and Council Crest to the
south.
• The Oregon Zoo contains more than a thousand Les AuCoin Plaza above the Washington Park MAX station.
animals of more than 200 species (including 21
endangered species) in natural or semi-natural • The Portland Japanese Garden is a 5.5 acre (2.2
habitats are on display. The zoo is the world’s most hectare) private traditional Japanese garden. It is the
successful Asian elephant breeding program and second most highly ranked Japanese garden in North
home to Packy, the largest example of the species in America of the 300 such gardens studied by The
the U.S. Journal of Japanese Gardening in 2004.[7]
• The Oregon Holocaust Memorial was dedicated on
August 29, 2004 to the victims of the Holocaust.
• The World Forestry Center Discovery Museum offers
educational exhibits on forests and forest-related
subjects. It was founded in 1906 in the Forestry
Building of the Lewis and Clark Centennial
Exposition in Northwest Portland, and later
established in Washington Park in 1971. Permanent
exhibits explore the traits of forests around the
world. Transient exhibits have featured art (usually
related to nature), ecology, wildlife, and woodcrafts.
• The Washington Park station is located beneath Les
AuCoin Plaza, a scenic xeriscaped brick and stone
terraced plaza located between the zoo and the
The International Rose Test Garden World Forestry Center. The Washington Park Station
is the only underground stop on the MAX Light Rail
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)
system and at 260 feet (79 m) below ground is the
deepest transit station in North America. The station
is accessed by four high-speed elevators.
• The Hoyt Arboretum contains nearly 10,000
individual trees and shrubs of 1,100 species on 187
acres (75.68 hectares). It was founded in 1928 and
today there are many mature species.
Oregon Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
• The Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial was
dedicated in 1987 to honor Oregonians who gave
their lives or who are missing in action.
• The Portland Children’s Museum, founded in 1946,
moved into the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry’s former building in 2001
Statue of Sacajawea
• The Washington Park and Zoo Railway is a 1950s-era
narrow-gauge railroad carrying passengers on a
It was the first U.S. statue to feature a woman.[citation
2-mile (3.2 km) line between the Rose Garden end of
needed]
the park and the zoo during summer months as well
• The Chiming Fountain, also referred to as The
as on weekends starting in mid-April. At other times
Washington Park Fountain is named for the sound
of the year it operates only within the zoo.
the falling water makes. It is an ornate concrete,
The veterans memorial, zoo, children’s museum, forestry
bronze and iron fountain with gargoyles. It was
center and the MAX station surround a large parking lot
created in 1891 by Swiss artisan woodcarver Hans
in the southwestern portion of the park. The arboretum
Staehli in the style of a renaissance fountain.
is located just to the north of these. The gardens, am-
• The Loyal B. Stearns Memorial Fountain, erected in
phitheater, playgrounds and the Holocaust Memorial are
1941 in honor of former Oregon judge Loyal B.
in the northeast section of the park.
Stearns, is located in the northeastern corner of
Washington Park, just south of Burnside Street.[8]
Statues and fountains
• "Water Sculpture," a stainless steel fountain located
• The Lewis and Clark Memorial was dedicated by in the Rose Garden, was designed and built by
President Theodore Roosevelt on May 21, 1903 to Oregon artist Lee Kelly and dedicated in 1975.[9]
honor the discovery of the northwest by the Lewis In 2001 a memorial bench and plaque north of the
and Clark Expedition. Lewis and Clark Memorial were created to honor Port-
• "Coming of the White Man" is a bronze statue of two land born journalist John Reed. The plaque has a quota-
Native Americans, one depicting Chief Multnomah. tion by Reed on his native city:
Sculpted by Hermon Atkins MacNeil in 1904 and
Portlanders understand and appreciate how different-
donated by the heirs of David P. Thompson. It faces
ly beautiful is this part of the world—the white city
east along the Oregon Trail.
against the deep evergreen of the hills, the snow
• Sacajawea is a statue of the famed Shoshone native
mountains to the east, the everchanging river and its
American woman who guided the Lewis and Clark
boat life—and the grays, blues and greens, the smoke
Expedition through the mountains. A massive bronze
dimmed sunsets and pearly hazes of August, so char-
and copper piece unveiled on July 7, 1905 at the
acteristic of the Pacific Northwest. You don’t have to
Lewis and Clark centennial, it was sculpted by
point out these things to our people. Walters, I think,
Denver resident Alice Cooper and cast in New York.
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)
index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=841.
Retrieved 2011-01-23.
[2] "Washington Park, Portland, Oregon website".
Washington Park Alliance.
http://www.washingtonparkpdx.org/. Retrieved
2011-01-23.
[3] MacColl, E. Kimbark (1976-11). The Shaping of a City:
Business and politics in Portland, Oregon 1885 to 1915.
Portland, Oregon: The Georgian Press Company.
OCLC 2645815.
[4] "Washington Park". Portland Parks & Recreation.
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/
index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=841.
Chiming Fountain Retrieved 2006-11-22.
[5] "Summary of park’s board minutes 1901-1920".
Portland Parks and Recreation.
paints them with more affection and understanding
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/
than they have yet been painted.[10]
index.cfm?c=djehd&a=jfjfg. Retrieved 2006-11-22.
[6] "Washington Park Summer Festival opens with
Public access record attendance". Portland Parks & Recreation.
Aug 4, 2009. http://www.portlandonline.com/
parks/index.cfm?c=51187&a=257598. Retrieved
2011-01-23.
[7] "North America’s Top 25 Japanese Gardens". Sukiya
Living Magazine (JOJG).
http://www.rothteien.com/topics/na-survey.htm.
Retrieved 2011-07-29.
[8] "Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American
Art Museum". http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/
ipac20/
ipac.jsp?session=1Q28043206TD9.58458&profile=ariall&uri=link=31
-+Stearns%2C+Loyal+B.&index=. Retrieved
TriMet’s Washington Park Shuttle 2011-01-22.
[9] "International Rose Test Garden - Washington
The Washington Park light rail station provides regional Park". Portland Parks & Recreation.
public transit access to the park’s west end, including http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/
the Oregon Zoo. Seasonal public transit service within the index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=1113&c=38308.
park is provided by TriMet’s Washington Park Shuttle Retrieved 2011-01-23.
bus route, which operates from May through October, [10] http://www.lclark.edu/~polyecon/reed.htm FIRST
running seven days a week from June through Labor Day MEMORIAL TO JOHN REED TO BE DEDICATED MAY
(early September) and otherwise on weekends.[11] The 6 by Michael Munk, The Portland Alliance, May
shuttle connects with MAX light rail at the Washington 2001
Park station and with MAX and other bus routes in the [11] "Summer season begins on Washington Park
area of PGE Park.[12] Additionally, bus route Shuttle: Route extended to make additional
63-Washington Park, which runs on weekdays only but connections to downtown MAX stations". TriMet.
year-round, serves stops at the west and east ends of the May 28, 2010. http://www.trimet.org/news/
park (including at the Rose Gardens and Japanese Gar- releases/may28-washparkshuttle.htm. Retrieved
den), but does not pass through most of the park.[13] The 2010-08-14.
northeastern corner of the park, at NW 23rd Place and [12] Washington Park Shuttle TriMet. Retrieved
W. Burnside, is served by bus route 20-Burnside/Stark, 2010-08-14.
which runs seven days a week.[14] [13] Bus Line 63-Washington Park TriMet. Retrieved
2010-08-14.
[14] Bus Line 20-Burnside/Stark TriMet. Retrieved
References 2011-01-23.
[1] "Washington Park". Portland Parks & Recreation.
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)
External links • City of Portland Parks information
Coordinates: 45°31′01″N 122°42′21″W / 45.517°N
• Map of Washington Park 122.70585°W / 45.517; -122.70585
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/in-
dex.php?title=Washington_Park_(Portland,_Oregon)&oldid=459729792"
Categories:
• Parks in Portland, Oregon
• Urban public parks
• Protected areas established in 1871
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