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The Plaza Blocks, two courthouse squares known as Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square, are located in
The Plaza Blocks, two courthouse squares known as Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square, are located in downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
, United States. The blocks are north of Terry Schrunk Plaza and east of City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
. The northmost square is named after Daniel H. Lownsdale
Daniel Lownsdale (1803–1862) 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 Providence Park just west of downtown. Tann ...
(1803—1862), a native Kentuckian
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia t ...
who settled in Portland in 1845. The south square is named after legislator William W. Chapman
William Williams Chapman (August 11, 1808October 18, 1892) was an American politician and lawyer in Oregon and Iowa. He was born and raised in Virginia. He served as a United States Attorney in Iowa when it was part of the Michigan and Wisconsin ...
(1808–1892), a Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
n settled in Portland in 1850.
By 1900 Lownsdale Square, traditionally a male-only space, was a gay cruising destination, allowing a degree of deniability. It was simply called "the park". The activity also took place in Chapman Square by the 1950s.
Southwest Main Street separates the two blocks; ''Thompson Elk Fountain
''Thompson Elk Fountain'', also known as the David P. Thompson Fountain,. David P. Thompson Monument, Elk Fountain, the Thompson Elk, or simply ''Elk'', is a historic fountain and bronze sculpture by American artist Roland Hinton Perry. The founta ...
'', which was donated to the city by former Portland mayor David P. Thompson, has stood in the middle of the street. The sculptor was Roland Hinton Perry
Roland Hinton Perry (January 25, 1870 – October 27, 1941)"New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WRL-TLD : 20 March 2015), Roland Perry, 27 Oct 1941; citing Death, ...
.
The first electric power transmission line in North America terminated at Chapman Square. It went online at 10:00 pm on June 3, 1889, operating at 4,000 volts of direct current, with the lines between the electric generating station at Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Northwestern United States by volume, and the seventeenth widest in the wor ...
in Oregon City, Oregon
)
, image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845
, image_flag =
, image_seal = Oregon City seal.png
, image_map ...
, and downtown Portland stretching about 13 miles. A bronze tablet in the park commemorates this achievement.
See also
*List of parks in Portland, Oregon
The city of Portland, Oregon, has more than of public parks and other natural areas, including one of the largest municipal parks in the United States, Forest Park. Many are managed by Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R). One of the smallest� ...
* '' The Promised Land''
* ''Fountain for Company H
''Fountain for Company H'', also known as ''Second Oregon Company Volunteers'', is a 1914 fountain and war memorial designed by John H. Beaver, installed in Portland, Oregon's Plaza Blocks, in the United States. Dedicated to the men of Company H ...
'' (1914)
* ''Spanish–American War Soldier's Monument
The ''Spanish–American War Soldier's Monument'', also known as the ''Spanish–American War Memorial'' or simply ''Soldiers Monument'', is an outdoor sculpture and war memorial monument honoring the dead of the 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regi ...
'' (1906)
References
{{Parks in Portland, Oregon Parks in Portland, Oregon