The Portland Ice Arena, also called the Portland Ice Hippodrome or the Portland Hippodrome, was a 2,000-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

located in northwest

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States. It was home to the Portland Rosebuds

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in Western Canada and the Western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...

franchise from 1914 and 1918 and the Portland Penguins from 1928 to 1941. It was built in 1914 and closed in the 1950s due to concerns about fire safety.

History

The announcement that Portland would be the site of an ice

hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

came in October 1913, which declared the rink would be open by December on Northwest Marshall street and between 20 and 21 avenues. In reality the building opened almost a year later. The plan was to run the rink year-round with the exception of summer months where it could be rented out to automobile dealers. A ''

Morning Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' article on November 2, 1913 continued to say the hippodrome would be open in December but on January 18, 1914, an article was published saying the construction was delayed until February or March. An article published in the September 27, 1914, edition of the ''Morning Oregonian'' announced that the hippodrome would open by December of that year and it would be the largest building of its kind in the world. Its seating could accommodate up to 5,000 patrons. The ice rink was (). Two thousand people attended the grand opening of the rink on November 9, 1914. The building's architect was Arthur J. Maclure and the contractor was Victor J. Carlson. In 1953 the building was given to the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

, which planned to renovate it into a basketball venue. After a few years of plans for renovations, the University removed the seats from the arena, but the Portland Fire Marshal announced in 1956 he would not allow the building to open unless the old wiring were replaced. In 1958 the arena was sold to Robert Coates and Associates for $152,000, who immediately announced bids to demolish the structure and replace it with a $750,000 shopping center, which was never built. Demolition finally began in September 1963 with public housing replacing the arena's site.

References

Ice hockey venues in the United States Demolished sports venues in Oregon Sports venues in Portland, Oregon Defunct indoor arenas in the United States 1914 establishments in Oregon University of Portland Portland Pilots men's basketball Indoor arenas in Oregon Demolished buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon Sports venues completed in 1914 Sports venues demolished in 1963 {{Oregon-sports-venue-stub