South Park Blocks

South Park Blocks
Part of the South Park Blocks in 2009
Map
TypeUrban park
LocationPortland, Oregon
Coordinates45°30′45″N 122°41′06″W / 45.51250°N 122.68500°W / 45.51250; -122.68500[1]
Area8.76 acres (3.55 ha)
Operated byPortland Parks & Recreation
StatusOpen 5 am to 9 pm daily

The South Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon.[2] The Oregonian has called it Portland's "extended family room", as Pioneer Courthouse Square is known as Portland's "living room".[3]

Twelve blocks in length, it is intersected by the Portland Streetcar and forms the Portland Cultural District and the greenspace at the center of Portland State University.[4] The New York Times stated the blocks are "literally at the heart of the city's cultural life."[5] Public artworks in the park include Shemanski Fountain (1926), In the Shadow of the Elm, Peace Chant, (1984), Alexander Phimister Proctor's Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider, and a statue of Abraham Lincoln. The park also contains approximately 337 elm, oak, and maple trees valued at $3.4 million, as well as roses.[6][7] A plaque from the Lang Syne Society was placed in the South Park Blocks at Jefferson Street in 1991, commemorating the Great Plank Road.[8]

  1. ^ "South Park Blocks". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. May 26, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "South Park Blocks". Portland Parks & Recreation. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  3. ^ Beck, Byron (September 13, 1996). "Destination: South Park Blocks". The Oregonian.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference hill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Boss, Suzie (March 20, 1994). "What's doing in: Portland". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Kaufman, Naomi (August 24, 1986). "What's doing in: Portland, Ore". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "A study determines the value of 337 majestic trees in Portland". Portland, Oregon. Associated Press. March 31, 2005.
  8. ^ "Plaques commemorate two prominent citizens". The Oregonian. December 18, 1991. p. C01.