Lower Washington Park - SW Portland

On the hill west of downtown Portland, Washington Park is a 410-acre green space with some of Portland's most notable attractions, including the Oregon Zoo, International Rose Test Garden, and Japanese Garden. But the park includes a number of lesser-known sights, all within walking distance from the Goose Hollow and King's Hill neighborhoods to the east. This walk starts in the neighborhood, winds up to see some sights in the lower part of Washington Park, and then returns downhill. It is slightly more than 2 miles long.

This walk starts at the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC), located on Salmon Street between 18th and 20th Avenues. This well-known civic institution was formed in 1891 and moved to this site in 1912. The original clubhouse was demolished in the 1960's and replaced by this 8-level structure on the north side of Salmon Street, connected by a pedestrian bridge with a 600-space parking structure on the south side. The home of the Portland Timbers, 20,000-seat Providence Park, was built by the club in 1926, then sold to the City of Portland four decades later. The club retains its own private seating section at the south end of the stadium, which is right to the north of the MAC building.

Start up the hill on Salmon Street. At the corner of Salmon and 20th, to the right, is this large apartment building, constructed in 1951. It is one of several high rise apartment and condominium buildings in King's Hill. Views of downtown Portland, the Willamette, and east all the way to Mt. Hood, are undoubtedly spectacular.

Turn right on 20th Avenue and start down the hill. You will soon be in the Goose Hollow neighborhood, which fronts along Canyon Road. The neighborhood is a mixture of all sorts of housing types, and has a station on Portland's MAX light rail system. The neighborhood is seeing significant new construction, as exemplified by this building (in yellow) going up at Canyon Road and 20th Avenue (picture taken in December, 2014).

Turn right on Canyon Road. Before construction of the Vista Ridge Tunnel for the SR 26 freeway in 1970 (to the south of this spot) this was the primary access from downtown Portland to and from Beaverton and Washington County. It still carries quite a bit of traffic to its intersection with the freeway a mile to the west. The massive Vista Bridge, connecting King's Hill with Council Crest to the south was constructed in 1926. Unfortunately, this beautiful bridge has become a magnet for suicide jumpers, and a group has organized to support the city in its recent completion of suicide prevention barriers.

As you walk west on the south side of Canyon Road note the MAX tracks on the other side of the street, which disappear into the three-mile long Robertson Tunnel, taking the trains to Beaverton and Hillsboro. But on the right side of the street, right after you cross under the Vista Bridge, you will see this path veering into Washington Park, where your walk will become much quieter very quickly!

As you walk up the path into Washington County, you will soon come across one of the city's iconic Benson Bubblers, water fountains that continuously spout fresh water for thirsty passers-by. But what, you ask, is a Benson Bubbler doing outside of downtown Portland? The answer is that this is not a real Benson Bubbler! The only real Benson Bubblers have four bowls on a single pedestal and are limited to the downtown walking area. This is just an ordinary continuously-flowing (with fresh water) Portland drinking fountain. Still pretty unique!

Follow the winding, paved pathway up the hill into Washington Park. On your right, down the hill, you will see the City of Portland's Water Reservoir #4. In this picture it has been drained as a precursor to the city's project to cover it up. This is the final result of a long battle between Portland and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the city's uncovered reservoirs in Washington Park and on the slopes of Mt. Tabor. There are still some holdouts regarding the Mt. Tabor reservoirs. The hopes of the holdouts haven't been helped by some recent stories regarding open reservoir contamination.

After several hairpin turns the path will take you to this block house and fence, which is the entry to Washington Park Reservoir #3. This one is also being reconstructed and covered. Take the stairway up the slope to the right.

At the top of the stairway you will come out onto one of the park's roadways. Walk on the left of the roadway - to the right will be Reservoir #3. Eventually, on your left, you will see this fountain. It is the Chiming Fountain, installed here way back in 1881, originally used for the watering of horses. A statue of Cupid at the top, part of the original fountain sculpture, is long gone.

Continue up slope on the park roadway until you see these houses ahead. A sign on the right guides you to the Oregon Holocaust Memorial. The Memorial was dedicated in 2004, but originally approved in 1995. Astoundingly, the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association (the neighborhood that these houses are part of) appealed the decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals and managed to hold up construction for over six years! The neighborhood association believed that the memorial would generate too much traffic and noise in the neighborhood - a concern that has, putting it mildly, not been borne out by events since 2004.

Turn right beyond the sign and enter into the Holocaust Memorial. The first thing to catch your eye will be these items lying on the ground - a metal suitcase and violin. They represent the interruption of regular life and the everyday items left behind when the Holocaust's victims were deported to meet their fate.

Beyond the cobblestones is this memorial wall. It contains history panels, including quotes from Holocaust survivors. Beyond the wall is a soil vault, containing ashes from the major factories of death in Poland, such as Auschwitz and Treblinka. On the back of the wall are the engraved names of Holocaust victims, followed by the names of their surviving relatives in the Pacific Northwest.

Continue the walk going to the left of the Holocaust Memorial. You will cross a small parking lot and a picnic area. Continue to the left, toward the rear of the parking lot, and you will eventually get to this statue, entitled "The Coming of the White Man." It was sculpted and placed on this site in 1904, and it depicts two Native Americans, one of whom is Chief Multnomah, looking east to the Columbia River, where the Lewis and Clark Expedition came from one hundred years earlier. It's romanticized view of its subjects, and whole point of view represented, are definitely not those of today.

From the statue, continue forward and head down a slope. You will cross a roadway and then come to a pathway that parallels the road below. Turn right onto the pathway.

After several hundred feet you will come to an intersection of roadways and paths. Turn left and follow the roadway. To your right you will see the Chiming Fountain again. Once past the fountain, you will see this paved pedestrian path leave the roadway to the right. Take the pathway, which will bring you to the main lower entrance to Washington Park.

Follow the path to the Lewis and Clark column, whose cornerstone was laid by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, and which was completed in 1908. It is the first picture at the top of this blog post. From this vantage point you can see the wide walkway leading back into the city to the right. Take the walkway and leave Washington Park.

When you reach the Washington Park entrance gate take the roadway to the left. You will walk behind a large apartment complex with a feature that is rare for such complexes in the Pacific Northwest - an outdoor pool, or at least an outdoor pool that isn't covered with a tarp for the winter. It's hard to imagine anyone using this pool from early October to late April, but perhaps some hardy souls in the complex brave the elements.

Immediately after the pool you will see this trail leaving the roadway to the right. Take the trail down the hill, and then turn left onto SW Cedar Street. This is a great neighborhood of older and newer homes.

Cedar Street ends in a stairway heading down the hill to SW Cactus Drive. Take the stairway.

At the bottom of the stairway follow Cactus Drive as it curves to the right. On your left is the Envoy Building. Constructed in 1929, it contains 43 units, formerly apartments, converted to condominiums in 2004. While the building has five stories on this side, on the downhill side it is seven stories tall. The building sits on a high slope above West Burnside on its other side, and the units have panoramic views to the north and northeast. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Continue on Cactus Drive. Right beyond the Envoy Building you will get a glimpse of some of the views that residents of the building enjoy.

Follow Cactus Drive, enjoying the views to the left, until you reach a three-way intersection with Cedar Street and Green Avenue. Veer slightly to the right onto Green Avenue. On the right is this stately home in a Greek Revival style (also popular with antebellum Southern plantation houses). It was built in 1907.

At Park Place, turn left. Cross Vista Avenue and on the next block are older high-rise apartment buildings. Cross St. Clair Avenue, and on your left will be a one-story building, with garden out front, belonging to the Oregon Society of Artists. The Society began operation in 1927, but built this home for itself in 1955. The Society's members are artists, but it's unclear from its web page how an artist gets into the society. Events are open to the public on the first Thursday evening of each month, consisting of an "artist's demonstration."

Continue on Park Place to King Avenue, where you will turn right. On the right corner is this attractive brick house, built in 1904, which includes a second large building on the same lot (to the left in the picture). After a very short distance on King Avenue turn left onto Salmon Street.

On this block of Salmon, to your right are several attractive older homes. To your left is a sunken garden area, followed by this building, the Town Club. The club was established in 1928, and describes itself as a "women's private club." The building and grounds are used to host various social gatherings for the members and their guests. Of note is the dress code, which reads like a relic from another era, with its admonition that, for both men and women, "no casual attire of any kind" is allowed.

Continue on Salmon to 20th Avenue, where you will see the Multnomah Athletic Club again and reach the starting point of this walk.