Concrete Jungle
Hidden parks take the edge of downtown
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Fred Leeson
Hit a few golf balls. Dangle your feet in the solitude of a cascading mountain stream.
And not leave downtown.
Hey, would we kid you? Of course not. The crannies of the city center hold a few surprises.
Take golf. Hidden behind the far corner of the Peter W. Stott Center at Portland State University lie a sand trap and putting green just waiting for a wedge and putter.
Make no mistake, this is not Augusta National. The putting surface is artificial turf, but it offers some interesting undulations. And it has not just one hole to aim at but six. Bring a sandwich, play 18 and you're still back at the office within the noon hour.
Finding the hidden golf site is the first challenge. It's past the dead end of Southwest College Street west of Park Avenue. Take the sidewalk on the south side of the Stott Center as far as possible, and there you are.
Another plus: The roar of Interstate-405 immediately behind will drown out the sudden verbal outbursts that inevitably accompany golf.
Lovejoy Fountain
If a mountain freshet fits your mood, try finding the Lovejoy Fountain at Southwest Third Avenue and Harrison Street. This is no simple task, given the awkward superblocks of the South Auditorium Urban Renewal Area.
OK, so the mountain is made of layered concrete. The sound of the rushing water still gives a sense of nature, as does the solitude. There's a good chance you'll have the whole fountain to yourself, since most Portlanders forgot about it a few years after the fountain opened in 1966. Those who remember it can't find it.
We can blame the Lovejoy's isolation on the unfortunate early urban renewal street plan. And on the larger, greener Forecourt Fountain, now Ira's Fountain, that opened four years later. You can wet your toes in Ira's Fountain, too, but you'll have to share it with a whole bunch of other people.
Have we gotten better at urban renewal since the Lovejoy Fountain days?
Tanner Springs Park
Reach your own conclusion at Tanner Springs Park, which opened last summer at Northwest 10th Avenue and Marshall Street in the Pearl District. It is the second of three parks planned in the River District Urban Renewal Area.
This park attempts to re-create the feel of the historic wetlands of Tanner Creek as it poured out of the Tualatin Mountains into the Willamette River. Alas, the real Tanner Creek was channeled into subsurface culverts many decades ago.
The water feature at Tanner Springs certainly isn't a fountain. It starts as a trickle and collects into a shallow pool near the east entrance. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the paths, and dogs are not welcome. (Fido's excretions could do bad things to the water quality.) It's meant to be a contemplative space, not for large gatherings.
Take a close look at the wavy steel fence. It's made of railroad tracks from the rail yards that used to comprise the neighborhood.
Is Tanner Springs Park a success? Make your own call. At least you can find it, because this time planners respected Portland's street grid and its peculiar little downtown blocks. Fred Leeson: 503-294-5946;
fredleeson@news.oregonian.com