Jamison Square
| Jamison Square | |
|---|---|
The park's wading pool in 2008
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| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Portland, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 45°31′44″N 122°40′55″W / 45.5289°N 122.682°WCoordinates: 45°31′44″N 122°40′55″W / 45.5289°N 122.682°W |
| Area | 0.94 acres (0.38 ha) |
| Created | 2000 |
| Operated by | Portland Parks & Recreation |
| Status | Open 5 a.m. to midnight daily |
Jamison Square is a city park in the area of downtown Portland, Oregon, known as the Pearl District. It was the first park added to the neighborhood.
At a cost of $3.6 million, the park was designed and built during the 12-year tenure of Mayor Vera Katz.
The park was designed by PWP Landsacpe Architecture. The park was initially designed as an outdoor art gallery, with square rocks and steps at the center, but no water. Water, running at random times over the rock, was added to keep skateboarding teenagers from using them. The water on the rocks ended up turning the park into an urban beach, attracting children and families who use it as a wading pool, with the intermittent nature making it a "manmade tidal pool", also called "the community pond" by locals. A wooden boardwalk, made of ipê, connects Jamison Park to Tanner Springs Park, two blocks away, and is intended to eventually connect to the Willamette River.
The park design includes three main elements: a fountain, a boardwalk, and an outdoor gallery. The stone fountain metaphorically expresses the idea of an “aquifer," as water pours out of the stone steps, filling up the gently sloping ground until the water is about 12 inches deep, at which point the water drains back out and the ground is dry.
The square includes four 30-foot modern totem poles, created by Kenny Scharf and Paige Powell in 2001, named Tikitotmoniki Totems.The Oregonian lampooned the art in late 2002, saying "the Pearl Arts Foundation commissioned '80s art star Kenny Scharf to put up goofy Tiki Totems" in the park. However, the totem poles are also functional, as they hide steel support poles for the overhead trolley wires that supply power to the Portland Streetcar, which began operation in 2001. The Portland Streetcar passes on two sides of the park.
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