Portland: The South Park Blocks

I specify "South" because there was once a longer stretch, part of which is still there. Director Park is in line with the South Park blocks, and the North blocks are slightly lower, due to how odd juxtaposition of Downtown with Old Town.

Just for clarity, I started at Salmon and went South-West all the way to that loop by Jackson.

That way made a lot of sense to me. You are starting in the Cultural District and finishing at Portland State, making this a loop of art, culture, and education.

The weather was nice, though it was still a bit early for the trees to even show buds. There were more signs of green lower down.

I had been in different parts of the blocks many time, but this was my first time methodically doing the entire length.

There is a lot of seating available, making it tempting to grab your lunch and sit outside. (There is also quite a bit of camping.)

There are art installations everywhere. A good free activity could be enjoying the Portland Art Museum's sculpture garden, and then checking out the park art.

I was pleased to see that there was a public bathroom, but not a conscientious enough reviewer to investigate it. It does look nicer than a porta potty would be.

As important as the trees are, I was happy to see that one of the artworks directly referenced them.

The Portland Streetcar runs directly through the park blocks (and the PSU campus), making for convenient transit to other parts of the city.

One more thing that made me happy was seeing the restoration of the Simon Benson house, now home of the alumni association. I had seen the house for year and liked its design, though it was not in a good state of repair. Seeing it once again be beautiful and useful is satisfying.

https://www.pdx.edu/profile/visit-simon-benson-house

Before hitting the hills there is still some increasing incline, which probably affects the layout a little, though perhaps not as much as being right in the middle of campus and providing a place for students to hang out.

It also becomes a nice play for a farmer's market.

http://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/our-markets/psu/

Chess, anyone? (Or checkers.)

As I approached the end of the blocks, I saw a playground and thought that was perfect. Portland State has a lot of continuing education students who might have families. Having a place kids could play while their parents worked was very practical.

Then I saw that it was only for children 2-5, with parental supervision. Yes, kids that young should have their parents with them, but the age range itself seemed very limiting for the potential needs of the student body.

Perhaps that was a good symbolic end to the park blocks - "Portland's Extended Family Room" and a transition to expensive housing and roads that get really difficult when it's icy. But that is part of Portland too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park_Blocks