How did an industrial precinct become Portland's Pearl District, a jewel in the Rose City?

 

Mix in walkable blocks, new and historic buildings, pedestrian pathways and a plethora of parks, and you get Portland's Pearl District, a downtown adjacent neighborhood that has grown to house almost 12,000 people since its transformation began in the mid 1980s.  There's also a streetcar that complements the city's larger light rail system.

 

Formerly home to light industry and railyards, the Pearl was rezoned to allow mixed uses at a time when Portland was the leading example of how to do good urbanism in the country.

 

Meet architecture writer and all things Portland expert Brian Libby as he tells how the Pearl District came about:

The creation of the Pearl District, a name coined by an art gallery owner in the late 1980s, was spurred by a 1983 American Institute of Architects study dubbed “The Last Place in Downtown.”  This led to NW 13th Avenue's designation as a National Historic District. 

 

There was sporadic development into the 1990s.  Then, a development group bought 40 acres of largely empty railroad land in 1994 and worked with the city on a vision for a dense new urban neighborhood just north of the downtown core. 

 

In the early 2000s, the five block Blitz-Weinhard brewery complex was remade into residences, offices and shops plus an expansive Whole Foods, and the making of the Pearl District was well underway. 

 

NW 13th Avenue in Portland's Pearl District from 1987 is below, followed by a contemporary street scene in the same place:

A key element in the evolution of the Pearl was its master park plan – three new parks and a series of midblock passageways lined with greenery.  Combined with all the restaurants and shops, the pedestrian experience in the Pearl is something many cities could learn from (and we plan a future story about the district).

 

The water in the Pearl's Jamison Square wading pool ebbs and flows below:

 

Tanner Springs Park in Portland's Pearl District features a walkable wetland dropped into the middle of the city:

 

The iconic Go By Streetcar sign on a residential block in Portland's Pearl District is shown below with a streetcar rounding the curve:

 

Saving the City creator Ron Blatman was recently featured in an extended interview in The Planning Report, a journal about cities out of Los Angeles.

 

 

If you like the idea of sharing ways to help make our cities better places (such as highlighting robust urban neighborhoods), join us to help complete the first four 60-minute episodes of the Saving the City series.  

 

. Why Cities Matter

. Living Downtown

. Parks & Recreation

. Family Ties

 

We just got a composed musical piece and brought on board a highly regarded British animator to create a 60-second opening sequence that will appear near the beginning of all our episodes. And we're still finalizing and clearing rights for hundreds of historic images and dozens of archival film clips that appear in our initial group of stories.

 

We are also working on an updated website to be released soon.

 

And, we are seeking a lead funder so we can start on our next six episodes, covering topics such as transportation, homelessness, urban universities and climate change.

 

 

Please share this newsletter with friends and family.  Our newsletter archive is here.

 

And check out our work and let us know what you think.  We're always eager to learn about new stories and be referred to people we should know about.

 

After watching Saving the City, you will never look at cities the same way again.

 

 

“We want you to visit our State of Excitement often. Come again and again. But for heaven’s sake, don’t move here to live. Or if you do have to move in to live, don’t tell any of your neighbors where you’re going."

 

Tom McCall, Oregon Governor 1971

During Portland's rapid growth in the mid-19th century, tree clearing left behind so many stumps that the city gained the nickname "Stumptown".