Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11
TRAM TO SOUTH WATERFRONT:
THE SCI-FI WALK
BOUNDARIES:
Willamette River, SW Gibbs St., SW Abernethy St., SW 10th Ave.
DISTANCE:
2 miles
DIFFICULTY:
Easy (or moderate if you add a Marquam Trail hike)
PARKING:
Metered, in OHSU lot
PUBLIC TRANSIT:
TriMet Bus 8 (OHSU), tram, Portland Streetcar to downtown
If you too grew up devouring unhealthy quantities of science-fiction paperbacks with
garishly painted covers, you will automatically love the Portland Aerial Tram. Who
cares if it's practical?
Look at it!
The tram makes Portland's skyline 50 times more
awesome than before. Its other purpose, of course, is to carry people between Oregon
Health & Science University (OHSU), perched high on the hillside, and the South
Waterfront, a newly developed neighborhood in a previously industrial area alongside
the river south of downtown. The South Waterfront development occupies a former
“brown field”—land that was contaminated with the by-products of heavy industrial
use, and which required a $20 million cleanup effort that has been going on since the
1990s. (A large portion of the industry that once occupied this area involved barge-
building, and some of that is still going on; U.S. Navy ships were built here for World
War II, and then dismantled here afterward.) The cleanup of the area is essentially
wrapped up, and development continues—the location of this area makes it a poten-
tially very exciting area for developers.
This walk takes us via the tram from OHSU's Marquam Hill location down through
the South Waterfront neighborhood, with a bit of exploring on top of the hill first for
those who are so inclined. If you're feeling even more ambitious, Metro (the regional
government) maintains a linked network called the 4T Trail: it forms a loop that in-
corporates the Portland Streetcar, which connects to MAX Light Rail, which leads to
the Wildwood Trail, which takes you to the tram (trail, tram, trolley, train = four Ts).
Maps and guides are available online at
library.oregonmetro.gov/files/
Note:
Due to space constraints, our map begins at the south PAT terminal and does
not show the upper PAT terminal or Marquam Nature Park. You can find maps of the
park online at
fmnp.org
or at the Marquam Shelter, at the Marquam Trail entrance.
