Portland - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 430

Across the park, the excellent Portland Art Museum MAP GOOGLE MAP (
503-226-2811; www.portlandartmuseum.org ; 1219 SW Park Ave; adult/child $15/free; 10am-5pm
Tue, Wed & Sat, to 8pm Thu & Fri, noon-5pm Sun) has exhibits that include Native American
carvings, Asian and American art and English silver. The museum also houses the Whit-
sell Auditorium, a first-rate theater that frequently screens rare or international films.
Blockbuster exhibits are mounted regularly.
At the southern end of the South Park Blocks is Portland State University , the city's
largest university.
Portland Building LANDMARK
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(cnr SW 5th Ave & SW Main St) This controversial 15-story building (1982) was designed by
Michael Graves and catapulted the postmodern architect to celebrity status. However, the
people working inside the blocky, pastel-colored edifice have had to deal with tiny win-
dows, cramped spaces and general user-unfriendliness. The building suffered from major
design flaws that later proved very costly to fix - not a great start for what was con-
sidered to be the world's first major postmodern structure. At least it's been made some-
what green: an eco roof was installed in 2006.
Towering above the main doors of the Portland Building is Portlandia , an immense
statue of the Goddess of Commerce, Portland's supposed patroness. This crouching fig-
ure is, at 36ft, the second largest hammered-copper statue in the US (after the Statue of
Liberty).
Tom McCall Waterfront Park PARK
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This popular riverside park, which lines the west bank of the Willamette River, was fin-
ished in 1978 after four years of construction. It replaced an old freeway with 1.5 miles
of paved sidewalks and grassy spaces, and attracts heaps of joggers, in-line skaters,
strollers and cyclists. During the summer, the park is perfect for hosting large outdoor
events like the Oregon Brewers Festival. Walk over the Steel and Hawthorne bridges to
the Eastbank Esplanade , making a 2.6-mile loop.
Salmon Street Springs Fountain , on Salmon St near the river, cycles through
computer-generated patterns. On hot days kids (and adults) take turns plunging through
the jets. North of the Burnside Bridge is the Japanese-American Historical Plaza , a
memorial to Japanese Americans who were interned by the US government during
WWII.