The city's citizen Rose Quarter redevelopment team essentially needs to turn the clock back 60 years on the area around lower NE Broadway. The Rose Quarter redevelopment stakeholder group this month launched a year-long process looking at ways to turn the Quarter into a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use 24-hour entertainment district. But what stood out at last night’s stakeholder meeting is that before the city’s muckity urban renewal process got involved decades ago, the now-isolated area was a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use 24 hour entertainment district.
- Via Leftbank
- Screw "Rose Quarter Eco-District" - we're calling the area "Pleasure Spot of the West."
One member of the stakeholder group noted that the area’s history shows that perhaps small development—clubs, independent stores, organic neighborhoods—works better to enliven an area than single large development projects, like a Major League Soccer stadium.
More on the meeting—including an interesting defense of Memorial Coliseum and Mayor Adams making an actually funny joke—below the cut.
Portland Architecture critic and local architect Stuart Emmons presented a brief history and defense of Memorial Coliseum. One fun fact: Memorial Coliseum was almost named “Portland’s Glass Palace.”
“Memorial Coliseum is a sleeping masterpiece in our minds,” said Libby. “This was a big step for Portland becoming an international city. You don’t save a building for its cultural history, but still we want to recognize that.” Libby said the building has “some of the DNA of Pioneer Courthouse Square” and could be successful as a beautiful civic space. Libby pointed the building's engineering feat of supporting an area the size of four city blocks with just four columns and opined that the greatness of the Coliseum’s design comes from its “simple, confident, sculptural” elements. “I equate this with being at St. Paul’s cathedral in London or a Buddhist temple in Japan.”
A couple of the committee members mentioned at the end of the meeting that they didn’t even know the giant curtains that cloak the inside of the Memorial Coliseum could be pulled back. For its most recent years, the Glass Palace has been more like the Curtained Castle.
“The history of great cities can be seen in their buildings and Memorial Coliseum is a part of Portland’s history,” said Emmons. In addition to Obama, the Beatles and various monster truck rallies, some see Memorial Coliseum as the sacred ground where the Trailblazers won the national championships in 1977.
The Coliseum was listed National Historic Register building this month, protecting its exterior and the inside bowl. That designation makes changing or demolishing the building much more difficult, but not impossible.
- Rose Quarter Rules: Too Big To Miss!!
The gist of the incredibly dense development agreements governing the Rose Quarter is that while the city of Portland owns Memorial Coliseum the land that the Rose Garden sit on, private company Portland Arena Management owns special development rights for both facilities. Unless the city wants to go through some major and lengthy contract negotiations with PAM, the Rose Quarter redevelopment will have to work pretty much hand in hand with the company.