PSU Magazine Spring 2001

furious public debate that booms off the decibel cale. The most infamous, recent example is the Portland Public Service Building designed by Michael Graves. But the real modem debate begin , in Barton's view, with what was then called the First Interstate Bank headquarters, now home to Wells Fargo Bank. I n the late 1960s, First Interstate officials turned their eyes on an economically stagnant downtown Portland. The number of commercial and residential inhabitants was hrink– ing. Major construction projects were unheard of. And it eemed like half the city's core was given over to weed– studded parking lots. Portland was fa t becoming a ghost town. 8 PSU MAGAZINE SPRING 2001 First Interstate saw a thrifty oppor– tunity to build a signature headquar– ters, and the gratefu l public opened it arms and closed its eyes, raising almost no debate over how the high-ri e wou ld fit into Portland's vision for itself. A Los Angeles architect was called in, and the resu lt was, in Bar– ton's view, a perfect Southern Califor– nia building, divorced from the street by a wide concrete moat. It symbolized what Portland could become, and those among the public with an eye to the future said, "Yikes." A public debate ensued over what Portland wanted for its downtown-a thriving, lively bustle of pedestrians? Or office towers floating on window– le s pede tal , alienated from one another and pas er -by? The ongoing debate can be dramatic, as it was with the Graves-designed Port– land Public Services Building. Although much of that debate focused shallowly on the building's appearance-or as Barton puts it, "a coat of paint"---deeper que tions were at stake, such as "What image should government project to its citizens?" Should government maintain the traditional, imposing formality of, say, the nation's capitol with its broad steps forcing the pedestrian to rise up to the hallowed hall ?Or should it be more integrated into the day-to-day fabric, with retail shops at the treet level to create a bustling, friendly atmo phere and above the government offices with civ il ervants ready to serve the citizen?