PSU Magazine Spring 2001

N ow the public debate is turning to the renewed interested in the Park Blocks. In 1848, Daniel Lownsdale advocated setting aside a greenway of 26 linear blocks. In time, these became Portland's trea– su red Park Blocks, broken only by later development of the six blocks from Southwe t Salmon to Pine streets. Now former Mayor and Gov. Neil Goldschmidt and Tom Moyer, former theater tycoon, hope to lead the charge into redeveloping--or perhaps "undeveloping"-those "lo t" blocks. "This is an issue that needs debate," says Barton. "The Park Blocks should be connected, but how?" Does Port– land's vision of itself mean the build– ings shou ld be removed and the greenway established straight through from Portland State to the Willamette River? Can the idea of "park" some– how incorporate those buildings, per– haps flowing around them? Or can the park be omething between those extremes? W ith the Park Blocks conun– drum, the public face an assignment not unlike that of architecture students. As we inve ti– gate, solve, and debate the Park Blocks criteria, Barton only hopes the public deliberations will rai e the broader themes and take the long view. "I think it would be tremendously interesting to speculate on the next generation of parks," says Barton. "What will people want in a park 50 years from now?" Paris, for instance, held a competition in the early 1980s to gather ideas and de igns for a 21st century park. What did Parisians think that future would be? Not a placid green space-most of the de igns incorporated the entertainment value people seek from amusement parks. Whether or not Portland want a Disneyland in its downtown isn't the point, though. The point i for the city to think hard , investigate criteria and propose solutions-to research, like architecture students. Then let the grand dreams be built. 0 (Melissa Steineger, a Portland freelance writer, wrote the article "Eyes on the Skies," which appeared in the winter 2001 P U Magazine.)