Darcelle Plaza becomes a place to celebrate
Ribbon-cutting for rebuilt, renamed square is scheduled for Thursday, June 18
The completion of Darcelle XV Plaza will be celebrated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 18. A formal program runs from noon-12:45 p.m.
The event will include speakers, a live choir, snacks and refreshments.
The project began in 2023 with design work by Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design and NNA Landscape Architecture. Construction was by Portland Parks & Recreation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
The block was previously known as O’Bryant Square, and included an underground parking garage.
Lest we forget:
The square itself was originally named for Hugh Donaldson O'Bryant, a pioneer who migrated to Oregon from Georgia in 1843. O'Bryant was a carpenter who showed his civic pride in 1850 when he founded Portland's first public library. He was elected as Portland's first mayor in the city's first election on April 7, 1851, by receiving 104 of the 222 votes cast.
In the early 1900s, the Rivoli Theater and the Basket Grocery were the two best-known features on the block. Built by Robert S. Farrell, business and political leader and one of the founders of the Multnomah Athletic Club, the Rivoli Theater was famous for its vaudeville acts. At the beginning of World War II, with stage acts a thing of the past, it was renamed the Newsreel Theater. The grocery was one of the finest gourmet delicatessens in Portland for 50 years before it was closed in 1969.
In 1971, the property was donated to the city by Mr. and Mrs. William E. Roberts. Built mostly of brick and concrete, the square was designed at that time by Donald Edmundson and Evan Kennedy of the Portland firm of Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, and was dedicated in December 1973. O'Bryant Square's dominant feature was a bronze fountain in the shape of a rose, fittingly titled Fountain to a Rose. It was made possible through a $28,000 bequest from Donald Card Sloan, who was a prime minister of the Royal Rosarians in 1953. Its inscription read "May you find peace in this garden." The fountain was surrounded by 250 rose bushes and other plants. Beneath the fountain's jets, an underground parking garage accommodated 90 cars, making it the first park with parking in the city. In 1976, O'Bryant Square received a national design award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(https://www.portland.gov/parks/darcelle-xv-plaza)
Very nice addition to Portland Parks and downtown.