GREAT CITIES HAVE GREAT GATHERING PLACES
A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY
Nearly a decade in the making, the Congress Square Redesign will transform a car-dominated and inaccessible area into a world-class urban space.
After an extensive community-driven process, there are three components of the Congress Square Redesign:
Phase A
Redesign of the intersection of Congress Street, High Street, and Free Street.
Phase B
Redesign the public space including PMA plaza, the H.H. Hay Building plaza, and Congress Square Park.
Phase C
The installation of a custom public art sculpture by renowned artist Sarah Sze.
Hundreds of people participated in the process to bring us to this point. Beginning with a City-sponsored public visioning exercise followed by a series of public forums held during critical decision points in the design process, the City of Portland, Friends of Congress Square Park, and the Portland Public Art Committee convened residents, neighborhood associations, nonprofits, and businesses to help develop a vision for Congress Square and to select the landscape design firm WRT and artist Sarah Sze.
The project partners and other community stakeholders worked closely with WRT and Sarah Sze to develop designs that successfully fulfill the community’s needs and aspirations for the Square.
With the redesign, the updated traffic flow and crosswalk width and placement will ease congestion and significantly improve safety for all modes of transportation. The improved performance area will facilitate educational, cultural, and community programming. Inviting pathways, seat walls, shade trees, plantings, lighting, a natural playscape, and a splash pad will provide a welcome year-round urban respite.
The improvements will enhance opportunities for social connections and foster a sense of neighborhood pride and belonging. The end result will be a community gathering place that is welcoming and inspiring for generations to come.
2021 Public Forum Discussion
Public meeting to solicit feedback and refine the concept design.