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 Peninsula Park - Portland, Oregon Posted by:  howarthe
N 45° 34.188 W 122° 40.350
10T E 525554 N 5046303
Basketball court, picnic areas, restrooms, fountain, horseshoe pit, paths, picnic site, picnic tables, playground, public garden, rose garden, soccer field, softball field, stage, public art, lighted tennis court, lighted water play features, etc.
Waymark Code: WM8NFY
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 04/23/2010
Views: 4
Amenities include: basketball court, picnic areas, restrooms, fountain, horseshoe pit, paths, picnic site, picnic tables, playground, public garden, rose garden, soccer field, softball field, stage, public art, lighted tennis court, lighted water play feature, and wedding site.
Historical Information
Peninsula Park is a good example of a formally designed neighborhood park, typical of the early 1900s. It includes the city's first public rose garden and first community center, an historically designated bandstand, and Portland's second oldest playground.
The park was purchased by the city in 1909 for the sum of $60,000 with funds raised in a 1908 bond measure. Originally owned by local businesswoman Liverpool Liz, it had been the site for a roadhouse and racetrack for quarter-mile horse racing. An autopark and campground were also included in the original parcel. Planned by renowned Oregon architects Ellis Lawrence and Ormond R. Bean, the park was a result of Portland's 1912 'City Beautiful' movement. Completed in 1913, much remains of the original features, including the lantern-style streetlights, the stone pillars, vast brickwork, and the nearly 100-year-old fountain in the center of the rose garden.
The rose garden, designed by Emanuel L. Mische, is one of Portland's most beautiful formal rose gardens, with 8,900 plantings on a two-acre site. The garden entrance is located on Albina Ave, between Ainsworth & Rosa Parks Way. Visitors are greeted by magnificent plantings of 65 rose varieties which border the steps leading to the sunken rose garden, the only one in Oregon. The rose garden was the showplace of its time, with 300,000 visitors in the first year alone. The official Portland rose, named Mme. Caroline Testout, was cultivated in the garden. Once planted by the thousands along the streets of Portland, this rose earned Portland the name 'City of Roses.' In 1913, floral enthusiasts selected Peninsula Park as the location for an annual rose show. In 1917, Washington Park on Portland’s west side was selected as the site of the International Rose Test Garden and most of the rose show activities were moved there.
The octagonal bandstand overlooking the rose garden was constructed in 1913. It was used for World War I patriotic demonstrations and is now the site for many summer weddings and concerts. This wonderful gazebo-like structure is a National Heritage historical structure and was designated a Portland Historic Landmark in 1973. It is the last of its kind in Portland.
The Italian villa-style community center is Portland's first and oldest. The Portland Lavendar Club, a dance and social group for women over age 50, originated here and it has been home to a women's volleyball club since the early 1900s. In 1957, the city zoo housed its Humboldt penguins in the center's pool for six months because the zoo lacked the proper facilities when the birds arrived from Antarctica. Many Portlanders still remember calling it Penguin Park!
Name: Penisula Park
Street Location: N Rosa Park Way, N Ainsworth St., N Albina Ave, N Kirby Ave
Local Municipality: Portland
State/Province, etc.: Oregon
Country: USA
Web Site: [Web Link]
Memorial/Commemoration: no
Date Established: 1909
Picnic Facilities: covered picnic area, tables and small pavillion
Recreational Facilities:
basketball court, horseshoe pit, playground, soccer field, softball field, lighted tennis court.
Monuments/Statues: none
Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Disk #4 by Jerry Allen, 1979 and Ocean by George Johanson
Fountains: yes
Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: no
Special Events: weddings
Traditional Geocaches:
None
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Visit Instructions:
One photo of the park that is a different view from the one on the page, and give the date and description your visit.
Add any additional information that you may have about this park. A GPSr photo is NOT required.
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