Tale of two designs: O'Bryant Square languishes; Director Park flourishes

Could Holladay Park project be a model for future plans?

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, OBryant Square in downtown Portland is mostly deserted. On the parks raised northeast corner, two piles of discarded clothing and one discarded shoe sit in the shade of a tree, a flattened cardboard box on the ground beside them.

Four men are sleeping on the parks upper level. A dozen or so people rest on the parks perimeter, on benches and retaining walls, most in shade, all but a few balancing lunches from the nearby 10th and Alder food carts on their laps.

Five park garbage cans are already overflowing at 3:15 p.m., with chopsticks and half-filled sauce cups on the ground beside the cans. Plastic forks and paper napkins are scattered throughout the parks bark dust.

A tall, 30-ish man with a scruffy beard scavenges a couple of the garbage cans, coming away with what looks like some leftover biryani and a half-filled paper Coke cup with straw.

There is absolutely nobody in the center of the park, its plaza. The large bronze fountain built in the shape of a rose dominates the plaza but is empty. The fountain hasnt spouted water for at least 13 years.

Two men and two women, travelers maybe, homeless quite possibly, have taken ownership of the parks northwest corner. Approached by a reporter, one of the women shakes her finger and shouts, Keep walking.

A few blocks away, lively Director Park has shown what intelligent programming and around the clock security can accomplish. Holladay Park next to the Lloyd Center is on its way to joining the list of Portland destination parks. OBryant Square is, well, the counterpoint, an example of what happens when a city park is badly designed and allowed to determine its own fate.

Design is the primary reason OBryant cant be made to feel safe, says Matthew Arnold, associate principal director of urban design and planning at SERA Architects. More specifically, Arnold says, the problem is the altered grade of the park.

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Tale of two designs: O'Bryant Square languishes; Director Park flourishes