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One month after Portland Pride, colorful upgrades are headed for two queer-friendly Portland outdoor spaces.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced this week it will soon begin work on two outdoor spaces downtown separated by several blocks but linked in spirit—and connected physically by Southwest Harvey Milk Street.
Bright, pride-flag colors are heading for Pride Plaza—a section of Harvey Milk between 12th and 13th Avenues. The car-free strip was one of several spaces to emerge in the pandemic to help local restaurants increase outdoor dining space. Over time neighbors and business owners worked with city officials to make the plaza permanent. Last year, PBOT repaved the street and built new corner ramps.
The revamp will feature brightly colored, “playful” permanent seating in novel shapes and pavement graphics inspired by the Pride flag, says PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera.
Several blocks to the east, the city will also upgrade Darcelle XV Plaza. A section of SW 9th Avenue, adjacent to the park running from SW Harvey Milk to SW Washington streets, is to be reduced to one lane of traffic and dubbed Darcelle XV Promenade.
A diamond pattern on the ground is intended as a reference to the flag-like art that hangs above the park, while rose motifs refer to the song “The Rose,” made famous by Bette Midler and a signature song of Darcelle XV.
Both projects are intended to enhance street space for “walking, gathering and celebrating Darcelle XV and the LGBTQ+ community,” according to Rivera.
The projects cost a combined $1.8 million with two-thirds of the cost covered by a federal grant. PBOT expects most work to conclude by the end of September.
The two pedestrian spaces are among the 25 public street plazas maintained by PBOT. Others include the Cart Blocks on Southwest Park Avenue, Dream Plaza on the Central Eastside and Ankeny Plaza, a swath of Old Town where business owners hope to establish a “Pink Light District” (“The Pink Light District and Portland’s Queer Geography,” WW, July 7) of rose-hued food and nightlife offerings.
