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Jamison Square is a “pocket park” in the Pearl neighborhood of downtown Portland. The park was originally planned as an outdoor art gallery with steps and square rocks at the center, making it very attractive to kids on skateboards. To keep them away, a feature was designed to run water was over the rocks. Instead of skateboarders, the water feature on the rocks attracted kids cooling off in the summer, effectively turning the feature and the park into an urban beach. Both kids and adults use it as a wading pool, called by the locals "the community pond."
There is an attractive wooden boardwalk made of ipê that connects Jamison Park to the nearby Tanner Springs Park, two blocks away. It will eventually lead to the Willamette River. The park also includes four 30-foot tall contemporary totem poles, created in 2001 by Kenny Scharf and Paige Powell. The totem poles also act as steel support poles for the electrical wires for the Portland Streetcar that passes on two sides of the park.
Jamison Square, 810 NW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97209
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