The Landscape Architect’s Guide to

Portland, Oregon

Transportation

Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade

Your Guide

Jean Senechal Biggs, ASLA

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The Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade is a riverfront trail that extends 1.5 miles along the Willamette River, connecting the east and west sides of downtown Portland. The esplanade provides places for active recreation, public gathering, and quiet contemplation. Interpretive signs along the path weave a story of Portland’s development, explaining the natural, cultural, and economic history that created its identity. The esplanade’s contribution to Portland’s sustainability is threefold: It's a major corridor for active transportation through cycling and walking; portions of the riverbank have been restored to a more natural state with native plantings to provide wildlife habitat; and it has reclaimed derelict land to create a park for public enjoyment.

Landscape architects were central to the development of the esplanade. The 1994 Eastbank Riverfront Park Master Plan by Hargreaves Associates created a vision to guide the design and development of the park. Following the adoption of the plan, Portland landscape architects Mayer/Reed designed the park to be a place for people and nature. Along this linear corridor, the designers created a series of public spaces to experience the river. Landscape architects from Portland Parks & Recreation managed the construction of the esplanade, which opened in 2001. In 2004, the esplanade was named for Mayor Vera Katz, who was an advocate for its construction, to honor her vision and leadership for Portland.

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Reflecting Back on Portland’s Skyline

Many visitors arrive by walking or cycling over the historic 1910 Hawthorne Bridge at the south end of the esplanade. The Madison Street plaza provides a scenic overlook for views across the Willamette River to downtown Portland. It’s a place to compare Portland’s two contrasting waterfronts – the grassy expanse of Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the narrow, planted riverbank of the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade.

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Urban Markers Guide the Way

Urban markers designed by Mayer/Reed provide historical information about Portland’s development and bridges, while being thoroughly contemporary in design. In 13 locations along the esplanade where the street grid used to connect to the river, the 20-foot-tall, stainless-steel markers include street name signs, interpretive displays, maps, and lighting.

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Connections for Cyclists

According to 2010 census data, 6 percent of Portlanders commute by bike – that’s more than 17,000 workers who reap the health benefits of cycling and leave more money in their pockets. The esplanade is a key connection for cyclists and an important link in Portland’s extensive and growing bicycle network. Commuters traveling between Northeast Portland and downtown can choose the esplanade for a stress-free ride without motor vehicles. Weekends are often bustling with families and cyclists of all ages.

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Restoring the Riverbank

The Salmon Street plaza extends to the Willamette River’s edge with a cantilevered steel structure. Here the work of landscape architects made the restored riverbank look natural. Historic development on Portland’s east side filled in areas along the river’s edge with rubble and debris. With the construction of the Eastbank Esplanade, the bank was reshaped and replanted. It now has over 10 years growth, providing shade and creating fish, insect, and bird habitat.

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Places for Both Activity and Rest

The esplanade is a place for walking, running, and cycling, but also for rest. Benches provide opportunities to sit away from the activity of the promenade to pause and reflect.

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Enriching the Esplanade Through Art

Portland’s Percent for Art program funded four pieces along the esplanade, making one’s experience richer in the discovery of the artworks. The artist group RIGGA collaborated with design team to develop a group of pieces that evoke Portland’s industrial, shipping, and river history. Sitting atop a concrete wall of what once was part of the old Port of Portland terminal is Ghost Ship by James Harrison, a sculpture filled of hundreds of red and orange pieces of art glass that shimmer in the sunshine and are illuminated from within at night.

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Capturing the Freeway

Construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s cut off access to the river from the Central Eastside neighborhoods and altered Portland’s relationship with the Willamette River. The esplanade was made possible only through the acquisition of leftover freeway land by the city from the Oregon Department of Transportation. In some places, freeway lanes are about 20 feet away from the esplanade path. Today, a stair tower from the esplanade connects to the sidewalks on the historic Burnside Bridge and provides a view of the river and Interstate 5.

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Walk on Water

The 1,200-foot-long floating walkway is the most dramatic experience along the esplanade. The deck is designed to rise and fall with seasonal fluctuations in river levels. It gently moves in the wake of passing boats.

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Steel Bridge RiverWalk

At the northern end of the esplanade is a walkway attached to the bottom deck of the Steel Bridge, Portland’s 1912 railroad bridge, which is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Completed in May 2001 by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, the cantilevered steel structure required meticulous construction to not interfere with the function of the bridge. From here, pedestrians and cyclists can continue on a loop along the west bank of the river through Tom McCall Waterfront Park and into downtown Portland.

Image: Jean Senechal Biggs