Pioneer Courthouse Square

[5] In 1884 investor Henry Villard came to Portland, looking for business support for a railroad hotel associated with his newly acquired Northern Pacific Railway.

[7] Villard hired the firm of McKim, Mead & White and its employee William M. Whidden to design the hotel, rising six stories to an attic with elaborate dormers, in an H-shaped plan with its main gated courtyard facing the Pioneer Courthouse, the landmark 1875 federal building directly to the east.

Local leaders re-organized the project in 1888 and contacted Widden, who came west and partnered with Ion Lewis to complete the job in 1890.

Out of 162 submissions, five finalists were chosen, from firms based in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco/Los Angeles, Boston, and Portland.

Portland Mayor Frank Ivancie led a group of downtown business owners advocating a closed structure to prevent transients from congregating.

[15] Former governor Tom McCall, then a television commentator, was indignant: "It would be a shock ... to learn that a few power brokers have decreed that the result of the nationwide design rivalry is meaningless..."[13] The square's construction required $3 million for land acquisition and $4.3 million for the structures and amenities, a large enough amount that Ivancie's opposition nearly doomed the project.

Martin, together with other architects and volunteers, drew attention to the delays from the opposition by painting a stylized blueprint of the proposal on the site itself.

But it took the formation of "Friends of Pioneer Square", a citizens' group led by city commissioners Charles Ray Jordan and Mike Lindberg, and $750,000 raised by the sale of 50,000 inscribed bricks, to rescue the project.

[citation needed] In 2002, the organization controlling the square had plans to add a large ice skating rink for four months of the year, at a cost of $12 million.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a Somali-American student, was arrested after attempting to set off what he thought was a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

[25] In October 2014, Mohamud was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison along with credit for time served since his arrest, as well as lifetime supervision upon his scheduled release in 2037.

[26] On Morrison and Yamhill streets (the north and south boundaries of the square) are sheltered MAX Light Rail stops.

On the north side is an artistic feature, consisting of towering classical columns which progressively topple over like those of an ancient ruin.

A fountain, taking the form of a cascading waterfall, on the west side of the square frames the entrance to a public information center and TriMet ticket office.

[29] Eric Ladd, an "early pioneer of…sustainable living," built the wrought-iron gateway on the eastern edge of the square in the 1970s, out of scrap salvaged from the Portland Hotel.

The store closed at the end of January 2005,[31] and the space was then vacant for an extended period, until KGW-TV, Portland's NBC affiliate, began leasing it in early 2008, with plans to construct a studio there.

Dozens of events are held at the square each year, including free shows during spring and summer, sponsored by local businesses.