Lovejoy Fountain, Courtesy Portland Parks & Recreation
The Portland Open Space Sequence, completed between 1966 and 1970, includes two of the most famous landscapes of the modern era—Lovejoy Plaza and the Ira Keller Fountain. At both sites, Lawrence Halprin & Associates designed fountains that abstract natural gorges in concrete and invite people to play in them. Recently, these spaces, a smaller fountain known as The Source, the grass-covered hillocks of Pettygrove Park, and all the pedestrian malls connecting them were named to the National Register of Historic Places. You can read more about the nomination here.
The landscapes join a very small group of modernist landscapes listed on the register. Peavey Plaza by M. Paul Friedberg, FASLA, and Gas Works Park by Richard Haag, FASLA, joined the register in January, though plans are still afoot to demolish Peavey. The Portland spaces have received much more support locally. The Halprin Landscape Conservancy was founded in 2001 to contribute to their care, and Portland’s City Council affirmed its support for the spaces’ registration last June.
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