Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com
Today the Rose Festival (now the official festival of the City of Portland) announced its support for the Trail Blazers’ concept for the re-development of the Rose Quarter.
The Blazers have proposed turning the Rose Quarter, which is a ghost town when the team isn’t in season, into a year-round entertainment district called “Jumptown.” For more background go here.
In supporting the Blazers concept, the Rose Festival mentions how the concept allows for other organizations (including the festival) to continue using Memorial Coliseum. Festival organizers also liked how the design kept key architectural components that accommodate the Grand Floral Parade, which goes through the Rose Quarter.
From the press release:
One of the core strengths of the Trail Blazers/Winterhawks approach is its reverence for the architectural character of Memorial Coliseum and for community uses of the building — including the Rose Festival, OSAA competitions, and graduations. The concept ensures a long-term future for the Grand Floral Parade at Memorial Coliseum.
“We appreciate that Trail Blazers have put forth a concept for the Memorial Coliseum that accommodates one of the world’s great community events,” said Jeff Curtis, Executive Director of the Rose Festival Foundation. “The original design of the Memorial Coliseum specifically accommodated the iconic Grand Floral Parade, a key architectural and community feature that would be lost with a radical intervention of the building’s interior bowl.”
The original Skidmore, Owings and Merrill design for the Memorial Coliseum placed large doors at either end of the facility to accommodate Rose Festival Parade floats.
