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[MUSIC]
IF A BUILDING COULD TELL A STORY, THE TALE OF PORTLAND'S
PIONEER COURTHOUSE WOULD START HERE ON THE SHORES OF THE
PACIFIC OCEAN, LONG BEFORE OREGON BECAME A STATE.
FOR CENTURIES NATIVE AMERICANS INHABITED THIS AREA,
FULL OF NATURE'S BOUNTY.
THEN IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 19TH CENTURY EASTERNERS DREAMED
OF RICHES IN THE WEST AND OF A NATION
THAT STRETCHED FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA.
TO EXPLORE THE PROMISE OF WESTWARD EXPANSION,
PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON LAUNCHED A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY.
IN THE SPRING OF 1804 MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK DEPARTED
SAINT LOUIS HEADING FOR THE PACIFIC COAST.
CLARK COMES UP THE WILLAMETTE RIVER
IN THE SPRING OF 1806 LOOKING
FOR A ROUTE ACTUALLY INTO CALIFORNIA
AND DOESN'T FIND IT,
BUT DETERMINES THAT THIS IS AN AREA
THAT HAS A POTENTIAL FOR A GREAT PORT CITY.
SETTLERS IN THE 19TH CENTURY CAME HERE
OVER THE OREGON TRAIL
AND SETTLED IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY,
JUST SOUTH OF PORTLAND
AND PORTLAND BECAUSE IT WAS A PLACE
THAT YOU COULD GET TO ON THE RIVERS
AND BECAME THE PORT OF THE ENTIRE OREGON COUNTRY.
THE CITY OF PORTLAND WAS FOUNDED IN 1843 ON THE CLAIM
OF ASA LOVEJOY OF BOSTON AND FRANCIS PETTYGROVE
OF PORTLAND, MAINE,
BUT THERE WAS A HITCH.
THEY BOTH OWNED EQUAL SHARES OF THE TOWN
AND COULDN'T COME UP WITH A NAME.
EACH ONE WANTED TO NAME IT AFTER
HIS OWN HOMETOWN SO THEY TOSSED A COIN
AND THE MAN FROM MAINE WON THE COIN TOSS.
PORTLAND SOON EARNED THE NICKNAME STUMP TOWN.
IT WAS A LOGGER'S PARADISE,
LITERALLY CARVED OUT OF PRIMEVAL FOREST.
BY 1846 PORTLAND HAD GROWN TO 16 SMALL BLOCKS PACKED
INTO A COMPACT GRID ALONG THE RIVER.
IN 1859 OF COURSE OREGON BECAME A STATE
AND AT THAT POINT JUDGE DEADY WHO HAD BEEN
ON THE TERRITORIAL COURT BECAME THE
FIRST FEDERAL JUDGE HE WENT BACK TO WASHINGTON, D.C.
TO URGE THAT A COURTHOUSE BE ESTABLISHED IN PORTLAND.
[MUSIC]
WITH IMMIGRANTS STREAMING IN,
BUSINESS BOOMING AND THE NEWFOUND MANTLE OF STATEHOOD,
PORTLAND WAS GROWING FROM FRONTIER TOWN TO WESTERN CITY.
IN 1869 PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT SIGNED LEGISLATION
FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A U.S. POST OFFICE,
COURTHOUSE AND CUSTOMS HOUSE IN PORTLAND.
ALFRED B. MULLET,
THEN SUPERVISING ARCHITECT OF THE U.S. TREASURY
DEPARTMENT HEADED THE DESIGN TEAM.
MULLET IS QUITE WELL KNOWN FOR DESIGNING SOME OF THE MOST
ARCHITECTURALLY SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL BUILDINGS.
FOR PORTLAND IT WAS QUITE A SPECTACULAR BUILDING.
IT WAS A COMBINATION OF GREEK REVIVAL AND PALADIAN SO IT HAD
SOME REALLY INTERESTING ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS.
ALTHOUGH IN COMPARISON TO OTHER BUILDINGS BUILT BY MULLET AT
ABOUT THE SAME TIME, SUCH AS IN SAN FRANCISCO
AND WASHINGTON, D.C., IT WAS MUCH SIMPLER.
TOPPING THE THREE STORY SANDSTONE STRUCTURE
WAS AN OCTAGONAL WOODEN COPULA THAT OFFERED
A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE CITY.
THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURE WAS NOT MERELY DECORATIVE.
LIKE PORTLAND, IT HAD A PRACTICAL SIDE.
THAT WAS THE PRINCIPLE WAY THE CUSTOMS INSPECTORS FOUND OUT
WHICH SHIPS WERE COMING IN AND OUT OF THE PORT OF PORTLAND.
THE COURTHOUSE WAS COMPLETED ON OCTOBER 1ST 1875.
THE OLDEST SURVIVING FEDERAL BUILDING
IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
BUT THIS HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT HAD ITS DETRACTORS.
THE GREATEST CRITICISM OF THE PIONEER COURTHOUSE
WAS ITS DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN PORTLAND.
IN THE LATE 1860'S WHEN THE COURTHOUSE SITE WAS PURCHASED BY
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE MAIN PART OF THE CITY WAS
ABOUT FOUR BLOCKS TO THE EAST AND NEAR THE RIVER.
THE LOCATION WAS NO ACCIDENT.
IN THE MID 1800'S FIRES WERE DEVASTATING AMERICA'S CITIES.
MULLET SITED THE BUILDING AWAY FROM THE DENSELY
POPULATED DOWNTOWN FOR SAFETY SAKE.
BY THE 1880'S THE FEDERAL BUILDING ONCE CALLED REMOTE,
WAS BECOMING THE CENTER OF THE CITY.
AS PORTLAND ENTERED THE 20TH CENTURY, IT WAS TIME TO
CELEBRATE BOTH A PIONEERING PAST AND A PROMISING FUTURE.
[MUSIC]
IN 1905 PORTLAND REVEALED ITS WONDERS TO THE
WORLD AT THE LEWIS AND CLARK CENTENNIAL AND AMERICAN
PACIFIC EXPOSITION AND ORIENTAL FAIR.
THE HOPE WAS TO CAPTIVATE VISITORS WITH THIS PARADISE ON
THE PACIFIC SO THEY WOULD SETTLE AND INVEST HERE.
APPARENTLY IT WORKED.
FROM 1900 TO 1910 PORTLAND MORE THAN DOUBLED IN SIZE.
BUT AS EARLY AS 1889 POSTMASTER C.W. ROBY HAD COMPLAINED THAT
THE POST OFFICE WAS TOO SMALL AND NEEDED A RADICAL RENOVATION.
IN 1902 CONGRESS APPROVED THE REMODELING.
NEW WINGS SPREAD TO THE EAST AND WEST AND THE SIZE OF THE
BASEMENT AND FIRST FLOOR WERE DOUBLED.
CONSTRUCTION WAS COMPLETED IN 1904, JUST AS JUDGE CHARLES
BELLINGER BEGAN TO HEAR ONE OF OREGON'S MOST NOTORIOUS CASES,
LAND FRAUD TRIALS INVOLVING U.S. SENATOR JOHN MITCHELL
AND REPRESENTATIVE JOHN WILLIAMS.
PORTLAND'S CONSTRUCTION BOOM CONTINUED THROUGH THE 1920'S.
THE CITY'S GROWTH OVERTOOK THE POST OFFICE
AND COURTHOUSE AGAIN.
LESS THAN A QUARTER CENTURY AFTER ITS EXPANSION,
A 1927 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE DESCRIBED THE COURTHOUSE
AS OUTWORN AND OUTGROWN.
IN 1929 THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION ENSUED.
THE FEDERAL BUILDING'S FATE REMAINED AS UNCERTAIN
AS THAT OF MANY PORTLAND RESIDENTS.
[SINGING]
♪ ROLL ON COLUMBIA ROLL ON... ♪
LIKE THE COLUMBIA RIVER PORTLAND MANAGED
TO KEEP ROLLING ON THROUGH THE DEPRESSION.
IN 1938 CONSTRUCTION OF THE BONNEVILLE DAM, THE FIRST OF THE
GREAT COLUMBIA RIVER WATER PROJECTS WAS COMPLETED.
*** GUTHRIE'S FOLK SONGS HERALDED THE CHEAP POWER
FROM NEW DAMS THAT NOW LIT UP THE RURAL NORTHWEST.
[SINGING]
BUT FOR PORTLAND'S FEDERAL BUILDING,
THE LIGHTS WERE OFF AND THE DOORS CLOSED.
IN 1933 A NEW U.S. COURTHOUSE AND POST OFFICE HAD BEEN BUILT,
NOW CALLED THE GUS SOLOMON COURTHOUSE.
IN 1939 CONGRESS AUTHORIZED THE OLD BUILDINGS' DEMOLITION.
ONLY WORLD WAR II SAVED IT FROM THE WRECKER'S BALL;
THE GOVERNMENT NEEDED SPACE.
BUT BY THE EARLY 1960'S THE REPRIEVE WAS OVER.
THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION PLANNED A NEW
FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDING ON THE SITE.
FEDERAL AGENCIES HAD PRETTY WELL COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WE
SHOULD DESTROY THIS POST OFFICE OR THIS COURTHOUSE AND POST
OFFICE BECAUSE IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE TO RESTORE IT.
AT THAT TIME THERE WAS URBAN RENEWAL WAS REALLY BIG.
INCENTIVES FOR DEMOLITION OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS WERE THERE
AND SO ESSENTIALLY LARGE PARTS OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTS JUST
SIMPLY DISAPPEARED, INCLUDING IN PORTLAND.
THREE LEADING CITIZENS TOOK THE FATE
OF THE COURTHOUSE INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
GSA BEGAN A FEASIBILITY STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE BUILDING,
WHICH AT THAT POINT HAD REALLY BEEN ABANDONED,
COULD BE USED FOR ANOTHER PURPOSE.
THE COURTHOUSE THAT STOOD VIRTUALLY VACANT
FOR YEARS HAD BEEN REDISCOVERED.
AS THE OLDEST SURVIVING FEDERAL BUILDING IN THE REGION AND
PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST,
IT WAS A PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR PRESERVATION.
THE PROJECT WAS COMPLETED IN 1973 AND THE BUILDING DEDICATED,
"THE PIONEER COURTHOUSE. "
FOUR YEARS LATER THE COURTHOUSE WAS DESIGNATED
A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK.
THE IMPACT OF THE RENOVATION REVERBERATED INTO THE NEXT
DECADE WITH PORTLAND'S PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE PROJECT
JUST BEYOND THE BUILDING'S WALL.
PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE WAS CREATED IN 1980 OUT OF AN
INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION TO CREATE A SPACE
IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN THAT WAS OPEN AND ACTIVE AND VITAL.
THE SQUARE IS THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
AND IT'S FREQUENTLY CALLED PORTLAND'S LIVING ROOM.
OUR COURTHOUSE IS ONE WALL OF THAT LIVING ROOM.
WITH ITS PROMINENT LOCATION, THE COURTHOUSE WAS ABOUT
TO FIND ITSELF ON THE FRONTIER
OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ONCE AGAIN.
[MUSIC]
IN 2002, ALMOST 30 YEARS AFTER THE PREVIOUS RENOVATION,
THE COURTHOUSE WAS TO BE UPGRADED AGAIN.
PARTS OF THE BUILDING WERE NOW OVER 100 YEARS OLD SO THERE WERE
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF, FOR EXAMPLE, THE STONE THAT WAS DETERIORATING
ON THE EXTERIOR, AND ON THE INTERIOR.
THERE WAS SOME PLASTER ORNAMENTS
THAT HAD BEEN DETERIORATING AS WELL, AND WOOD.
SO THERE WERE ITEMS LIKE THAT THAT NEEDED ATTENTION.
IT WAS QUITE DREARY.
MANY OFFICES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAD PLACED A LOT OF
FALSE PARTITIONING AND CUBBYHOLE ARRANGEMENTS ALL THROUGH THE
BUILDING WITH ALL OF THE TRANSLUCENT AND ARTIFICIAL
LIGHTING NO ONE HAD ANY PRIDE IN THE INTERIOR AND
SO IT LOOKED AT BEST, ORDINARY.
BUT THERE WOULD BE MORE TO THIS RENOVATION THAN COSMETICS.
IT WOULD BE RETROFITTED FOR PROTECTION
FROM SEISMIC EVENTS WITH A BASE ISOLATION SYSTEM.
THIS NEW SEISMIC STRUCTURE IS AN INTERESTING TIE BETWEEN HISTORIC
PRESERVATION AND MODERN ENGINEERING.
SEISMIC ISOLATION IS A RELATIVELY NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR
PROTECTING BUILDINGS FROM EARTHQUAKES AND WE USE IT WHEN
WE WANT TO PROTECT THE BUILDING FROM DAMAGE.
SO PROBABLY THERE ARE IN THE ORDER OF 50 BUILDINGS IN THE
WORLD THAT ARE USING THESE FRICTION PENDULUM SEISMIC
ISOLATORS AND THEY'RE ALL SPECIAL BUILDINGS IN SOME WAY.
LIKE THE PIONEER COURTHOUSE.
WHEN WE PUT SEISMIC ISOLATORS UNDER A BUILDING WE TRANSFORM
HOW THE BUILDING RESPONDS DURING AN EARTHQUAKE.
SO ALL OF A SUDDEN INSTEAD OF SHAKING VIOLENTLY THE BUILDING
WILL SWAY GENTLY, BACK AND FORTH, AS IF IT WERE A PENDULUM.
WE'VE INSTALLED 70 OF THESE FRICTION PENDULUM ISOLATORS,
INSTALLING ONE UNDER EACH COLUMN IN THE BUILDING.
SO HERE WE HAVE ONE OF THOSE FRICTION PENDULUM
SEISMIC ISOLATORS AND WE HAVE THE CONCAVE
PORTION SITTING ON THE FOUNDATION ELEMENT AND THEN
WE HAVE THE HOUSING PORTION SITTING UNDER THE COLUMN WHICH
IS BEING SUPPORTED BY THIS BEARING AND THIS BEARING HERE
WEIGHS ABOUT 9,000 POUNDS AND WILL SUPPORT
ABOUT 3,000,000 POUNDS OF BUILDING LOAD.
AS FOR OTHER ASPECTS OF THE RENOVATION, SOME PARTS OF THE
BUILDING WOULD BE AS NEW AS THE SEISMIC ISOLATORS
AND OTHERS WOULD BE RESTORATIONS OF THE ORIGINAL.
THE MAIN LOBBY IS A TOTALLY NEW SPACE, BUT THE RICH WARM COLORS
RECALL THE 1875 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE TONES DISCOVERED
IN A PLASTER SURVEY OF THE ORIGINAL BUILDING.
THE FORMER POSTAL WORKSPACE IS NOW AN ACCESSIBLE LAW LIBRARY,
A NEW ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ROOM RESPONDS
TO 21ST CENTURY COURT FUNCTIONS.
SKILLED ARTISANS PRESERVED WOOD WAINSCOTING AND TRIM,
PLASTER CEILINGS AND STONE USING TECHNIQUES
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR TO THE ORIGINAL BUILDERS.
THEY EVEN RENOVATED THE HISTORIC OTIS ELEVATOR INSTALLED IN 1905,
BUT LIKE THE ORIGINAL COURTHOUSE THE PROJECT HAD ITS CRITICS.
SOME PORTLANDERS WERE CONCERNED
ABOUT A NEW SECURE VEHICULAR ACCESS.
PEOPLE BELIEVED WE WERE DOING THE PROJECT BECAUSE OF THE
PARKING RATHER THAN WE WERE HAVING TO DO AND PROTECT THE
BUILDING BY DOING A BASE ISOLATION WHICH LOWERED THE
BUILDING BY TEN FEET WHICH ALLOWED FOR THE SECURE PARKING
WHICH IS NOW REQUIRED UNDER THE COURT'S GUIDELINES.
ANOTHER CONCERN TOUCHED PORTLANDERS MORE.
AS A RESULT OF HAVING TO CLOSE THE BUILDING FOR TWO AND A HALF
YEARS THE POST OFFICE MADE A DECISION THAT IT WOULD LEAVE THE
BUILDING AND RELOCATE IN THE SOLOMON COURTHOUSE BUILDING
WHICH IS ABOUT THREE OR FOUR BLOCKS DOWN THE STREET.
ONCE THE CUSTOMERS WERE AWARE THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A
PRESENCE IN THE SOLOMON FACILITY IT MITIGATED MANY OF THE
COMPLAINTS AND THE MOST HARSH CRITICS THAT WE HAD.
THERE WAS MANY CUSTOMERS WHO SAID AT LEAST WE HAVE A
BEAUTIFUL FACILITY WE CAN BE SERVED AT
AND IT IS CLOSE TO WHERE I WORK.
BUT THE LOSS OF THE POST OFFICE RAISED ANOTHER ISSUE
FOR A PUBLIC WHO CLEARLY LOVED THIS BUILDING.
YOU KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THIS PROJECT THAT ALARMED THE
PUBLIC WAS IT WAS GOING TO BE COMPLETELY SHUT AWAY BECAUSE
THE POST OFFICE WAS GONE AND THAT, YOU KNOW
PEOPLE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET IN.
SO THE PROJECT TEAM DEVISED A WAY
TO KEEP PORTLANDERS INVOLVED.
THE CAP OR THE CITIZEN'S ADVISORY PANEL WAS
MADE UP OF A VARIETY OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM DIFFERENT
ORGANIZATIONS AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING VERY UNIQUE
THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE IN A PUBLIC PROJECT LIKE THIS.
THE CREATION OF THE CAP HAS ALLOWED US TO ESTABLISH A DIALOG
WITH THE COMMUNITY, OPEN UP PATHS OF COMMUNICATION TO BE
ABLE TO INVITE IN CITIZENS, VISITORS,
TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE BUILDING,
LEARN ABOUT ITS HISTORY AND RELEVANCE
WITHIN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
WITH THE RENOVATION COMPLETE, THE HISTORIC COURTHOUSE IS ONCE
AGAIN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND PROVES IT IS BOTH A SURVIVOR AND
A PIONEER, LIKE THE FIRST RESIDENTS OF PORTLAND, THE EARLY
PRESERVATIONISTS AND THE CURRENT CITY PLANNERS.
THE COURTHOUSE CELEBRATES A REMARKABLE HISTORY AND A FUTURE
THAT BUILDS UPON THE PAST WHILE ALSO EXPLORING NEW FRONTIERS.
I THINK IT REALLY ANCHORS THE CITY,
YOU KNOW IT REALLY GIVES A HISTORICAL TEXTURE.
YOU KNOW IN THE WEST THERE AREN'T A LOT
OF OLD, OLD BUILDINGS.
SO TO HAVE THIS ONE THING THAT'S BEEN THERE ALMOST SINCE THE CITY
BEGAN AND TO HAVE THE CITY GROW UP AROUND IT,
IT REALLY IS VERY MEANINGFUL AND SOMETHING
THAT WE REALLY DO CHERISH.
EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN PORTLAND
HAPPENS RIGHT AROUND THIS BUILDING.
IT'S BECOME A BELOVED LANDMARK
FOR ITS ARCHITECTURAL PRESENCE AS WELL AS FOR ITS HISTORY.
THESE PEOPLE THAT YOU KNEW OR I KNEW WHO HAD BEEN IN THE LAW,
WHO HAD BEEN JUDGES, BUT WERE PART
OF THE PERSONALITY OF THAT BUILDING.
SO I JUST DIDN'T SEE IT AS STONE THAT HAD BEEN UPGRADED OR
PAINTED OR WHATEVER, AND I THINK THAT'S THE VALUE
OF A BUILDING LIKE THE COURTHOUSE.
HOW CAN YOU NOT BE PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL PLACE?
IT HAS SURVIVED ALL OF THIS TIME,
IT IS THE CENTERPIECE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL, THE CHANCE TO BE
IN THIS ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL GEM,
SO IT'S SOMETHING WE ALL REALLY HAVE A PASSION ABOUT.