PlacesPages: Portland Places: PGE Park

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Portland Places: PGE Park

I originally posted the PORTLAND PLACES: PGE Park page on my old website on March 17, 2010.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

PGE Park, now called Providence Park, is a historic sports stadium in Southwest Portland. It was best known for being the home field of Portland's various baseball teams over the years, and as of 2011 is now a Major League Soccer stadium. Research sources for this page include PdxHistory.com and Wikipedia.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

In 1845, pioneer Daniel H. Lownsdale established a tannery on this site. By 1893, the tannery was long gone and this property was a piece of pastureland called Tanner Creek Gulch, and in that year the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club leased the land for use as an athletic field called Multnomah Field. A grandstand was built in the northwest corner and a training house was built in the southwest corner. Multnomah Field hosted all kinds of sports, including baseball, football, track & field, bicycle racing and cricket. A major league baseball exhibition game was played here in 1895. The Portland Giants (later the Beavers) played here in 1905 while the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition forced them from their Vaughn Street Stadium. President William Howard Taft visited Multnomah Field in 1909, and President Warren G. Harding came in 1923 to a crowd of 25,000-30,000 people.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

In 1925, the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club started construction of the 28,000-seat Multnomah Stadium, designed by A.E. Doyle. The original design was for a full-horseshoe shaped stadium, but the club didn't own the property along 18th Avenue, so the east grandstand wasn't built. Multnomah Stadium was completed in 1926 and dedicated on October 9 at a football game between the University of Washington and the University of Oregon attended by 24,000 spectators. The stadium didn't have a permanent tenant however, as the Portland Beavers continued to play at their Vaughn Street Stadium.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

In 1933, dog racing came to Multnomah Stadium, and the Multnomah Kennel Club was the stadium's only major tenant through 1955. In 1956, the Portland Beavers moved to Multnomah Stadium when their Vaughn Street Stadium was condemned. The grass from Vaughn Street was moved to Multnomah Stadium.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

In 1966, the Multnomah Athletic Club sold the stadium to the city of Portland, and it was renamed Civic Stadium. In 1969, Civic Stadium became the first outdoor baseball field to install artificial turf.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

The AAA Beavers moved to Spokane in 1973, and Civic Stadium was renovated with a new roof and hosted the single-A Portland Mavericks through 1977. A new AAA Beavers team was formed in 1978 and remained through 1993 when the team moved to Salt Lake City.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

In 1995, the single-A Rockies moved from Bend to Portland, and remained until the AAA Albuquerque Dukes moved to Portland in 2001 and became the Portland Beavers. For the arrival of the new team, Civic Stadium underwent a major renovation in 2001, and was renamed PGE Park when Portland General Electric bought the naming rights.

PGE Park on February 27, 2010

PGE Park was renovated into a dedicated soccer stadium for the Portland Timbers Major League Soccer team for their 2011 season. This forced the Beavers to find a new field and the team moved to Tucson, Arizona, becoming the Tucson Padres, however the Portland State University and Central Catholic High School football teams are still able to use the stadium. The renovation coincided with a change in naming rights in 2011, with the stadium’s name being changed to Jeld-Wen Field. In 2014, the naming rights were sold to Providence Health & Services and the stadium was renamed Providence Park.

PGE Park Scoreboard on February 27, 2010

This manually-operated scoreboard was installed at PGE Park during the 2001 renovation. It featured a bell that was rung for home runs.

Facing the Crowd by Michael Stutz on February 27, 2010

These large faces outside the entrances to the stadium are an art installation called Facing the Crowd by Michael Stutz, placed in 2001 as part of the renovation. They are part of the City of Portland Public Art Collection and are maintained by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Facing the Crowd by Michael Stutz on February 27, 2010

According to plaques that accompany them, "Facing the Crowd's dynamic presence becomes a celebration of joy and playfulness. My hope is that these giant totems engage the spectator with their simple and universal theme of maintaining humor in the midst of chaotic urban world."

PGE Park on February 27, 2010