Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade | |
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Location | SE Water Ave. and Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, Oregon |
Coordinates | 45°31′25″N 122°39′58″W / 45.523718°N 122.666149°W |
Area | 10.69 acres (4.33 ha) |
Opened | 2001 |
Owned by | Portland Parks & Recreation |
The Eastbank Esplanade (officially Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade) is a pedestrian and bicycle path along the east shore of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. [1] Running through the Kerns, Buckman, and Hosford-Abernethy neighborhoods, it was conceived as an urban renewal project to rebuild the Interstate 5 bicycle bypass washed out by the Willamette Valley Flood of 1996. It was renamed for former Portland mayor Vera Katz in November 2004 [1] and features a statue of her near the Hawthorne Bridge.
The project, designed by landscape architects Mayer/Reed, cost $30 million, [2] of which $10 million built a lower deck on the Steel Bridge. [1] The esplanade extends 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Steel Bridge ( 45°31′37″N 122°40′13″W / 45.526871°N 122.670403°W) to the Hawthorne Bridge ( 45°30′46″N 122°40′05″W / 45.512804°N 122.668059°W). [1] The south end connects to the Springwater Corridor, a rail trail that runs south to Sellwood, then east to Gresham, then south to Boring. The esplanade includes a 1,200-foot (370 m) floating walkway, the longest of its kind in the United States. [1] Connected to this is a 120-foot (37 m) public dock. [1] Thirteen markers along the esplanade correspond to the eastside street grid.
Construction began in October 1998, and the walkway was dedicated in May 2001. [1]
The esplanade was closed for 21 days due to high river levels in 2011, the first time it had been closed since it was built. [3]
On the same day in February 2015, two dead bodies were discovered along the esplanade. The events appear to be unrelated. [4] [5] [6]
Public artworks installed along the esplanade include Alluvial Wall, Echo Gate, the Ghost Ship sculpture, the statue of Vera Katz and Stack Stalk.