North Park Blocks
The captured official page publishes visiting hours. Check the source for current closures. Public-entry status is separate from wheelchair accessibility.
Classification and evidence
Official page label: Park; Atlas classification rules. Classification: inferred.
Source captured: 2026-06-02. Human verification: Pending.
Check current official informationConfirm the inferred property type with PP&R.
Published activities: let my kids play, shoot hoops, and walk or roll on pavement.
Photo from the City's park pagePark history
These blocks were some of the original park properties in the city. Captain John Couch dedicated the blocks to the City in 1869. City plats show the park blocks continuing to Front Street, but Tanner Creek and poor drainage were obstacles to development and land north of Glisan remained vacant. The original design concept for the North Park Blocks was for a continuation of the South Park Blocks promenade. However, the linking was impeded early on by Benjamin Stark's reluctance to give the city the two blocks between Ankeny and Stark. The six blocks between Salmon and Stark donated by Daniel Lownsdale became part of a legal battle with his second wife's heirs. The court ruled in their favor and the property was eventually sold and developed. On the remaining blocks, trees were planted in rows like those in the South Park Blocks, using Big leaf maples and Black locusts with American elms at the street edge.
By the 1880s, the area was predominantly residential, but not fashionable like the South Park Blocks. Modest one- and two-story houses were built. From the turn of the century, more commercial and light industrial businesses and residential hotels were developed in the area. The railroad purchased the land north of Park to Front and expanded its rail yards.
In 1908, the People's Institute operated a playground and welfare program in the North Park Blocks. The next year the Park Commission added play equipment and took over. This became the Portland's first supervised playground, separating the boys from the girls. It became popular citywide. In 1920, tennis courts were built in the northernmost block and play areas were developed between Everett and Glisan. Also built around this time were two brick restrooms in the Ankeny block. As more playgrounds were developed in other parks, and commercial and industrial uses pushed out residential use, the park began to decline. Many large trees were damaged in the 1962 Columbus Day storm and were removed, changing the character of the park.
In 1992, a series of improvements was completed in the North Parks Blocks. Pains were taken to protect and preserve the remaining historic trees that had stood there since the park's inception. Light fixtures were replaced with the same style of ornamental ones now in the South Park Blocks. Different colored paving stones were used on the pathways to create bright, winding lanes. In 1993, a new playground was built and its popularity brought some vitality back to the park.
From the City's page for this park.
Visitor amenities
Published amenities are checked separately from entry conditions. Each links to other documented locations; confirm current hours before visiting.
- let my kids playPlayground
- let every kid playAccessible play area
- play on a courtAny sport court
- shoot hoopsBasketball court
- be in a parkAny park
- walk or roll on pavementPaved path
- see public artPublic art
- visit a historic placeHistorical site or memorial
Potential additions to investigate
Passing the initial size-and-type screen is not a feasibility finding. Usable space, existing uses, habitat, public access, utilities, permission, construction costs, and ongoing maintenance funding require site-specific review. Missing acreage or uncertain classification remains unassessed.
- Evening use — Programming after dusk — leagues, classes, walks.
- League play — Organized sport seasons.
- Youth drop-in — Free unstructured play with somewhere for adults to sit.
- Nature education — Environmental programs and guided walks.
- Markets & festivals — Vendor events and neighborhood festivals.
- Gatherings & events — needs stage or amphitheater or plaza or terrace
- Summer water play — needs splash pad or wading pool or all swimming pools or interactive fountain
- All-weather indoor — needs indoor space or community center or arts or cultural center or gymnasium
Inventory-based screening only. Recorded assets do not establish opening hours, program staffing, permission, or operating funding. Potential additions require review of usable space, habitat, utilities, access, and ongoing maintenance. Unverified properties remain unassessed.
Something specific to this park — the thing you'd use it for if it were here.
Send an idea for this park →Through the year
Seasonal facilities and listings captured by the Atlas. These records do not measure attendance, utilization or all activity at the site.
Counts describe captured listings, not attendance or all activity. No listings captured does not mean the site is unused.
Dark by 5 and wet most days: cover, lighting, indoor rooms, and paths that drain.
- walk or roll on pavement
- be in a park
- let my kids play
- let every kid play
- play on a court
- shoot hoops
+2 more
- see public art
- visit a historic place
Fields and gardens open; showers between sun. Leagues, planting, first picnics.
- let my kids play
- be in a park
- let every kid play
- play on a court
- shoot hoops
- walk or roll on pavement
+2 more
- see public art
- visit a historic place
Water, shade, long evenings — the season the system is built around.
- be in a park
- let my kids play
- let every kid play
- play on a court
- shoot hoops
- walk or roll on pavement
+2 more
- see public art
- visit a historic place
Light shortens and leagues wind down; shelters and lighting carry the season.
- be in a park
- let my kids play
- let every kid play
- play on a court
- shoot hoops
- walk or roll on pavement
+2 more
- see public art
- visit a historic place
| Season | Programs | Recurring events | One-time |
|---|---|---|---|
Winter Dec–Feb Not yet published | — | — | — |
Spring Mar–May Recorded from 2026-06-11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Summer Jun–Aug Recorded from 2026-06-11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fall Sep–Nov Recorded through 2026-10; 1 month still to come | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What's on
No current listings were captured and matched to this property. This does not establish that no activity takes place. See the citywide calendar and programs.
Partners & friends
The whole ecosystemNo known partner is currently linked to North Park Blocks in the Partnership Atlas. This is an opportunity signal, not an official priority.
See opportunity signalsSupport this park
Real ways to help North Park Blocks and parks like it. This site does not process donations; every link below goes to an official giving or volunteering channel.
How it's holding up
The City's own inventory of what is here and the condition it last recorded for each item. Dates are the source's; old dates mean no newer public assessment, not that nothing has happened since. Historical project estimates appear below; they are separate from these condition records.
Historical cost profile · 2023 reporting
North Park Blocks
$382.7K
4 distinct source rows. Proposed repair and improvement costs, not a current funding gap.
All-in annual service cost: Not established
Current remaining repair cost: Not verified
What the estimates cover
Categories are Atlas labels based on project titles. Expansion and new provision are included where proposed; a project can include several kinds of work.
The work, cost & reason (4 source rows)
Pathway Renovation$336,907
Asset as named in source: North Park Blocks
Replace the damaged pathway, trails and sidewalks that have been rated as 4 and 5 in Pathway assessment
KGW table row 765. Source field: “Escalated Estimate.” Estimate date, inflation basis, funded amount and completion status are not supplied.
Original source table ↗Roof Replacement$23,987
Asset as named in source: Not specified
Roof in Bad condition and rated as bad through condition aseesment
KGW table row 766. Source field: “Escalated Estimate.” Estimate date, inflation basis, funded amount and completion status are not supplied.
Original source table ↗ESPC-III_Buildings Lighting to LEDs$11,760
Asset as named in source: Restroom
LED conversion for Exterior and Interior Lights
KGW table row 767. Source field: “Escalated Estimate.” Estimate date, inflation basis, funded amount and completion status are not supplied.
Original source table ↗Replace Backflow preventer device$10,000
Asset as named in source: Property
- Replace out of compliance backflow preventers - Assembly: Double Check Valve Assembly (DCVA) and Reduced Pressure Backflow Assembly (RPBA) - Move to property line, if needed - Hazard: ROW - See components for detail
KGW table row 768. Source field: “Escalated Estimate.” Estimate date, inflation basis, funded amount and completion status are not supplied.
Original source table ↗1 of 78 assessed built records are rated poor or very bad in the separate condition dataset. Condition ratings do not determine these dollar estimates.
Source: KGW’s November 2023 table. Current status, remaining scope and funding are unverified. Exact duplicate rows count once; other scope overlaps remain unresolved.
Compare repair estimates across parks →Annual service · FY 2026–27 adopted
A complete annual cost is not yet available.
This property has no named account linked in the public budget extract. Shared crews and citywide programs may still fund its care.
Later budget supplements and unallocated shared services are not included.
Annual breakdown & district context →District picture · District 4
This park in the district picture
The same public records, read the same way for every property, so this park can be set next to its district. Each figure keeps its own source and date. “Not available” means the source has no record for this property. It is not a zero.
People nearby
- Residents within a half mile
- 19,025
- Households within a half mile
- 14,584
2020 Census blocks whose centre point lies within a half mile of the park boundary, measured in a straight line. Residents, not visitors. Blocks outside the city limits count.
Recorded backlog
- Open backlog IDs
- 3
- Closed backlog IDs
- 5
Records in the PP&R backlog map workbook that name this property. The workbook publishes no cost field, so these are counts of records, not dollars.
Active capital projects
- Active geocoded projects
- 0
Geocoded PP&R capital projects at this property, a subset of the full capital program. The cost is the published estimated total project cost, not spending to date.
Who is on record
Partner operates an asset here
A partner is on record operating a facility or program site at this property. City crews may still care for the grounds.
- Friends of Green Loop · Permit, Dec 31, 2023 to Dec 31, 2028Friends of Greenloop Temp Use Permit: Ankeny Square
- Pacific NW College of Art · License, Jul 1, 2021 to Mar 31, 2027Willamette University (PNCA) at North Park Blocks
- Pearl District Neighborhood Association · Revocable Permit, Apr 19, 2021 to Jun 22, 2026Fido waste bag stations
Partners at assets here: Friends of Green Loop (operates a facility or program site)
From the department-provided partnership directory. It records what is on paper, not who does each task. Each agreement links to its entry on PP&R's agreements with partners, with the public text where it's posted, how to request it where it isn't, and the rules that govern partnerships.
Condition across all assets
Citywide condition atlasAcross 78 assessed assets at this park, 1% are in poor or very-bad condition (rated 4–5). Pooled from the City's public assessment layers — buildings, bridges, playgrounds, courts, fields, fences, paths and amenities.
This count comes from the City's rated asset layers; the “Public assets” list below is a separate furnishings inventory, so its items and scores are counted separately and the two totals need not match.
Condition is rated 1 (good) to 5 (very bad); no score means not yet assessed and is excluded. Park trees are inventoried separately and not counted here. These assessment records do not contain repair costs. Historical project estimates are shown separately.
Repair ledger
Each row is one record from PP&R's public asset layer. No itemized repair cost is published for these records, so none is shown. Dates are the source's last published assessment; treat older ones as unverified.
| Asset | Condition | Status | Replacement | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bench Condition rated poor (code 4); status is Removed. Priority high. Record 3403 | Poor condition code 4 | Removed | no | 2007-07-05 |
Seen something here that's broken, fixed, or missing from this list? Records are updated periodically; tell us what you see.
Send a condition note →Public assets
All 71Furnishings the City inventories here, with each item's condition score — 1 is good, 5 is very bad. Asset photos aren't public yet.
From the City's park page
North Park Blocks on Portland.gov
Dedicated in 1869, the North Park Blocks are one of the City's oldest park sites.
Park hours: 5:00am-9:00pm
All dogs must be leashed in this park.
This page, on a sign
The QR label for this park points here. Print labels →
https://parks.portlandciviclab.org/parks/north-park-blocks-447?utm_source=park_qr&utm_medium=sign&utm_campaign=park_447
Where this comes from
Facilities from the City's amenity pages and asset layers; hours, photo, and history from the City's park page; programs and events from its catalogs; condition from PortlandMaps public records. Where the City publishes nothing, this page says so instead of guessing.