Eastbank Esplanade
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox park Template:GeoGroup
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.<ref name="parks">Template:Cite web</ref> 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<ref name="parks"/> and features a statue of her near the Hawthorne Bridge.
Description
The project, designed by landscape architects Mayer/Reed, cost $30 million,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> of which $10 million built a lower deck on the Steel Bridge.<ref name="parks"/> The esplanade extends Template:Convert from the Steel Bridge (Template:Coord) to the Hawthorne Bridge (Template:Coord).<ref name="parks"/> 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 Template:Convert floating walkway, the longest of its kind in the United States.<ref name="parks"/> Connected to this is a Template:Convert public dock.<ref name="parks"/> Thirteen markers along the esplanade correspond to the eastside street grid.
History
Construction began in October 1998, and the walkway was dedicated in May 2001.<ref name="parks"/>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On the same day in February 2015, two dead bodies were discovered along the esplanade. The events appear to be unrelated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Public art
Public artworks installed along the esplanade include Alluvial Wall, Echo Gate, the Ghost Ship sculpture, the statue of Vera Katz and Stack Stalk.
See also
References
External links
- Portland Development Commission Eastbank Esplanade site
- American Society of Landscape Architects, 2004 Design Award of Merit
Template:Buckman, Portland, Oregon Template:Hosford-Abernethy, Portland, Oregon Template:Parks in Portland, Oregon
- Pages with broken file links
- 2001 establishments in Oregon
- Bike paths in Oregon
- Bridges completed in 2001
- Bridges in Portland, Oregon
- Buckman, Portland, Oregon
- Hosford-Abernethy, Portland, Oregon
- Parks in Southeast Portland, Oregon
- Pedestrian bridges in Oregon
- Pontoon bridges in the United States
- Steel bridges in the United States
- Tourist attractions in Portland, Oregon
- Waterfronts
- Willamette River
- Promenades