O’Bryant Square has been closed since 2018 after structural problems plagued its underground parking structure.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
O’Bryant Square has been closed since 2018 after structural problems plagued its underground parking structure.
But the city is planning a $4 million renovation. The first move is to rename the park Darcelle XV Plaza.
Darcelle was the stage name of Walter Cole, a long-time Portland drag performer, cabaret owner and gay icon who championed acceptance and inclusivity. He died in March at 92.
“Renaming O’Bryant Square to Darcelle XV Plaza signifies the progress we have made as a city in embracing diversity and embracing LGBTQ+ history,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement.
“May this plaza serve as a reminder of our shared journey towards inclusivity and acceptance.”
Portland’s most iconic drag queen, Darcelle, performs June 5, 2022 in Portland. Darcelle, also known as Walter W. Cole Sr., died of natural causes at the age of 92.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Portland city commissioner Dan Ryan was similarly pleased with the name change. “This renaming reflects our commitment to fostering a more inclusive city that recognizes the diversity and immense value of its residents,” Ryan said.
Metal fencing has surrounded the downtown park for years. In addition to structural problems, it had attracted a lot of drug use. Some called it “Needle Park.”
Now the underground parking structure, which was lauded when opened in the 1970s, will be filled in and a simple grass park will take its place.
Randy Gragg, outside shuttered O'Bryant Square, April 12, 2023. “It’s designed in such a way that it offers a lot of hiding places,” said Gragg. “It became a skate boarders paradise...But it also became a place where people could take drugs and deal drugs very easily.”
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
The director of the Portland Parks Foundation, Randy Gragg, hopes the city will embrace the park once it reopens. “I just hope that what we do as a city, and specifically what Portland Parks and Recreation does with O’Bryant Square, can live up to the spirit, verve, excitement and humor of Darcelle,” Gragg said in an interview.
Darcelle XV, the famed nightclub where Cole performed for decades, remains open. It’s roughly a half-mile walk from the plaza.
One of the park’s biggest challenges will be bridging the extremes of society that call the area home. On one side sits Multnomah County’s Behavioral Resource Center, where people experiencing addiction or mental health challenges receive services. On the other side, Ritz Carlton is opening a $600 million high-rise hotel where homes sell for as much as $7 million.
A historic picture of O'Bryant Square in the 1970s.
Courtesy: Portland Parks Foundation