The Pioneer Courthouse is a federal courthouse in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Built beginning in 1869, the structure is the oldest federal building in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

, and the second-oldest west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Along with

Pioneer Courthouse Square Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1984, the square is bounded by Southwest Morrison Street on ...

, it serves as the center of

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found ...

. It is also known as the Pioneer Post Office because a popular downtown Portland post office was, until 2005, located inside. The courthouse is one of four primary locations where the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

hears oral arguments. It also houses the chambers of the Portland-based judges on the Ninth Circuit.

History

Built in stages between 1869 and 1903, it was first occupied in 1875 by judge

Matthew Deady Matthew Paul Deady (May 12, 1824 – March 24, 1893) was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the ...

.Leeson, Fred. (1998). ''Rose City Justice: A Legal History of Portland, Oregon''. Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 13-15, 21-26, 47-48, 52. At that time the building was named the United States Building. Pioneer Courthouse has survived several attempts to demolish it, while continuing to function as a federal facility. On March 20, 1973, the building was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

.National Register of Historic Places in Multnomah County, Oregon
/ref> It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1977. and OR-Portland 1875 2 Ref

In March 1933, city engineer Olaf Laurgaard proposed tearing down the building to open a parking garage. John C. Ainsworth asked Oregon representative Charles Martin and

Charles L. McNary Charles Linza McNary (June 12, 1874February 25, 1944) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Oregon. He served in the United States Senate, U.S. Senate from 1917 to 1944 and was Party leaders of the United ...

to see if President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

would consider giving the structure and property to the city of Portland. Portland would then renovate the structure for the Oregon Historical Society and

The Colonial Dames of America The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor who lived in British America from 1607 to 1775, and was of service to the colonies by either holding public office, being in th ...

to use. Martin immediately replied that the timing was bad since Oregon was asking for funding of the

Bonneville Dam Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon ...

, and it was likely illegal to donate a post office to a city. Ainsworth quickly came up with a new scheme: demolish the Pioneer Courthouse and build an office building for the Historical Society, the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, a theater, and a museum.

A. E. Doyle Albert Ernest Doyle (July 27, 1877 – January 23, 1928) was a prolific architect in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. He is most often credited for his works as A.E. Doyle. He opened his own architectural practice in 1907. From ...

, his architectural firm, the local chapter of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

, the Colonial Dames, and ''

The Oregon Journal ''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portlander ...

'' sharply opposed destroying the building. Pioneer Courthouse Portland Oregon at sunset June 25th 2013

In 2003, plans for renovating the courthouse sparked an unusual conflict between Portland Democratic

congressmen A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Earl Blumenauer Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1996. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River. A member of the Democrat ...

and

David Wu David Wu (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. As a child of immigrants from Taiwan, Wu was the first Taiwanese American to serve ...

. Wu, whose

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

contains the courthouse, supported a plan that included removing the post office from the courthouse, and adding five parking spaces in its basement. Wu's plan was ultimately adopted, and the $23.4 million renovation of the building was completed in December 2005. The work included the addition of base isolators to protect the historic structure from earthquakes, the secure judges' parking area under the building, and the renovation of the lobby where the post office had been.

Notable trials

The trials of the

Oregon land fraud scandal The Oregon land fraud scandal of the early 20th century involved U.S. government land grants in the U.S. state of Oregon being illegally obtained with the assistance of public officials. Most of Oregon's U.S. congressional delegation received ...

were held in the courthouse, beginning in 1904. These trials were documented at length in

Stephen A. Douglas Puter Stephen Arnold Douglas Puter (January 6, 1857 – May 10, 1931) was a criminal and author from the U.S. state of Oregon. After being convicted of land fraud, he lived as a fugitive for several months before capture, wrote a book after conviction, ...

's book '' Looters of the Public Domain''.

References

External links

General Services Administration page on the Pioneer Courthouse
{{Portal bar, Architecture, National Register of Historic Places, Oregon 1869 establishments in Oregon Alfred B. Mullett buildings Articles containing video clips Courthouses in Oregon Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Federal courthouses in the United States Government buildings completed in 1875 Government buildings in Portland, Oregon National Historic Landmarks in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon Portland Historic Landmarks Southwest Portland, Oregon Tourist attractions in Portland, Oregon United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

History

Notable trials

See also

References

External links