The Portland Public Market was a public market 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, built in 1933 at a widely advertised cost of $1 million ($ million in ). Controversial and ambitious, it was intended to replace the Carroll Public Market, centered at southwest Fifth and Yamhill Streets; the Portland Public Market was never popular and was in financial trouble virtually from the day it opened.Portland Public Market History
/ref> The conception and siting of the market was rooted in heavy corruption and graft; Mayor George Luis Baker and city commissioner John Mann, among others, were clearly heavily involved. A recall effort was organized: it went to the ballot, though signatures for the recall petition were mysteriously stolen during a break-in, and the house of one of the two leaders of the recall was bombed. Baker was acquitted on the market corruption charges days before the recall vote, which was narrowly defeated and failed to remove him from office. Three stories tall with eleven-story towers, three blocks long, and with features including a gas station, rooftop parking, and a 500-seat auditorium, it was primarily a novelty, and struggled to retain tenants from its 1933 opening until finally closing in 1942. The architect was William G. Holford. The building was leased to the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1943, then sold to ''

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 ...

'' in July 1946, for use as the newspaper's offices and operations plant beginning in 1948. After publishing from there for 13 years, the paper vacated the building in 1961, and it stood unused until purchased by the City of Portland in 1968. The building was demolished the following year to make way for an expansion of

Harbor Drive Harbor Drive is a short roadway in Portland, Oregon, spanning a total length of , which primarily functions as a ramp to and from Interstate 5. It was once much longer, running along the western edge of the Willamette River in the downtown are ...

, which itself was replaced in 1974 by

Tom McCall Waterfront Park Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 19 ...

.City of Portland Auditor's Office - Historical Timeline
/ref> There is currently no permanent public market in the city, although plans are in progress to build the James Beard Public Market.

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* {{coord, 45.516, -122.673, type:landmark_region:US-OR, display=title 1933 establishments in Oregon 1942 disestablishments in Oregon Demolished buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon Economy of Portland, Oregon Retail markets in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1969 Newspaper headquarters in the United States Tom McCall Waterfront Park Market halls Food retailers

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