Weighing the two finalists for Yeon-designed former McCall's site

By the end of this month, the city Parks Bureau will make its recommendation to Commissioner Dan Saltzman on which of two finalists should be selected for redevelopment of the circa-1948 John Yeon-designed Portland Visitors Information Center (more recently McCall's restaurant).

One of the finalists is a facility called Bike Republic and would offer bike parking, rentals and repair, with a Laughing Planet restaurant. I could certainly imagine having a chicken burrito and renting a bike here.

The other finalist is a proposal from retired former Oregon Historical Society head Chet Orloff, who proposes a museum exploring the development of urban landscapes: what makes Portland and other cities successful as urban places.

In an editorial from today, The Oregonian argues against the museum proposal, saying the "concept is good, but the fit with the waterfront isn't." However, Orloff's proposal is much closer to the original Visitors Center program. It's just that museums don't usually get created to fill a building space. What about either an existing organization or a new one looking for a home?

For example, a Nike executive and some other colleagues I've emailed with a few times have been pushing the idea of a design museum in Portland, one that can showcase green architecture but also sneakers and virtual reality, industrial products or graphics. Or perhaps the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art could open a small outlet there, which could also be coordinated with the very popular Time-Based Art festival. That would give PICA a home for exhibitions it has lacked since closing its gallery in the Wieden + Kennedy building.

The bike proposal is also a valid one in that it'd be very likely to generate foot and pedal traffic, thereby reinvigorating the space. Even so, though they note Bike Republic has an admirable passion, will and capital, the Oregonian editorial doesn't throw its support behind that either.

Instead, the editorial board makes note of John Yeon suggesting in 1986, before his death, that the building should be torn down. "We should have taken his advice," the paper writes. "It was begging for just one last visitor. The wrecking ball."  That's right after they call it a "lovely little jewel", by the way.

If Yeon were still alive today, I doubt he would be calling for his building to be torn down. He was reacting to the changeover of Harbor Drive into Waterfront Park. Now that time has passed, it's a natural to have his structure along the water. But even if Yeon stuck to his guns and favored the wrecking ball, he'd be wrong. 

Artists don't always judge their own work well. 

The only other question, once one of the two proposals has been selected, is who will re-design the space. Who do we trust to update and expand Yeon's vision? Who is a top contemporary architect on his or her own with new structures but can also give new life to an old building? We're not just seeking one match here (the tenant) for the building, but two.

Comments

[John Russell]

The location near the bike/ped off ramp of the Hawthorne Bridge would make this an ideal location to place a business pandering to cyclists commuting downtown. I know I would use it.

[ws]

I'd agree that a bike related business is a great idea for that location, but probably not in that building. It seems to defeat the purpose of the buildings design to use a lot of the interior space to hang bikes in there, if that's the intention. The Oregonian's article also mentioned moving the building to a more appropriate place. That makes some sense.

The exterior materials the building is constructed with...plywood in large part, if I remember right, seem to me to make it a fragile building. I've thought that this material should be exchanged for something more durable and beautiful that has greater longevity.

[Carl]

This is a great location for bike rentals, but I really don't understand it for day-to-day bike parking. For downtown commuters, a parking structure would be in closer proximity to more workplaces if it was in the middle of the downtown street grid, not in a park by the river separated from the city by Naito Parkway. I hope the city has more plans for a downtown commuter bike parking option because this strikes me as more of a resource for visitors, weekend riders, and park event parking.

[Ken Nichols]

response to John.
The bike (or human powered vehicle) rental will be housed in a 220 sf kiosk that faces Salmon St. Springs. The majority of the main building will be used for the food/beverage program and will retain the openness that is currently designed into the site. The bike service/retail space is approx. 600 sf of main level building, 100sf of basement, and 468 sf of upstairs space (storage and office space).

ws is right, it will not be used for long term bike parking. Rather it will be for short term use of site customers and visitors to Waterfront Park. Bike Republic is working with several downtown developers and building owners to locate long term bike parking with shower and locker facilities. Stay tuned on this one.

[ken nichols]

just noticed I referenced the wrong bloggers.

my first response was to ws, and second to Carl. We think that bike service at this site will be used year round. Convenient service for thousands of bike commuters who can leave their bike for the day while at work in downtown. The space is not large enough for a traditional bike shop.

Feel free to contact me directly at ken@bikerepublic.org.