Around the dock
Waterfront Park before you sail
What to see in Tom McCall Waterfront Park around the cruise dock: the fountain, the lawns, the Saturday Market and the memorials along the river.
Reserve the dinner cruise ↗Waterfront Park at a glance
| Feature | Fact |
|---|---|
| Size | 36.59 acres |
| Opened | 1978 |
| Salmon Street Springs | Dedicated 1988 |
| Saturday Market | March to December |
A park built where a highway stood
Tom McCall Waterfront Park covers 36.59 acres on the west bank of the Willamette in downtown Portland. Harbor Drive ran along this bank until its removal began in 1974, a milestone in the freeway removal movement, and the park opened in 1978. It was renamed in 1984 for Governor Tom McCall, who backed the beautification of the west bank. In October 2012 the American Planning Association named it one of America's ten greatest public spaces.
Salmon Street Springs
The interactive fountain beside the dock was designed by Robert Perron Landscape Architects and Planners and dedicated in 1988. A computer controls its three displays, called bollards, misters and wedding cake. Portland Parks and Recreation figures put it at up to 4,924 US gallons of water a minute, recycled through as many as 137 of its 185 jets. It is open from 6 am to 10 pm in spring, summer and fall, so a hot afternoon before a lunch cruise is a good time for it.
The dock and the Rose Festival building
The area north of the Hawthorne Bridge is anchored by Salmon Street Springs and the John Yeon building, a Northwest Modernist design from 1948 that housed the city's visitor information centre and now holds the Portland Rose Festival Foundation. The same stretch of the park is the moorage and embarking site for the Portland Spirit. The operator's directions place its Salmon Springs Dock at 1010 SW Naito Parkway and note one disability parking space beside the Rose Festival Foundation office.
The lawns and the Bowl
The central lawn runs from Salmon Street Springs to the Burnside Bridge and is used most in summer by outdoor festivals and events. South of the Hawthorne Bridge, the Bowl is a wide grass slope down to the water that works as an informal amphitheater, with concerts and the dragon boat races of the Rose Festival. The park hosts the Waterfront Blues Festival and the Oregon Brewers Festival, so check what is on before choosing a date for a cruise, because crowds change the walk to the dock.
When the park is busy
People come to the park to jog, walk, bike, skateboard, lunch, play in the fountain and watch boats. Lunch hours, from 11 am to 1 pm, are the peak for recreation, and bike and pedestrian commuters fill the paths from 3 pm to 5 pm. Compare your departure time with those hours when you plan the walk. Fireworks watching is on the list of regular uses too, so festival nights bring crowds near the dock.
The Saturday Market
The Portland Saturday Market sits under and to the south of the Burnside Bridge in the park, every Saturday from March through December, and admission is free. Founded in 1974, it is the largest continuously operated outdoor market in the United States, and its members sell goods they make themselves. It suits a Saturday lunch cruise: browse the stalls first, then walk south along the river to the dock.
Getting to the park
The operator's directions name the Red and Blue MAX lines and the stop at SW 1st & Yamhill as the closest rail to the Salmon Springs Dock. For drivers it recommends the World Trade Center garage on SW Taylor Street and the Smart Park garages at SW 1st & Jefferson and SW 4th & Yamhill, with metered street parking on Naito Parkway, Salmon Street and Taylor Street. Bicycle parking is available near the dock, and an electric-vehicle charging area is one block west on SW Salmon Street.
Memorials along the river
The park holds several memorials. The Battleship Oregon Memorial honors the USS Oregon, built in 1893. The Founders' Stone marks the coin toss between William Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy that gave Portland its name. At the north end, the Japanese American Historical Plaza, dedicated on August 3, 1990, remembers Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans sent to inland internment camps during World War II, and 100 ornamental cherry trees stand to its north.
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