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  • Things to Do in Portland
    • Close Menu
      • three women walk through rows of rosesView All Things to Do in Portland
      • Parks & Gardens
      • Kid-Friendly Activities
      • Shopping
      • Food Carts & Pods Finder
      • On a Budget
      • EVEN MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
    • Close Menu
      • a person in bright clothes and high-heeled boots vogues in front of a park fountain, surrounded by manicured rose bushesView All Culture
      • Arts
      • Beer
      • Biking
      • Cannabis
      • Cultural Communities
      • Craft Spirits
      • Food
      • Makers
      • Music
      • Nightlife
      • Outdoors
      • Sports
      • Weird
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      • MORE CULTURE
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      • aerial view of downtown area with buildings and roadways, bridges crossing a river to a smaller set of buildings that expand into the distanceView All Neighborhoods
      • Alberta Arts District
      • Belmont
      • Central Eastside
      • Division/Clinton
      • Downtown
      • Hawthorne
      • Lloyd
      • Mississippi
      • Northwest / Nob Hill
      • Old Town Chinatown
      • Pearl District
      • St. Johns
      • Sellwood-Moreland
      • Williams
      • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
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      • aerial view of the countryside and coastal range with an old rail bridge turned bike and walking pathView All Region
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people sit on the edge of a fountain in a spacious urban park people sit on the edge of a fountain in a spacious urban park
i
Downtown Portland’s Director Park, a European-style piazza featuring a fountain and ample outdoor seating, hosts events during the warmer months.
Credit: Justin Katigbak, Travel Portland
Things to Do in Portland / Parks & Gardens

Director Park

Updated May 13, 2025 1 min read Downtown

Downtown Portland’s Director Park is a European-style, granite-paved plaza that replaced a parking lot in 2009. Located just two blocks from Pioneer Courthouse Square, the park features ample outdoor seating and a fountain, and hosts occasional events in the summer.

Director Park bridges the gap between the South Park Blocks and North Park Blocks, which were historically planned to run continuously through downtown Portland. Upon its opening, The Oregonian called the park “a cozier den to the living room that is Pioneer Courthouse Square.”

leafy trees near a glass canopy in a spacious urban park
1 of 4
Downtown Portland's Director Park, a European-style piazza featuring a fountain and ample outdoor seating, hosts events during the warmer months.
Credit: Justin Katigbak, Travel Portland
a large fountain and splash pad in a spacious urban park
2 of 4
Downtown Portland's Director Park, a European-style piazza featuring a fountain and ample outdoor seating, hosts events during the warmer months.
Credit: Justin Katigbak, Travel Portland
a large crowd of people at an outdoor event at dusk
3 of 4
Downtown Portland's Director Park, a European-style piazza featuring a fountain and ample outdoor seating, hosts events during the warmer months.
a glass canopy covers a seating area in a spacious urban park at night
4 of 4
Downtown Portland's Director Park, a European-style piazza featuring a fountain and ample outdoor seating, hosts events during the warmer months.

Park Features

A 25-foot-high glass canopy shelters a terrace with café tables and chairs — a perfect spot to munch on lunch from a nearby food cart. Come sundown, the canopy’s dynamic light installation enlivens the square.

Encircled by hand-crafted wood benches, Teachers Fountain is a busy summer park attraction, attracting families with its shallow, splashable waters.

Why is it called Director Park?

Local developer Jordan Schnitzer donated $1.97 million for the plaza and asked that it be named for his maternal grandparents, Simon and Helen Director. Simon immigrated from Russia and arrived in Portland in 1910, while Helen came from Poland in 1915. The pair met in Portland in 1915 and had three daughters, June, Ruth and Arlene. (Arlene is the namesake for the nearby Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.)

Parks & Gardens

Near Director Park

Check out these nearby local attractions in downtown Portland.

More Parks
people sitting, walking in brick plaza with white columns

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Located in the heart of downtown Portland, the city’s “living room” is close to shopping, restaurants, and hotels, and hosts hundreds of events each year.

A wooden sign reading \"Mill Ends Park Portland Parks & Recreation\" stands on a concrete ring enclosing a small planter filled with an evergreen bush and light green grass

Mill Ends Park

Located in downtown Portland, the world’s smallest park is kind of a big deal. The stories of how Mill Ends Park came to be hold a big surprise for 452 square inches.

sunrise through trees with grassy field on waterfront park

Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Hugging the Willamette River in downtown Portland, this once bustling highway now offers a strollable, bikeable and dog-walkable public park with historical and cultural monuments, and kid-friendly fun.

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