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Pioneer Courthouse Square
Known as Portland’s “living room,” this brick-lined park is bustling with activity and events.
Located in the heart of downtown Portland, Pioneer Courthouse Square is affectionately known as the city’s “living room.” Once a grim parking structure, the square is now a thriving urban park and the single most-visited site in Oregon, attracting more than 9.5 million visitors annually. The square’s on-site resources include the TriMet public transit ticket office.
Named after the Pioneer Courthouse (the Pacific Northwest’s oldest federal building) located on the public space’s eastern side, the square began as the Portland Hotel in 1890. In 1950 the hotel became a two-story parking garage, and in 1984 it was reborn as a bustling city park where light rail and buses converge. These days, the square is where workers, visitors and families gather to enjoy the city, catch a ride elsewhere and even enjoy a meal at the food carts parked on the bricks.
Visiting Pioneer Courthouse Square
What is near Pioneer Courthouse Square?
Is there parking nearby?
The square is also one of Portland’s leading outdoor venues, hosting 300 events each year, from large-scale concerts to cultural festivals. In the summer, the Noon Tunes concert series fills the lunch-hour air with free live music on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Fridays, Flicks on the Bricks transforms the “living room” into Portland’s biggest movie theater, with no-cost, family-friendly fare.
In the summer, the Noon Tunes concert series fills the lunch-hour air with free live music on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Pioneer Courthouse Square Events
Summer Concert Round-Up
Portlanders' pent-up desire for sun may explain our skill at making the most of summer's long days and warm nights with outdoor concerts.
Summer Events and Activities in Downtown Portland
The city’s sunniest season makes it easy to fill your calendar with summer fun.
Portland Holiday Events
Like an Advent calendar loaded with sugary treats, the days leading up to Christmas in Portland hold an abundance of sweet memories.
But the square hosts more than summertime excitement; every year, the city celebrates the day after Thanksgiving with the lighting of the region’s largest decorated holiday tree, and an array of festive events, like the Tuba Christmas Concert and the Holiday Ale Festival, keep the space merry and bright.
Explore Downtown
Things to see a few steps away from Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Portland Art Museum
The largest art museum in Oregon and one of the oldest in the country, the Portland Art Museum is central to the city's cultural district, housing a large and wide-ranging collection of artworks.
Pioneer Place
Downtown Portland's home for big-brand shopping houses the major brands that fashionistas crave, along with an expansive food court and a movie theater.
Portland’s Public Fountains
Cool off with free fun at these kid-friendly fountains in Portland.
At the Square
DJ Jupiter Williams
DJ Jupiter Williams will be performing at the Square over the lunch hour. Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as Portland’s living room, is a public space occupying a full 40,000-square-foot city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States.
Opera a la Cart at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Join for lunch-time serenades downtown in Portland’s living room—Pioneer Courthouse Square. Inspired by Portland’s food cart culture, Opera a la Cart is a mobile performance venue that brings live opera performances directly into the community spaces where people gather. Designed and built by architecture students at Portland State University, the cart features a fold-out stage…
Modest Mouse
The Portland-based indie-rockers of Modest Mouse are returning home to play back-to-back nights for PDX LIVE. They’ll perform with their energetic, new studio album, ‘The Golden Casket’.
PDX Live Concert Series
Pioneer Courthouse Square (The Square) and True West, one of the leading independent concert promoters and event producers in the Pacific Northwest, launched its PDX LIVE concert series with three sold-out shows June 17-19. PDX LIVE opened with Indigo Girls, Iron & Wine and Tenacious D. Tickets are still available for Modest Mouse, The Roots,…
Mondays on the Mall
Portland mall management partners with pioneer courthouse square and local businesses to bring free events and performances to the transit mall each Monday.
Noon Tunes Summer Concert Series
The Noon Tunes Summer Concert Series returns for its 30th year on Tuesdays throughout July and August. From noon-1:00 pm enjoy music from some of Portland’s best regional and local musical talent. With nine FREE concerts, dancing, and some of Portland’s favorite food vendors at Carts on the Square, the Square is sure to be…
Goose
Connecticut-based jam-rock group Goose travels to Portland with technical skill and head-spinning hooks from their first album in 5 years, ‘Shenanigans Nite Club’. They’ve sold out shows nationwide — now, they play The Square on August 25th for PDX LIVE.
Shakey Graves
w/ Jade Bird Hailing from Austin, ‘The Live Music Capital Of The World’, Americana king Shakey Graves goes on tour for the 10 Year Anniversary of his debut album, ‘Roll The Bones’.
Father John Misty
w/ Suki Waterhouse Father John Misty returns with Chloë and The Next 20th Century, his fifth album and first new material since the release of God’s Favorite Customer in 2018. Chloë and the Next 20th Century was written and recorded from August through December 2020 and features arrangements by Drew Erickson. The album sees Tillman…
The Session PDX…A Variety Show
A live & local showcase of music, spoken word & comedy. Featuring talented artists from around the area! Guaranteed to entertain!!! The Welcome Dome is made possible through a collaboration between the City of Portland Recovery & Events Action Table and Pioneer Courthouse Square.
The Shins
The Shins are a GRAMMY-nominated American band formed by James Mercer in Albuquerque, NM in 1996. Their debut full-length, Oh, Inverted World caused a seismic shift in the indie rock world upon its release in 2001, singlehandedly ushering in the modern era of the genre. With six full-length albums released to date, including The Worm’s…
Spoon + Interpol
Spoon + Interpol: Lights, Camera, Factions Tour Spoon Spoon’s tenth album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is the band’s purest rock ’n roll record to date. Texas-made, it is the first set of songs that the quintet has put to tape in its hometown of Austin in more than a decade. Written and recorded over the…
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