Pioneer Square is the center of downtown Portland and is surround by great shopping and places to eat. It’s also has movies playing on the big screen during the summer months and plenty of festivals during the year.

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Known as Portland’s “living room,” this brick-lined park is bustling with activity and events.

Updated Nov. 17, 2024 1 min read Downtown

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 one of the most-visited sites in Oregon, attracting more than 11 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?

Pioneer Courthouse Square is bordered by SW Broadway, SW 6th Avenue, SW Yamhill Street, and SW Morrison Street. Surrounded by a several-block mall, Pioneer Place, and several luxury hotels, you’ll find the historical namesake of the square Pioneer Courthouse to the east, on SW 6th Avenue and a handful of food carts sitting in the Square. Step into a few urban green spaces, either a two-minute walk to Director Park , then on to the South Park Blocks, or a ten-minute walk to find yourself at the edge of the Willamette River within Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Is there parking nearby?

There is metered street parking around Pioneer Courthouse Square for 2 to 4 hours. You can find several parking garages and lots nearby, Smart Park on SW Alder Street/SW 3rd Avenue, Parking NW -Fox Tower on SW Taylor Street/SW Park Avenue and City Center Parking on SW Salmon Street/SW 4th Avenue.

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.

white tent with band surrounded by people in chairs, people sitting on steps in an urban courtyard — 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

people sit in chairs and on steps in front of food carts in a brick courtyard in the center of an urban downtown area — Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as Portland's “living room,” is a public space occupying a full 40,000-square-foot (3,716 sq m) city block in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon.

A sign post with dozen of city names in front of a historic building — The iconic sign and namesake courthouse at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

holiday tree lit up in a large city square — Get into the spirit with a visit to Portland's holiday tree at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

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.

Attractions, Parks & Gardens