Washington Park

Getting to and around Washington Park Washington Park is pay to park and parking is very limited, especially during warm, sunny weekends.

To avoid paying to park and congestion, consider riding TriMet. The MAX Light Rail Red and Blue lines arrive every 15 minutes to the Washington Park station.

Once you’re in the park, use the free seasonal shuttle to get around!

Tips For a Safe Park Visit Car prowls occur throughout the City of Portland including within Washington Park.

Please see Tips For a Safe Park visit to learn more how you can help reduce the chance of your vehicle becoming a target.

Remove valuables from your vehicle: Remove all valuables, bags, or items that could be perceived as valuable when leaving your vehicle.

As a result, we must find ways to address congestion in and around the park.

Be observant when you exit or enter your parked vehicle, stop and take a look around the area. Report any suspicious activity to park rangers or the police.

Recent improvements include: Better maintenance and security Free parkwide shuttle service A new park master plan Roadway maintenance Better signage and wayfinding for all users Explore Washington Park (Transportation Management Association) The secret is out: Washington Park is a great place to be.

In 2014, the cultural institutions in Washington Park and Portland Parks & Recreation formed a transportation management association, known as Explore Washington Park .

Originally acquired in 1871, Washington Park is one of the oldest parks in Portland. The city originally purchased the 40.78 acres in 1871 from Amos N. King for $32,624. Many people questioned the purchase given that the site was thick with brush and timber, and cougar roamed the hills. City Park, as Washington Park was originally known until 1912, developed slowly. In 1885, the city hired Charles M. Myers as its first park keeper. A native of Germany and a seaman, Myers had no formal training but enthusiastically began to develop the park by using his memories of European parks as a guide. By 1900, the park had developed from a wilderness to a place of drives, walkways, formal plantings, lawns, clipped hedges, and ornamental flower displays. In 1903, John C. Olmsted toured Portland and recommended changes of lasting usefulness to the park: he advised changing the name from City Park to one of more distinction, moving the main entrance to Park Place, separating vehicular traffic from foot traffic, and restoring some of the formally planted areas to their natural beauty with native shrubs and ground cover. The last major land addition to Washington Park was made in 1922 when the entire 160-acre County Poor Farm was transferred to the Park Bureau. The southern half of the property was developed into the 9-hole West Hills Golf Course. The remainder was designated as a municipal arboretum in 1928. Washington Park was also the site of Portland's first zoo, which Dr. Richard B. Knight began as an animal attraction in the mid-1880s. Dr. Knight was an English-born seaman who became a pharmacist upon moving to Portland. He purchased two bears (a grizzly named Grace and a brown bear named Brownie) along with other animals from his seafaring friends and exhibited them on a vacant lot next to his downtown pharmacy. By 1887, the popular collection had outgrown its quarters, so Dr. Knight donated the animals to the city for a zoo. The animals were moved to the area near the current reservoirs. The collection grew rapidly. By 1894 there were about 300 specimens, mostly North American species plus some monkeys, a kangaroo, and some foreign birds. The city park keeper, Charles Myers, became the zookeeper as well. He constructed the bear pit, which is believed to have been the first sunken, barless cage anywhere in the world. In 1925, the zoo moved to a higher location, the present site of the Japanese Garden. The zoo opened at its present location in 1959 and in the 1960s its management was transferred to Metro. The Rotary Club of Portland spearheaded a $2 million fund-raising effort that culminated in the 1995 construction of the Rose Garden Children's Park, a popular, accessible play area for children of all ages.