Allow Me

It's true, it does rain in Portland in the winter. This sculpture by the artist J. Seward Johnson, is called "Allow Me" and is found in downtown's Pioneer Square.

Dubbed the city's "living room", the land was purchased in 1848 by Elijah Hill for the princely sum of $24.00 and a pair of boots. In 1875 the Pioneer Courthouse was erected on the site, the second largest in the West at that time. In 1890 the luxurious Portland Hotel was also built on the site at a cost of $1,000,000. The hotel was razed in 1951 by the department store chain Meier and Frank and their flagship store was built. In the early 1970's, the square was redesigned after an international design competition which was won by Will Martin. The bricks in the current square have the names of donors who contributed to the rebuilding of the space.

The square hosts over 300 events a year and there will be photos of some of these events to come.