PORTLAND, Ore. — A new plaza design for Portland’s former O’Bryant Square features a whole new look in honor of the city’s iconic drag queen, Darcelle XV, whose showplace is the longest-running drag cabaret on the West Coast.
Preliminary designs for Darcelle XV Plaza include a performance space with a stage and sail-shade canopies, a small off-leash dog park, a “walk of fame” honoring Darcelle XV and other LGBTQ+ heroes, and a chandelier.
The space is expected to be open by the summer or fall, according to Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) website. The demolition of the parking garage located on the Darcelle XV Plaza is expected to be completed early this year.
The half-acre plaza is in the heart of Portland, at the corner of Southwest Park Avenue and Harvey Milk Street. It originally opened in 1973 as O’Bryant Square, named after Hugh O’Bryant, who served as the city’s first mayor. The land for the plaza was donated to the city on the condition that a parking lot be built underneath.
The plaza was once a center for civic beauty and activity and featured a large fountain. But over time, the garage started leaking, the fountain broke due to the crumbling of an old structural wall, and drug use and crime came to define the area. The city closed and fenced off the park in March 2018.
In April 2023, city council members voted to spend $4.5 million to tear down the park.
While the Darcelle XV Plaza will not have a parking garage underneath, it will have a 6-foot-tall security fence surrounding the park and multiple gated entrances.
PP&R has said that this will be a temporary design for the Darcelle XV Plaza while they await funding to build a permanent park over the next three to five years.
