Portland Dream Plaza officially opens Tuesday with block party

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - The new Portland Dream Plaza officially opens Tuesday, turning a once troubled intersection into a hub for creativity, connection, and four-wheeled fun.

The “Fam Jam Block Party” kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at Southeast 9th and Southeast Taylor, where organizers are hoping to bring people of all ages together, every Tuesday night through the fall.

The star of the show is the largest painted skateboard in the country, doubling as a skate park and a giant public art piece. It’s 126-feet long and 34-feet wide.

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Matt French, the art director behind the project, says this is a bold collaboration between PBOT and the nonprofit, Dream Big City, aiming to push crime out and bring community in.

French says the space has been in place for about a month now, and they’re already noticing a positive shift.

“This neighborhood is really rough. If you look at the street here, there’s no business in the street, so it turns into this no mans land, where people just do what they want, because there’s no oversight,” he said. “It was extremely rough. Everything from violent crime, right on down the list – it was all happening at this one little spot.”

Tuesday’s big debut comes after a brief delay, the event was rescheduled from last week due to the heat.

The plaza is designed to be a safe, drug and alcohol-free space where community members of all ages can gather, create, and connect.

More details about Portland Dream Plaza can be found here.