Pioneer Square South and Pioneer Square North stations

Pioneer Square South and Pioneer Square North are a pair of light rail stations in Portland, Oregon, United States, served by TriMet as part of its MAX Light Rail system. The station platforms occupy the sidewalks of Southwest Yamhill and Morrison streets between Broadway and 6th Avenue in downtown Portland, and are the 21st and 7th stops eastbound on the Blue Line and the Red Line, respectively. They are situated directly west of the Portland Transit Mall at Pioneer Courthouse Square; these stations, along with the Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th and Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th stations that are served by the Green, Orange, and Yellow lines, mark the only transfer point in the MAX system where riders can board any of the five existing lines.

This article is about the light rail stations in Portland, Oregon. It is not to be confused with Pioneer Square station in Seattle.

Pioneer Square South  Pioneer Square North
MAX Light Rail stations
The platform of Pioneer Square South station in 2009
Location	Pioneer Courthouse Square Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates	45°31′08″N 122°40′46″W
Owned by	TriMet
Line(s)	Blue Line  Red Line
Platforms	2 one-way side platforms
Tracks	1 per split
Connections	MAX Light Rail:  Green Line  Orange Line  Yellow Line at Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th and Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th  Portland Transit Mall
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	September 5, 1986 (1986-09-05)
Traffic
Passengers	1,796 (Pioneer Square South) 3,327 (Pioneer Square North) 5,123 (total) weekday boardings (fall 2019)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MAX Light Rail   Following station North Galleria/SW 10th toward Hatfield Government Center Blue Line Morrison/SW 3rd One-way operation Galleria/SW 10th toward Beaverton Transit Center Red Line South Library/SW 9th One-way operation Blue Line Yamhill District toward Cleveland Red Line Yamhill District toward Portland International Airport
Former services Preceding station   MAX Light Rail   Following station North Galleria/SW 10th toward Hatfield Government Center Blue Line 1986–2020 Mall/SW 5th (closed) One-way operation Galleria/SW 10th toward Beaverton Transit Center Red Line 2004–2009 Galleria/SW 10th Terminus Yellow Line 2004–2009 South Library/SW 9th One-way operation Blue Line 1986–2020 Mall/SW 4th (closed) toward Cleveland Red Line 2001–2020 Mall/SW 4th (closed) toward Portland International Airport Yellow Line 2004–2009 Mall/SW 4th (closed) toward Expo Center

The Pioneer Square stations are among the 27 original stations of the Banfield light rail project, later called the Eastside MAX, which built Portland's first light rail line. They opened along with the inaugural service of MAX on September 5, 1986. The Red Line began serving the stations in September 2001, initially connecting downtown to Portland International Airport. In 2003, the Red Line extended westward to Beaverton. The Yellow Line also served the stations from 2004 to 2009, connecting downtown to the Expo Center in North Portland; TriMet rerouted this line to serve the transit mall in August 2009.

History

See also: Pioneer Courthouse Square

The westbound platform on the north side of the square, 2011

The Portland city block bound by Southwest Morrison and Yamhill streets to the north and south and 6th Avenue and Broadway to the east and west had previously been occupied by various structures,[2] including a school,[3][4] a hotel,[5] and a two-story parking garage.[2] In 1969, block owner Meier & Frank requested a permit for the construction of an 800-car parking garage,[6] which the Portland City Council rejected after a series of heated public hearings.[7] The controversial proposal led the city and the local business community to pursue a comprehensive downtown plan that envisioned turning the site into a public space instead.[8][9] After several negotiations with Meier & Frank, the city purchased the property and in 1980, announced a national design competition for a plaza that would be called "Pioneer Courthouse Square".[2]

Portland's first light rail line, which planners referred to as the Banfield light rail project, received federal approval for construction in September 1980. Just over a year later, TriMet published a conceptual design report of the project that outlined a 27-station, 15.1-mile (24.3 km) line, including a pair of light rail stations at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The plans called for a pair of platforms to be situated along the north and south ends of the square on Southwest Morrison and Yamhill streets.[10]^:37–38 Construction of the line commenced in April 1983 in Gresham and largely progressed from east to west,[11][12] with the downtown segment among the final sections to be completed.[13] Street and sidewalk reconstruction work finally reached downtown in March the following year.[14] While work continued on the line, the city finished building the square and dedicated it on April 6, 1984.[15][16] By March 1986, major light rail construction work had ceased.[13] Line testing in downtown began with the arrival of the first light rail car that May.[17][18]

On September 5, 1986, TriMet officially opened the light rail line, which it named Metropolitan Area Express (MAX), to the public.[19] A three-day celebration took place across the route, including at Pioneer Courthouse Square, which hosted an opening ceremony and several concerts.[20] More than 3,000 people gathered at the square to welcome the 11:45 am arrival of the first train from Gresham.[21] Between 1986 and 1998, MAX service ran from Cleveland Avenue in central Gresham to 11th Avenue in downtown Portland, serving the Pioneer Square stations.[19]

In 1998, TriMet extended MAX service farther west to Hatfield Government Center in downtown Hillsboro in Washington County with the opening of the Westside MAX extension. On September 10, 2001, the Red Line, which connected downtown—and eventually Beaverton—to Portland International Airport, became the second line to serve the stations while the line that ran between Hillsboro and Gresham became the Blue Line.[22][23] From 2004 to 2009, the Yellow Line, which runs to the Expo Center in North Portland, also stopped at these stations until TriMet rerouted it to the light rail tracks on Portland Transit Mall in August 2009.[24]

Station details

Sidewalk platform	Westbound	← Blue Line towards Hatfield Government Center (Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue)
		← Red Line towards Beaverton Transit Center (Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue)
	Side platform, doors will open on the left
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Sidewalk platform	Side platform, doors will open on the left
	Eastbound	→ Blue Line towards Cleveland Avenue (Yamhill District) →
		→ Red Line towards Portland International Airport (Yamhill District) →

The Pioneer Square stations occupy the sidewalks facing Southwest Yamhill and Morrison streets between Broadway and 6th Avenue in downtown Portland. Each station consists of one side platform.[10]^:37–38 Pioneer Courthouse Square, commonly known as "Portland's Living Room", is situated between the two platforms.[25]^:6–6 Amenities include garbage cans, shelters, and schedule information displays.[26][27] TriMet's ticket office is located inside the visitor information center on the west side of the square between the water features. Fares may be purchased at the ticket office or from ticket vending machines on the platforms.[25]^:6–6 Oregon's first Starbucks outlet sits adjacent to the western edge of the westbound platform.[28]

TriMet considers the square a transit hub.[25]^:6–6 It is the only location in the MAX system where all five existing light rail services interconnect.[29] The northbound light rail tracks on the Portland Transit Mall run along the immediate east side of the Pioneer Square station platforms on 6th Avenue; this provides a direct transfer to the MAX platform of Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th station across the street,[30] which is served by the Green and Yellow lines.[29] On the opposite end of this adjacent block, which is occupied by the Pioneer Courthouse,[31] is the southbound MAX station, Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th.[32] This station is served by the Green and Orange lines. The Pioneer Square stations also facilitate transfers to buses serving the Portland Transit Mall.[29]

Service

The Pioneer Square stations are served by the MAX Blue Line, which connects them to Beaverton and Hillsboro to the west and Gresham to the east, and the MAX Red Line, which connects them to Beaverton to the west and Portland International Airport to the east.[26][27][33] From the stations, westbound trains take approximately 25 minutes to reach Beaverton Transit Center and 50 minutes to reach Hatfield Government Center station.[34] Eastbound trains take approximately 35 minutes to reach Portland International Airport station and 50 minutes to reach Cleveland Avenue station.[35][36] The stations together recorded an average 5,123 riders on weekdays in fall 2019.[1]

References

1. "TriMet MAX Light Rail Passenger Census – Fall 2019" (PDF). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
2. Vattiat, Drew (October 4, 2013). "The history of Pioneer Courthouse Square in photos". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
3. "Central School". Oregon Historical Society. March 17, 2018. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
4. Killen, John (June 11, 2015). "Throwback Thursday: Portland public schools, started in 1850s, took awhile to catch on". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
5. "The Portland Hotel: Once the place to see and be seen". The Oregonian. April 2, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
6. "New Parking Structure Proposed". The Oregonian. October 31, 1969. p. 6.
7. "History: Timeline". Pioneer Courthouse Square Administrative Office. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
8. Alesko, Michael (February 8, 1978). "Pioneer Square work start predicted in 1979". The Oregonian. p. C4.
9. Vattiat, Drew (October 4, 2013). "History of Pioneer Courthouse Square: The winning design and four rejected finalists from 1980 (photos)". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
10. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (November 1, 1981). Banfield Light Rail Project: Conceptual Design Information for the City of Portland (Report). 9. TriMet Collection. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
11. Federman, Stan (March 11, 1983). "Tri-Met opens bids on first light-rail track work". The Oregonian. p. B1.
12. Federman, Stan (March 31, 1983). "Light-rail work gets go-ahead". The Oregonian. p. D16.
13. Federman, Stan (March 4, 1986). "Light rail's jolly trolley progress on track". The Oregonian. p. B5.
14. "Light-rail work [photo and caption only]". The Oregonian. March 10, 1984. p. C1. Ralph L. Mowatt, a welder for Portland General Electric Co., cuts iron beam in street at Southwest First Avenue and Morrison Street on Friday as construction on the Banfield light-rail project moved downtown this week with utilities beginning to relocate lines.
15. Ritz, Richard E. (April 3, 1984). "Flow of people will complete square's design". The Oregonian. p. B5.
16. Gragg, Randy (April 4, 1994). "Pioneer Courthouse Square: Soul of the City" (10th anniversary feature)". The Oregonian. pp. A1, A6.
17. Murphy, Bill (May 9, 1986). "Downtown debut". The Oregonian. p. 1. The first Tri-Met light-rail car to appear downtown is towed up Southwest Morrison Street Thursday. It will be open for public inspection at downtown locations for the next week.
18. "Shoppers get first look at Tri-Met light-rail car". The Oregonian. May 9, 1986. p. D8.
19. Federman, Stan (September 5, 1986). "All aboard! MAX on track; ride free". The Oregonian. p. 1.
20. "Riding the Rails; Schedule of events: Sept. 5–7". The Oregonian. September 5, 1986. p. T4.
21. Hayakawa, Alan R. (September 6, 1986). "Whistle-stop tour inaugurates MAX light rail". The Oregonian. p. B6.
22. Oliver, Gordon (September 11, 2001). "Portland now 'the city that moves', mayor says [opening of MAX Red Line]". The Oregonian. p. 1.
23. Leeson, Fred (August 27, 2003). "MAX fares increase, direct service from Beaverton to PDX starts". The Oregonian. p. D2.
24. "New MAX line opens downtown". Portland Tribune. August 28, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
25. "Community Building Sourcebook: Land use and transportation initiatives in Portland, Oregon" (PDF). TriMet. December 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
26. "Stop ID 8334 – Pioneer Square South MAX Station". TriMet. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
27. "Stop ID 8383 – Pioneer Square North MAX Station". TriMet. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
28. Hamburg, Ken (August 23, 1989). "Starbucks grabs spot in Portland coffee trade". The Oregonian.
29. Portland City Center and Transit Mall (PDF) (Map). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
30. Google (March 10, 2020). "Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th Ave MAX Stn" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
31. Google (March 10, 2020). "Pioneer Courthouse" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
32. Google (March 10, 2020). "Pioneer Place/SW 5th Ave MAX Station" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
33. Rail System Map with transfers (PDF) (Map). TriMet. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
34. "MAX Blue Line, Weekday Westbound to Portland City Center and Hillsboro" (PDF). TriMet. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
35. "MAX Blue Line, Weekday Eastbound to Portland City Center and Gresham" (PDF). TriMet. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
36. "MAX Red Line, Weekday To Portland City Center and Airport" (PDF). TriMet. Retrieved May 23, 2019.

External links

• "Stop ID 8334 – Pioneer Square South MAX Station". TriMet.
• "Stop ID 8383 – Pioneer Square North MAX Station". TriMet.