Plaza Blocks

The Plaza Blocks, two courthouse squares known as Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square, are located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The blocks, as well as the adjacent Terry Schrunk Plaza, are surrounded by multiple government buildings including City Hall, the Green - Wyatt Federal Building, the Portland Building, the Multnomah County Justice Center, the Hatfield United States Courthouse, and the old Multnomah County Courthouse.

History
The northernmost square is named after Daniel H. Lownsdale (1803—1862), a native Kentuckian who settled in Portland in 1845. The south square is named after legislator William W. Chapman (1808–1892), a Virginian who settled in Portland in 1850. Both Lownsdale and Chapman were some of Portland's first landowners.

The blocks were initially segregated by gender. Lownsdale Square for men and Chapman Square for women. Public speakers and preachers used the parks for their speeches. By 1900, Lownsdale Square was a gay cruising destination, allowing a degree of deniability. This activity also took place in Chapman Square by the 1950s. Evidence of the gender segregation still exists to some extent. The public men's and women's restrooms are still located in their respective blocks, and the monuments in each respective square are focused more on traditionally male vs female interests.

Front Street (now Naito Parkway) in 1910The first electric power transmission line in North America terminated at Chapman Square. It went online at 10:00 pm on June 3, 1889, operating at 4,000 volts of direct current, with the lines between the electric generating station at Willamette Falls in Oregon City, Oregon, and downtown Portland stretching about 13 miles. A bronze tablet in the park commemorates this achievement.

Civil unrest and protests
The Plaza Blocks, as well as the adjacent Terry Schrunk Plaza, are frequent hotspots for protests and civil unrest. Many people participating in the 2011 Occupy Portland protests used the parks to camp in.

The 2020 George Floyd protests were centered on the parks and caused significant damage to the memorials and features of the park. The damage led to the removal of the Thompson Elk Fountain and The Promised Land.

The Elk Fountain is set to be replaced in 2024.