Couch Park

History

Couch Park was named after Captain John Heard Couch, who sailed from Newburyport, Massachusetts for Portland in 1839. Couch owned and developed land from the Willamette River to what is now Northwest 23rd Avenue and from Burnside north for one mile. Blocks were named alphabetically as the land was developed, forming today's Alphabet District. The site of Couch Park was once the estate of 19th-century merchant Cicero Hunt Lewis, the husband of Couch's daughter Clementine. The estate included a mansion, stables and a greenhouse, each constructed in 1881. The Multnomah County School District (now Portland Public Schools) acquired the property in 1913 following demolition and constructed a school bearing Couch's name, replacing the first building built in 1882 at Northwest 17th and Kearney. Land that is now Couch Park was then the school's playground. Captain John Brown's house, constructed in 1890, was moved to one corner of the site in 1970 to spare demolition. Residents donated money to convert the house into a community center for senior citizens as well as medical services. However, the project was abandoned when funding received was less than required. In 1973 the heavily vandalized building was demolished.

Couch School's name was changed to the Metropolitan Learning Center (MLC) in 1974. This left only the park with Couch's name. Planning and construction for the park, including its play structure, began in 1975, a process which included MLC students and neighboring residents. Three art installations were erected in 1976; these included a steel sculpture by David Cotter, tile mosaics by Jere Grimm and carved wood pillars which support the playground by Brent Jenkins, Eric Jensen and William Moore. Only the steel sculpture still exists. The park was officially turned over to Portland Parks & Recreation management in 1977, although the park, with the exception of the pedestrian mall, is still owned by Portland Public Schools.

Features

Playground

The park's inclusive playground was built in 2019, replacing a large wooden structure that was removed in 2014 due to termite rot. That playground was replaced by an empty plot of barkchips and 6 boulders until the new playground was erected. The new playground opened on May 4th, 2019 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by city commissioners Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz.

A fence was built around the playground in 2010 thanks to funds provided by The Opus Foundation as well as a voter-approved 2002 levy.

Dog park

The park features an un-fenced off-leash dog park. The dog park area is used for concerts in the summer.

Couch Park was included in the book A Bark in the Park: The 45 Best Places to Hike with Your Dog in the Portland, Oregon Region (2005).

Trees

As of 2010 more than one hundred trees representing dozens of tree types exist in the park, including birch, cedar, elm, fir, maple, pine, various fruit trees and others. European white birch and English are the most abundant species in the park.

References

References

1. {{cite gnis
2. "Couch Park". Portland Parks & Recreation.
3. Engeman, Richard H.. (March 25, 2009). "The Oregon Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of the Useful, the Curious, and the Arcane". Timber Press.
4. "Couch Park Playground Demolished-Parks Replacement Bond = Solution?".
5. Pfeil, John. (2019-05-21). "A New, Fully Inclusive Playground for Couch Park".
6. "Couch Park Portland, OR".
7. Blackman, Teresa. (June 10, 2010). "Portland's Couch Park gets upgrades". [[KGW]].
8. "Couch Park". Portland Parks Foundation.
9. Johnson, Lisa. (2005). "A Bark in the Park: The 45 Best Places to Hike with Your Dog in the Portland, Oregon Region". Cruden Bay Books.
10. (2010). "Trees of Couch Park". Portland Parks & Recreation.