Every rose has its thorns

Developers are poised to renovate the Rose Quarter and Memorial Coliseum into a 24-hour entertainment extravaganza honoring the area’s jazz-filled historic district, Jumptown—which was razed to build the Coliseum.

In the 1940s, the Eastbank and Albina districts were at the center of Portland’s music scene. Portland’s location between Seattle and San Francisco made certain that heavy performers like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong stopped to play in downtown ballrooms. The largest of these clubs, the Dude Ranch, is the only one left standing after Interstate 5, Memorial Coliseum and a failed Legacy Emanuel Hospital expansion obliterated the area in a 1950s-era urban renewal project. City officials and the Portland Trail Blazers are starting their own renewal project aimed at recreating all the music and nightlife that their predecessors crushed with family-friendly restaurants, shops, and a one-of-a-kind Nike interactive experience.

I can’t imagine anything more grotesque than the neon lights and mindless pop-rock muzak that will inevitably poison and wilt the majestic Rose Garden. The City of Portland has created a development council accepting proposals from all Portlanders and promises to keep all ideas “on an equal footing,” according to Mayor Sam Adams. But the Blazers, who retain special development rights in the area, have the right to veto the committee’s recommendations.

The Blazers have partnered with Cordish Development to form a proposition that, according to Larry Miller, Blazers team president, continues to pay homage to something that used to be there. A quick search of other Cordish projects brings up a horrific montage of Hard Rock Cafe’s, neon bowling pins, and accusations of racism. I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys were in charge of rebuilding the Death Star.

In an interview with the Portland Mercury, Miller promised that the project will be locally-driven. “This is not being driven by an outside corporation like Cordish. This is being driven by Portland and Portlanders,” Miller said. He imagines a return to the Coliseum’s use as a venue and swears to steer clear of a mall atmosphere full of chain stores. Honestly, the Blazers’ track record gives us every reason to believe him. The Rose Garden is tasteful and understated and we can thank Blazers owner Paul Allen’s vast fortune in ensuring that we won’t have to watch the Trail Blazers in a ridiculous corporate venue (see: Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho, and Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz.). The Blazers have a real opportunity to revitalize a district that becomes a ghost town in the off-season.

Mayor Adams stresses that development should be authentically Portland.

“We’re an indie city with a do-it-yourself kind of ethos,” Adams said. Not only is this statement extremely nauseating, it’s extremely troubling. The committee fails to understand that you can’t plan urban authenticity.

Change will come organically. Portland is a city filled with a lust for the genuine and the opportunity to flaunt new holes in the wall in your snooty neighbors’ faces.

The Rose Quarter should be reintroduced to the neighborhood that surrounds it. The nearby businesses and restaurants don’t flaunt Blazers merchandise or offer late-night specials to the exodus of fans after games. But can we really blame them for feeling a little detached from the massive arenas? The Rose Quarter’s giant above-ground parking lots serve as a Great Wall that cuts them off from Northeast neighborhoods. Bringing in giant, themed restaurants may seem like a sound investment in other cities, but really doesn’t fit into Portland’s image.

Provide incentives and tax credits for local businesses to move into the Rose Quarter. Make sure local bands are always highlighted and open for larger groups that come through. Let local architects and developers use the remodel as an opportunity to create a prototype for the future of Portland urban planning. Put in a velodrome!

And please scrap the whole Jumptown thing. I realize that it rhymes with Stumptown and the Blazers’ corporate heads must think it’s witty to have “jump” associated with a basketball arena, but when a little history is added, it comes off as insensitive.

This redevelopment is a good idea that could become great for the city. Deviating away from the Jumptown concept is a leap in the right direction. To provide my own stomach-turning pun: If done correctly, a Rose Quarter by any other name will smell just as sweet.