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Letter from City Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney about Columbia Pool demolition
Dear advocates and neighbors, I’m writing to share a difficult update on Columbia Pool. After extensive efforts to identify a viable path forward, Portland Parks & Recreation has informed my office that they are moving ahead with demolition of the Columbia Pool building. At this point, I do not have additional tools available to stop that…
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City to demolish Columbia Pool after years of neglect
By Mark Kirchmeier Ten years after the Portland Parks and Recreation Bureau effectively stopped maintaining Columbia Pool, and four years after Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio ordered it closed, the Parks Bureau is going to demolish the building. “Public officials have an opportunity to learn from this fiasco and not cause further unnecessary harm to community…
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Mayor Wilson sets deadline to raise Columbia Pool funds
By Mark Kirchmeier While a recent independent architectural report seriously undercut Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau claims that restoring Columbia Park Pool is cost prohibitive, Mayor Keith Wilson wants to close the long and controversial pool debate, unless advocates can quickly find private funding. A source close to City Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney’s office diplomatically said,…
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New report shows less cost for controversial Columbia Pool restoration
By Mark Kirchmeier An independent study contradicts the city’s estimates for restoration of the Columbia Park Pool, saying the pool could be converted to summer use for less money than the Parks Bureau says it would take. In response, the city claims the restoration would cost roughly twice what the independent study by Convergence Achitecture…
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Advocates ask PP&R: Where’s the Columbia Pool report?
New info suggests PP&R pool restoration estimate is inflated By Mark Kirchmeier The Portland Bureau of Parks & Recreation’s top management has supported demolishing Columbia Park Pool, citing a bureau estimate that it would cost $21.5 million to convert it into a seasonal pool. But a new independent study appears to show that restoration could…
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Pirtle-Guiney proposes $5 million for Columbia Pool restoration
District 2 Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney has resurrected the Columbia Park Pool campaign declaring she will seek to amend Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget by directing $5 million toward restoring the now-closed pool. She proposes drawing from city General Fund contingency and Parks Bureau contingency funds. “The entire time I’ve been in office, I’ve heard over and…
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Wilson: Columbia Pool raze may be necessary
By Mark Kirchmeier Mayor Keith Wilson delivered discouraging news to Columbia Park Pool advocates in a March 16 private meeting. Wilson had dramatically halted the scheduled demolition of the pool in late March 2025, three days before the razing was to begin. Now one year later, he asked to meet with Friends of Columbia Park…
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Assessment study looms for Columbia Park Pool
The City of Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau is so close to authorizing an independent study to determine the costs to restore Columbia Pool, that City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guney’s office is already making plans to discuss potential study results with the Friends of Columbia Park in early February. One City Hall observer said that…
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City begins steps to save Columbia Park Pool
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has begun work to stabilize the closed Columbia Park Pool structure as a first step toward possible full restoration of the pool. PP&R contractors began work in late October to dry the interior of the building and stop water from intruding into the roof this winter. “The North Portland community celebrates…
