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Washington Park (MAX station)
Encyclopedia
Washington Park is a station in the MAX Light Rail system of TriMet
, served by the Blue
and Red
lines. It is located in Portland, Oregon
and is a part of the Robertson Tunnel
under Portland's West Hills
. It is the fourth station westbound on the Westside MAX alignment. While it is the only completely underground station in the MAX system, at 260 feet (79.2 m) below the surface it is the deepest transit station in North America
. It is also one of the deepest in the world.
This station serves many popular destinations. Its surface level plaza is located in the middle of a parking lot surrounded by the Oregon Zoo
to the east, World Forestry Center
to the west, Portland Children's Museum
to the southwest, Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial
to the northwest, and Hoyt Arboretum
to the north. TriMet bus service, including a seasonal shuttle, and trails, some part of the 40 Mile Loop
, connect this station to other parts of Washington Park, including the International Rose Test Garden
and the Portland Japanese Garden
.
, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who supported the project. The entrance to the zoo entrance is located just across a parking-lot road from the station plaza, having been moved north from its previous location the weekend after the station opened. Two high-speed elevator
s are located at either end of the underground station; visitors to the Oregon Zoo are directed to the east elevators while people going to the World Forestry Center are pointed to the west.
consists of two single-track tubes, one for each direction of travel. The station platform is between the rails, accessed from the left side of trains. A geological timeline—created from a drilling core sample
—runs along the platform walls. The eastbound platform is marked by yellow roof girders, symbolizing the sunrise; the westbound platform has orange roof girders, symbolizing the sunset. The platforms were nicknamed Sunrise and Sunset, respectively, by TriMet.
Trains entering the tunnel more than a mile away can be heard from the platforms. They move at up to 55 mph (88.5 km/h) and push a stream of constant-temperature air into the station. This, coupled with the surrounding rock, keeps the platform at a natural average temperature of 50 °F (10 °C) year round.
A memorial to the only worker killed during the construction of the Robertson Tunnel is located on the wall next to the tunnel portal at the east end of the "Sunset" (westbound) platform.
(28 for the west elevators) equivalent ride takes about 25 seconds. Due to the hillside surface slope, the west elevators are 20 feet (6.1 m) taller than the east elevators.
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
, served by the Blue
MAX Blue Line
The MAX Blue Line is a 33 mile light rail line in the MAX Light Rail system in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet, the line runs between Hillsboro and Gresham, via downtown Portland...
and Red
MAX Red Line
The MAX Red Line is a route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. It is 25.5 miles long...
lines. It is located in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and is a part of the Robertson Tunnel
Robertson Tunnel
The Robertson Tunnel is a tunnel through the west hills of Portland, Oregon, U.S. for the TriMet public transit MAX Light Rail system. The tunnel is 3.1 miles long and consists of twin 21 foot diameter tunnels. There is one station within the tunnel at Washington Park, the third deepest such...
under Portland's West Hills
Tualatin Mountains
The Tualatin Mountains are a range of hills on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States...
. It is the fourth station westbound on the Westside MAX alignment. While it is the only completely underground station in the MAX system, at 260 feet (79.2 m) below the surface it is the deepest transit station in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It is also one of the deepest in the world.
This station serves many popular destinations. Its surface level plaza is located in the middle of a parking lot surrounded by the Oregon Zoo
Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo, formerly the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo in Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located southwest of Downtown Portland, the zoo is inside Portland's Washington Park, and includes a narrow-gauge railway that connects to the International Rose Test Garden inside...
to the east, World Forestry Center
World Forestry Center
The World Forestry Center is an American nonprofit educational institution in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located near the Oregon Zoo in Washington Park, the center was established in 1964 as the Western Forestry Center.-History:...
to the west, Portland Children's Museum
Portland Children's Museum
Portland Children's Museum is a children's museum located in Portland's Washington Park, adjacent to the Oregon Zoo. Founded in 1946, Portland Children's Museum is the sixth oldest children's museum in the world and the oldest West of the Mississippi. The museum receives over a quarter of a...
to the southwest, Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a 3.25 acre outdoor memorial dedicated to Oregonians who served in the Vietnam War. It is located in Portland, Oregon's Washington Park at . The memorial was dedicated in 1987, inspired in 1982 by visits to the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial by five...
to the northwest, and Hoyt Arboretum
Hoyt Arboretum
The Hoyt Arboretum is located atop a ridge in the west hills of Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1922 by a collection of timber industry representatives, the U.S...
to the north. TriMet bus service, including a seasonal shuttle, and trails, some part of the 40 Mile Loop
40 Mile Loop
The 40-Mile Loop is a partially completed greenway trail around and through Portland in the U.S. State of Oregon. It was proposed in 1903 by the Olmsted Brothers architecture firm as part of the development of Forest Park....
, connect this station to other parts of Washington Park, including the International Rose Test Garden
International Rose Test Garden
The International Rose Test Garden is a rose garden in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon, United States. There are over 7,000 rose plants of approximately 550 varieties. The roses bloom from April through October with the peak coming in June, depending on the weather...
and the Portland Japanese Garden
Portland Japanese Garden
The Portland Japanese Garden is a traditional Japanese garden occupying 5.5 acres , located within Washington Park in the west hills of Portland, Oregon, USA.- Design :...
.
Surface
The surface portion includes a public plaza named in honor of Les AuCoinLes AuCoin
Walter Leslie "Les" AuCoin , is an American politician and the first Democrat elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from since it was formed in 1882. The seat has been held by a Democrat ever since....
, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who supported the project. The entrance to the zoo entrance is located just across a parking-lot road from the station plaza, having been moved north from its previous location the weekend after the station opened. Two high-speed elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s are located at either end of the underground station; visitors to the Oregon Zoo are directed to the east elevators while people going to the World Forestry Center are pointed to the west.
Underground
The Robertson TunnelRobertson Tunnel
The Robertson Tunnel is a tunnel through the west hills of Portland, Oregon, U.S. for the TriMet public transit MAX Light Rail system. The tunnel is 3.1 miles long and consists of twin 21 foot diameter tunnels. There is one station within the tunnel at Washington Park, the third deepest such...
consists of two single-track tubes, one for each direction of travel. The station platform is between the rails, accessed from the left side of trains. A geological timeline—created from a drilling core sample
Core sample
A core sample is a cylindrical section of a naturally occurring substance. Most core samples are obtained by drilling with special drills into the substance, for example sediment or rock, with a hollow steel tube called a core drill. The hole made for the core sample is called the "core hole". A...
—runs along the platform walls. The eastbound platform is marked by yellow roof girders, symbolizing the sunrise; the westbound platform has orange roof girders, symbolizing the sunset. The platforms were nicknamed Sunrise and Sunset, respectively, by TriMet.
Trains entering the tunnel more than a mile away can be heard from the platforms. They move at up to 55 mph (88.5 km/h) and push a stream of constant-temperature air into the station. This, coupled with the surrounding rock, keeps the platform at a natural average temperature of 50 °F (10 °C) year round.
A memorial to the only worker killed during the construction of the Robertson Tunnel is located on the wall next to the tunnel portal at the east end of the "Sunset" (westbound) platform.
Elevators
The elevators stop at only two levels, surface and platform level, with no intermediate stops. As a part of the station's geological theme, the signs inside the elevators refer to these two levels not by conventional floor numbers but by "the present" and "16 million years ago"—for the surface level and platform level, respectively. During ascent and descent, a moving indicator display inside each elevator shows the current position expressed as elevation above sea level in feet. The elevators allow selecting two floors, "S" and "T", for "surface" (or "street") and "tunnel" (or "train", or "track level"). The 26-storyStorey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
(28 for the west elevators) equivalent ride takes about 25 seconds. Due to the hillside surface slope, the west elevators are 20 feet (6.1 m) taller than the east elevators.
External links
- MAX Light Rail Stations – TriMet page