Third Thursdays at Trinity Park: “This is a city park?”

Trinity Park is the small triangle of green space with a fountain on Forest, between Coyle and Lincoln Streets, called a pocket park. Owned by the city, the volunteers from Trinity Church have been caring for this green space for decades. In 2017, the Trinity Park Committee formed with volunteers from Trinity Episcopal Church, FWC and local neighbors. The City of Portland Parks and Recreation Department welcomed the community support.

In 2018 we focused on weeding, pruning, general clean-up and maintenance. Peter Lewis of Lewis Brothers Landscaping generously donated labor and materials to help us remove overgrowth and tidy up the space. We identified needs - signage, seating, lighting, programming and upgrade of the plants. We agreed that a long term goal would be to redesign the park and replace the aging hardscape. But first things first; we wanted to see if we can make it come alive as public space.

In 2019, we activated the park after some coaching from the Executive Director of Congress Square Park, Dela Murphy and City Urban Designer Caitlyn Cameron. Starting in June we launched Third Thursdays in Trinity Park - monthly summer programming to spread the word that this is a public space and to give neighbors a place to gather. Tom and Amy Landry of Benchmark gernerously sponsored the series. provide music, food, games, artists and some local non-profits each month. Our musicians were Jason Spooner, Jenn and David, The Flukes and Joel Thetford. We sampled food from Foodie Friends and Trinity Church volunteers, many artists, games for kids (fishing for ducks in the fountain and general neighboring. Other participants were Backyard Blooms, Artists & Craftsman, Honey Exchange, Wild Seed Project, Incomer Magazine, and the Main Access Immigrant Network. See the photo gallery below.

Thank you all the neighbors, volunteers and sponsors who made our pocket park experiment a success this season.

If you are interested in joining the Trinity Park Committee, please contact Teresa at woodfordscorner.org. We welcome all neighbors that want to help us revitalize this space!