Portland Saturday Market facts for kids
The Portland Saturday Market is a super fun outdoor market in Portland, Oregon. It's where talented people sell amazing handmade arts and crafts. This market is the biggest outdoor market in the United States that has been open non-stop for a long time!
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You can visit the market every Saturday and Sunday. It's open from early March until December 24th. You'll find it in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, right under the Burnside Bridge. It also stretches into a plaza near the Skidmore Fountain.
The market is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. On Sundays, it's open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It's free to get in! You can walk, bike, or even take TriMet's MAX Light Rail. The MAX train stops very close by at the Skidmore Fountain stop.
The Portland Saturday Market has over 400 members. It helps bring in about $12 million in sales each year. It's a really important part of the historic Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. About 750,000 people visit the market every year!
History of the Market
The market started in 1974. Two craftspeople, Sheri Teasdale and Andrea Scharf, created it. They got the idea from the Eugene Saturday Market in Eugene, Oregon.
The market was set up so that all members would share costs. They also helped manage the market together. But each person got to keep all the money they made from selling their items. A special rule is that everything sold at the Saturday Market must be handmade. The person selling it must have made it themselves. A group of members checks each new item to make sure it's good quality.
Where the Market Is Located
When the market first started, it didn't have a specific home. Then, a kind person named Bill Naito offered them a parking lot. This lot was known as the "Butterfly lot." Even today, a big butterfly mural hangs over the market. It reminds everyone of the market's past.
For the first year, there wasn't a clear plan for the market's layout. Later, a board of directors was formed. They hired the first market manager, Dana Comfort. She and her team helped organize the market under the Burnside Bridge. They created a clear plan for the market. It included 8-foot by 8-foot spaces for booths. It also showed clear paths for people to walk.
In 1976, the market moved to a spot under the Burnside Bridge. It stayed there for 33 years! In 1977, the market also started opening on Sundays.
Moving to a New Spot in 2009
By 2005, the market needed a permanent home. It had always used short-term agreements for its space. This made it hard to build better facilities. The city also wanted to make the area safer and cleaner. So, they started looking for a new, permanent location.
The studies suggested moving the market to Tom McCall Waterfront Park. This new spot is one block east of the old one. The plan included building a special open-sided shelter. This shelter, called a "pavilion," would give 8,000 square feet of covered space. It would help protect vendors and shoppers from the weather.
The small plaza called Ankeny Square would still be used for vendors. This area is between the Skidmore Fountain and Naito Parkway. The move would also allow for a few more vendor spaces. The number of craft booths would go from 255 to 275. The city planned to let the market use the pavilion on weekends. During the week, other groups could use it.
In May 2009, the Saturday Market officially moved to its new home in Waterfront Park. Ankeny Plaza is still a part of the market. About 50 vendors set up their booths there each weekend. In August 2009, a new public fountain opened near the market. It's called the Bill Naito Legacy Fountain. It honors Bill Naito, who helped the market in its early days.
