Cold weather tourists

With temperatures in the 20’s Umbrella Man draws a crowd on one of the coldest days of the year. The leader of this tour group gathered everyone in a semi-circle to introduce Portland’s famous icon. Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square is the focal point for several tours in the downtown area and Umbrella Man is always the star attraction.

Strong kid

Everyone knows how much little boys love to climb on things. It looks like this little guy knocked over this column on the square, so he could climb on it. Wow, that took some major strength.

Afternoon sun break

On a cold winter day, the afternoon sun hits the square for a little over an hour in the late afternoon. People take advantage of the sun to relax, get warm and catch up on some reading. During the winter months the sun shines on the square for a couple of hours a day, once at noon and again in the late afternoon. Those two hours are a welcome break from the cold weather.

Electronic revolution

Protesters gathered on Pioneer Courthouse Square calling for ouster of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak. This has been billed as an electronic revolution, with worldwide protester's using Google, Facebook and Twitter. Many people learned about this protest on the square through electronic networking media. Many other gatherings on the square are fueled by these same methods. So, once again Portland’s Living Room gives people with a cause a place to meet and voice their beliefs.

$1,000,000 studio

NewsChannel 8's HD "Studio on the Square" is adjacent to the Square's Visitor Information Center. The construction was completed in the summer 2008. The studio cost over $1,000,000 dollars to build. The location of the high definition studio showcases events at the Square in visual detail never seen before. With only a select number of street level news studios in operation throughout the United States, the "Studio on the Square" captures the recent trend of integrating news and information access with some of the nation's most distinguished public spaces. For a tour of the studio watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkXIL_akEss