Originally built between 1893 and 1894, the two open-air reservoirs were engineered to supply healthy drinking water to neighborhoods west of the Willamette River. Featuring reinforced concrete systems designed by Ernest L. Ransome and Beaux-Arts detailing by Whidden & Lewis, the system was eventually listed on the National Register of Historic Places with eleven contributing structures, including iconic masonry gatehouses, light fixtures and dams. Led by project teams including Winterbrook Planning and Hoffman Construction Company, the recently completed Washington Park Reservoir Improvement Project was awarded with the DeMuro Award for Excellence in Preservation, Reuse, and Community Impact for its sensitive transformation of the landmark! However…
While the reservoirs were a product of Euro-American civic engineering, the land they occupy in the Tualatin Mountains holds deep significance as the traditional homelands of the Tualatin Kalapuya and Multnomah Chinook peoples. Numerous other tribes used this basin for over 11,000 years for hunting, harvesting and trade along the headwaters, which once flowed freely through the canyon before being channeled into Portland's underground sewer system to feed the city's grid. Following displacement through the 1850 Donation Land Claim Act and forced relocation to reservations like Grand Ronde and Siletz, the reservoir project permanently altered the local ecology. Today the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau collaborates with the Native American Community Advisory Council to guide stewardship of the park
By the early 2000s, the historic property faced threats from federal water regulations, structural aging, and an active landslide that compromised stability. To address these vulnerabilities without destroying the landmark's identity, the Portland Water Bureau initiated a comprehensive planning process in 2012. Major physical construction commenced in 2016 and progressed in phases over a decade, achieving full project completion in 2026.
Washington Park is now considered a quintessential city park in the PNW tradition. The park also plays an essential role in the city's water system by providing drinking water from the pristine Bull Run watershed to downtown Portland.
