Multnomah Pavilion, OHSU

Multnomah Pavilion was built in 1923 as Multnomah County Hospital, in a partnership between the University of Oregon Medical School (now OHSU) and Multnomah County. Later additions include an east wing in 1949 and the northwest wing in 1967. The building later came to function primarily as a clinical site for outpatient appointments. In 2020, Multnomah Pavilion became an early COVID-19 vaccination site in Multnomah County, vaccinating healthcare workers.

In 1917, Multnomah County appropriated $100,000 for a new hospital in the annual county budget. The county hospital facility at the time, located at Second and Hooker streets in South Portland, was deemed unsafe, overcrowded and in need of many repairs in county reports and local newspapers. The regents of the University of Oregon offered a free site for the facility, making the case that the University of Oregon Medical School campus offered fresh air, plenty of room for treating isolation cases, and proximity to the soon-to-be-constructed laboratories of the new medical school.

Multnomah County commissioners held an open house for the public to inspect the new hospital on November 26, 1922. Reports at the time noted that the hospital resembled a giant old castle overlooking the city, appearing through the mist or gleaming in the sunshine, depending on the weather. The hospital initially had room for 250 patients, and was designed in such a way that future wings could be added to accommodate growing demand. The new hospital opened for patient care in 1923 and became Oregon’s first teaching hospital. On August 29, 1923, in a little over three hours, 100 patients and all the equipment were transferred from the site at Second and Hooker streets to the new facility on Marquam Hill.

"80 Patients Moved to New Hospital." The Oregonian (Portland, OR), August 30th, 1923. Morning ed.: 15-15. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.

Breaking Ground: Reflections on the Building of OHSU. Historical Collections & Archives, OHSU Library. https://www.ohsu.edu/historical-collections-archives/breaking-ground-reflections-building-ohsu.

"County Hospital Unsafe. Fire Chief Grenfell Urges That it be Abandoned. Building at Second and Hooker." Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), December 1, 1920: 19. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.

Piasecki, Sara. Portland Free Dispensary, Oregon Encyclopedia. September 19th 2019. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/portland_free_dispensary/#.YJGI2etlCqB.

Putting Marquam Hill on the Map: Early Campus Memories, 1915-1932. June 2018. Historical Collections & Archives, OHSU Library. https://www.ohsu.edu/historical-collections-archives/putting-marquam-hill-map-early-campus-memories-1915-1932.