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Martin Luther King, Jr. Gateway

A boulevard named in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. should embody the soul, ideas and vision of this great American. There is a street named for him in virtually every major city in the United States. Most of them are still an insult to what he stood for.

 

Our goal was to translate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision into built form in order to help stimulate a neighborhood.

 

Portland's Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard sidewalks needed people, and the community needed good gathering places, so we designed a two story community restaurant on the corner. Large garage doors open the restaurant to the sidewalk, people at tables can talk with people on the sidewalk. Upstairs, large common tables with open seating would help bring people in the community together. It was designed to be a fun space, with good food, good drink and a good vibe.

 

Behind the community restaurant building were affordable townhouses on Grand Avenue for larger families that were designed to help activate and put eyes on their street.

 

The look of the gateway building was to be glassy, optimistic, colorful, and self-assured. This was the start of a new attitude towards the boulevard named after this great man.

 

Floor Plans

Sketches

INFLUENCES, INSPIRATIONS

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. QUOTES

"Our children must be taught to stand tall with their heads proudly lifted."

REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 
Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community? 1968, page 171

 

 

"Together we must learn to live as brothers, or together we will be forced to perish as fools.”

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?  1968 p. 171

 

"The system we live under creates people such as this youth.  I’m not interested in pressing charges. I’m interested in changing the kind of system that produces such men."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
February 1962 quoted after being attacked by a disturbed white racist in Birmingham.

 

"In the past, apathy was a moral failure.  Today it is a form of moral and political suicide."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Strive Toward Freedom p. 222

 

"If America is to remain a first-class nation, it cannot have a second-class citizenship."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Strive Toward Freedom, p. 197

 

"We will err and falter as we climb the unfamiliar slopes of steep mountains, but there is no alternative, well-trod, level path."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?  1968 p. 138

 

"Any real change in the status quo depends on continued creative action."

 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

 

"We will err and falter as we climb the unfamiliar slopes of steep mountains, but there is no alternative, well-trod, level path."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?  1968 p. 138

 

"Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve got some difficult days ahead.  But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.  And I don’t mind.  Like anybody, I would like to live a long life-longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now.  I just want to do God’s will.  And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.  And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.  I may not get there with you.  But I want you to know tonight,that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
speech delivered at Bishop Charles Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee  August 3, 1968

 

"Our consolation is that no one can know the true taste of victory if he has never swallowed defeat."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?  1968 p. 138

 

"Doors of opportunity are gradually opening now that were not open to our mothers and fathers.

The great challenge is to prepare ourselves to enter these doors as they open."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?   1968 p. 123

 

"He was a genius. I am not talking about my son when I say that; I’m talking about a world citizen.  He moved beyond us early.  He did not belong to us, he belonged to the world."
REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, SR.

 

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:”We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.”

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
speech delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, Washington, DC
August 28, 1963

 

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
speech delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, Washington, DC
August 28, 1963

 

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
speech delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, Washington, DC

August 28, 1963

 

"Free at last!  Free at last!  Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
speech delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, Washington, DC
August 28, 1963

 

"Martin Luther King, Jr. was the conscience of his generation. He was a doctor to a sick society. He was a prophet to a new and better America."
JIMMY CARTER

EXISTING SITE

CREDITS

Emmons Architects, Architect
   Stuart Emmons, Jill Dau

Sharon Maxwell Hendricks, Boanerges Group, co-developer
P3 Partnership, co-developer