Garden at OHSU

Polished Stone Bench & Fountain on the Kohler Pavilion 9th Floor Garden

Over the past two years I've had the opportunity to visit a patient in the hospital many times, most of those visits have been to the VA hospital on the OHSU campus. The VA hospital is exactly what I would expect from a place for sick people...clean but not comfortable...watch out this is a place for SICK people! More recently I have visited someone at OHSU, but in the Kohler Pavilion. what a difference from the VA hospital...it is bright, cheerful, it has a feeling of HEALING! And, it has a garden! At first I noticed the Garden on the 9th floor, a long narrow walkway outside the hallway windows...there are pretty polished stone benches and some very cool drinking fountains that after half a dozen visits drew me out to take a closer look...very nice up-close, but then I looked down a floor...there was a larger "garden"area below!

Curving Boardwalk with Sculpture and Benches

I walked down a long flight of stairs to the 7th floor garden. Along the stairs I noticed a smooth trough-like area that looked like it was meant for something to roll on...it is a bike gutter for bikes that ride the tram to the hospital.

The garden features a children's play area and a wood "boardwalk" with a long tiled seating wall, fountains and sculptures.

Mother & Child, Mary Lewis Sculptor

The Children's play area was enclosed in a low glass wall and featured a turtle to climb on.

9th Floor Drinking Fountain

This drinking fountain was the only "water feature" that was turned on...dry fountains are disappointing; I visited several times and never saw them running. Maybe once the tram is paid for, some of the revenue from the tram ride tickets could be put into a fund to pay for the electricity to run the pumps!

I found an interesting blog about Portland Public Art, the blog has a section devoted to art at OHSU.