Pioneer Courthouse

When I recently arrived, a US Marshal was out front waiting to greet us. He walked us through a metal detector into a central room for the courthouse. He gave a brief yet informative history of the courthouse, and gave us more information (Including what rooms we could go into and what was on each floor). An interesting piece of trivia was the fact it is the oldest public building in Portland, OR.nHe then split from us to go out front again. We continued into the library filled with law books and court records. We walked around in there, admiring the old furniture and architecture. We continued down a main hall which featured windows for the old Post Office (No longer there) and brochures for all ages. Another hall stranded off of this, now splitting into multiple rooms filled with furniture.nAfter exploring the area a bit, we decided to go into the almost 100-year-old elevator. According to the Marshal, the elevator was originally one consisting of only a cage and a few buttons. Over the years, they updated it to include walls and more electronics to make it much safer. We went up all the way to the top, where there were stairs leading to the cupola. (Note: The elevator does not go up to the cupola, instead it goes to a floor with more stairs leading to the cupola.)nInside the cupola, we got an amazing 360° view of Portland including Pioneer Square (Across the street), Portland State University, and other buildings around the area. The cupola consisted of 26 panes around, with all but 6 being from as early as 1885.nAll-in-all, I really enjoyed the experience. I'd definitely recommend visiting the site if your in the area, and is a great stop on any road trip!

Feel like the oldest building in downtown Portland! It is also a famous landmark of pioneer square

I actually helped design the fire sprinkler system with Master Fire back during the seismic upgrade...so can attest to it's safety if nothing else! LOL Otherwise, not so sure..I hope I don't end up with the kind of situation that necessitates a federal judge...But, if I do, I suppose I can take heart in the fact that I am not going to burn to death in the building if catches fire! Now just being repetitive to make sure I write two hundred characters, not much else can really say beyond tooting my horn about doing the Fire Sprinklers! LOL

An informative introduction from the friendly security guy at the door, and I enjoyed being able to wander through every floor, visiting the courtroom, offices and the cupola.

A truly hidden attraction. People don't really know that it's available for self-guided tours. Most of the rooms are open and available for viewing. It's really cool to be able to see all of the interesting court-related things.