Hoyt Arboretum
{{Short description|Arboretum and park in Portland, Oregon, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox park
|name = Hoyt Arboretum
|photo = Pdx washpark hoytarboretum weepingsequoia.jpeg
|alt =
|photo_caption = Weeping sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Pendulum') in Hoyt Arboretum
|type = Arboretum
|location = 4000 SW Fairview Blvd.
Portland, Oregon
|coords = {{coord|45.51679|N|122.71600|W|display=inline,title}}
|area = {{convert|153.01|acre|ha}}
|map = Portland#Oregon#USA
|map_label = Hoyt Arboretum
|plants =
|species =
|collections =
|opened = 1922
|owner =
|operator = Portland Parks & Recreation
|budget =
|visitation_num = 350,000
|status = Open to the public
|website = {{URL |https://www.hoytarboretum.org/}}
}}
Hoyt Arboretum is a public park in Portland, Oregon, which is part of the complex of parks collectively known as Washington Park. The {{convert|189|acre|ha|adj=on}} arboretum is located atop a ridge in the Tualatin Mountains {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} west of downtown Portland. Hoyt has 12 miles of hiking trails, two miles of accessible paved trails, and is open free to the public all year. About 350,000 visitors per year visit the arboretum.{{Cite web |url=https://www.hillsboronewstimes.com/lifestyle/features/shake-off-winter-with-a-walk-in-the-woods-at-hoyt-arboretum/article_0d953ad7-a061-5d3e-91d9-cc7bca0a18e6.html |title=Shake off winter with a walk in the woods at Hoyt Arboretum |first=Lyndsey |last=Hewitt |newspaper=Portland Tribune |date=April 9, 2017 |access-date=January 10, 2018}}
History
Hoyt Arboretum is sited on steep slopes, straddling the SW Fairview Boulevard ridge above the Oregon Zoo and the Portland Japanese Garden. The elevation of the arboretum ranges from 650 feet to 900 feet, and there are several ravines within the arboretum.{{cite book |editor-last=Houck |editor-first=Michael C. |editor2=Cody, M.J. |title=Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine |publisher=Oregon State University Press |location=Corvallis, Oregon |year=2011 |page=118 |isbn=978-0-87071-612-6}} The hilly terrain of the arboretum was once in private hands. The United States government had granted land to American pioneers through the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 for farming and logging, but the homesteads failed; by 1865, the land was owned by Multnomah County.{{cite book |last=Olson |first=Donald |title=The Pacific Northwest Garden Tour |publisher=Timber Press, Inc. |year=2014 |pages=42–45 |isbn=978-1-60469-451-2}} In 1889, the area was ravaged by a forest fire, and part of the burned land was used to build the {{convert|160|acre|ha|abbr=off|adj=on}} Multnomah County Poor Farm Hillside Farm west of Washington Park.
After the Poor Farm closed, in 1922 Multnomah County sold the land to the City of Portland, which created Hoyt Arboretum in 1930.{{cite web |title=History of the Hoyt Arboretum |website=Hoyt Arboretum |url=https://www.hoytarboretum.org/about/history/ |access-date=May 25, 2019}} The city commissioned John W. Duncan, superintendent of parks for Spokane, Washington, to design a plan for the new arboretum. He completed the plan in 1930, and included locations for nearly forty families of trees planted in a naturalistic landscape. Works Progress Administration crews cleared the forest and built the roads and paths winding through the arboretum in 1930 and 1931, although some native trees that had grown in the wake of the 1889 fire were left in place. The arboretum was planted according to Duncan's plan from 1931 to 1944. Many trees needed to be replaced after the Columbus Day Storm of 1962.
Hoyt Arboretum was founded to conserve endangered species and educate the community. The property has increased in size through additional donations and acquisitions to {{convert|189|acre|km2|adj=on}} (76 ha).
Gardens and collections
File:Pdx washpark hoytarboretum dawnredwoodwinter.jpeg) in winter]]
The arboretum has approximately 6,000 individual trees and shrubs of more than 2,300 species from all around the world, 63 of which are vulnerable or endangered.{{cite web |title=About Our Collection |url=https://www.hoytarboretum.org/collections/about-our-collection/ |access-date=May 25, 2019 |publisher=Hoyt Arboretum}} Most have labels identifying common and scientific names and region of origin.
The arboretum has one of the most extensive conifer collections in the United States. The conifer collection includes a dawn redwood, one of only a few known deciduous conifers (needle and cone bearing trees that lose their leaves in the winter). The species was once thought extinct and known only in fossils, but was rediscovered in a remote valley in Hubei province, China in 1944. The species was reintroduced to the western hemisphere in 1948, with the Hoyt Arboretum as one of the first recipients. In the fall of 1952, the Hoyt arboretum's dawn redwood became the first in the Western Hemisphere to produce cones in about 6 million years.{{cite web |title=Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) |url=http://www.oregon.com/attractions/dawn-redwood-metasequoia-glyptostroboides |access-date=January 9, 2018 |publisher=Oregon Interactive Corporation}}
The arboretum contains a nationally recognized magnolia collection,{{Cite web |url=http://www.gardentime.tv/archive/show210410.htm |title=Hoyt Arboretum Magnolias |version=586 |date=April 10, 2021 |website=Garden Time}} recognized as an official participating site in the North American Plant Collections Consortium.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gardentime.tv/gto/1206/GTDM-1206.pdf |title=Hoyt Arboretum, Portland's 'Tree Museum' Branches Out |website=Garden Time |date=June 2012 |pages=4–7}}
Hoyt's winter landscape shows interesting colors, textures and shapes, and winter blooms of hellebores, viburnums, and witch-hazels.{{cite news|title=A close-up look at Hoyt Arboretum: Plus winter garden care tips |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2016/02/hoyt_arboretum_winter_garden_c.html |access-date=January 8, 2018 |last1=Eastman |first1=Janet |work=The Oregonian |publisher=Advance Publications |date=February 2, 2016}}
In 2016, the arboretum opened their Bamboo Forest featuring 30 species of bamboo.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gardentime.tv/archive/show210410.htm |title=Hoyt Bamboo Forest |version=405|date=July 23, 2016|website=Garden Time}}
Features
File:Hoyt Arboretum - Portland, Oregon - 7419328140.jpg
The arboretum has {{convert|12|mi|km|spell=in}} of trails (two miles (3 km) of which are wheelchair accessible),{{cite web |title=General Information |url=https://www.hoytarboretum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/| publisher=Hoyt Arboretum}} marked with over 250 trail signs and interpretive panels.{{cite news |title=Hoyt Arboretum unveils 250 trail and interpretive signs |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/09/hoyt_arboretum_unveils_250_new.html |access-date=January 7, 2018 |last1=Koffman |first1=Rebecca |work=The Oregonian |publisher=Advance Publications |date=September 17, 2012}} The Wildwood Trail which leads north to Forest Park and the Marquam Trail which leads south to Marquam Nature Park meet in the arboretum; both trails are segments of the Portland area's 40-Mile Loop trail network.
The visitor center is located at the center of the park and contains a small nature center and research library where visitors can find information about the park and its trees; the visitor center is also the starting point for periodic volunteer-guided tours. The research library has over 800 books ranging from technical floras to beginner gardening books, and is accessible to the public.
The Stevens Pavilion is a covered A-frame picnic shelter with wooden beams and stone floors, nestled in a grove of Douglas-fir trees.{{cite web |title=Stevens Pavilion Picnic Shelter |url=http://www.hoytarboretum.org/events/book-an-event/stevens-pavilion-picnic-shelter/ |access-date=January 8, 2018 |publisher=Hoyt Arboretum}}
Public art
- House for Summer is a living sculpture of Himalayan birch trees planted by artist Helen Lessick in 1987. The sculpture reflects the shelter of the forest canopy and changes with the seasons.{{cite web |title=House for Summer |url=https://racc.org/public-art/search/?recid=1783.178 |access-date=January 9, 2017 |publisher=Regional Arts & Culture Council}} Park arborists maintain the work under a joint agreement with Portland's Regional Arts and Culture Council.{{cite web |title=House for Summer 30th Anniversary |url=http://helenlessick.net/g_pa_summer.html |access-date=January 9, 2017 |publisher=Helen Lessick |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705194812/http://helenlessick.net/g_pa_summer.html |url-status=dead }}
- Basket of Air is a stainless and galvanized steel spherical sculpture by Portland artist Ivan McLean, inspired by bamboo baskets.{{cite web |title=Basket of Air |url=https://racc.org/public-art/search/?recid=3471.22 |access-date=January 7, 2017 |publisher=Regional Arts & Culture Council}} It is suspended over the pond in the arboretum's bamboo garden and was installed in 2016.
Gallery
Hoyt Arboretum sign, Portland, Oregon.JPG|Entrance sign.
Hoyt Arboretum - Portland, Oregon - 7419389896.jpg|Close-up of flowers.
Hoyt Arboretum - Portland, Oregon - 7419447484.jpg|Pavilion.
Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon (48853556852).jpg|View of tree canopy.
Basket of Air.jpg|Basket of Air artwork.
See also
References
External links
{{Commons category|Hoyt Arboretum}}
- {{Official website|http://www.hoytarboretum.org}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkA55YRmGPbuSg9GXyKHCkA/videos Hoyt Arboretum YouTube channel], shows the plant collections
- [http://watch.opb.org/video/2339555269/ The Tuesday Crew] Documentary by Oregon Field Guide about maintaining the park
{{Parks in Portland, Oregon}}
{{Protected Areas of Oregon}}
{{Washington Park, Portland, Oregon}}
Category:1922 establishments in Oregon