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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.


Multnomah County Hospital, Hooker Street site, Portland, Oregon, circa 1909.

Black and white photograph of Multnomah County Hospital, Hooker Street site, Portland, Oregon, depicting a three-story Victorian building framed by trees.

Multnomah County Hospital during construction in 1920-1922.

Sepia tone photograph of Multnomah County Hospital, showing a large cleared field with evergreen trees in the distance, and a half-constructed four-story building in the foreground.

Newly-constructed Multnomah County Hospital viewed from the southwest, 1923.

Sepia tone photograph of the Multnomah County Hospital (from the southwest). The building is a large, U-shaped, classical style building. In the foreground, tree stumps and a cleared field are visible.

Multnomah County Hospital, circa 1929.

Black and white photograph depicts large columned entrance of Multnomah County Hospital to the right. In the center of the frame is a large driveway circle. In the background, a large classical style building (Mackenzie Hall) is visible. Several large evergreen trees are visible to the left.

Multnomah County Hospital, south entrance, circa 1923.

Black and white photograph depicts a large, U-shaped classical style building with large front columns. In front of the building, a driveway circle with several old-fashioned cars is visible.

Oregon State System of Higher Education filming surgery at Multnomah County Hospital, 1953.

Black and white photograph of the Multnomah County Hospital surgery theater during a filming event put together by the Oregon State System of Higher Education (OSSHE), showing an operating team in white seen from above operating on a patient whose face is not visible.

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.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M48K77N7

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M4PK0DRQ

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M4X34VWR

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M42N50Q9

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M41V5CC4

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M4SJ1J1X