To escape the bustle

If you are looking for that perfect place to smoke your last cigarette of the day or to just relax with a cup of coffee and read a book, you may be interested in checking out the patio on the roof of the College of Urban and Public Affairs’ west-wing building. Earning the vote as Portland State’s best secret location, this patio has enough to offer to back it up.

With 12 tables and 54 chairs, it is easy to find a place to take a break, to chat with friends, or perhaps even to enjoy a romantic setting and some take-out with that special someone.

Potted shrubs placed between tables provide just the right amount of greenery for one to feel cozy, and the atmosphere is one of removal from the busy streets below.

This is a place where on a sunny day, a slight breeze cools as it brings with it faint sounds of chirping birds and whispers of a bustling city below that somehow doesn’t exist as profoundly from above. U.S. flags can be seen waving from the tops of downtown buildings as can the arc of the Fremont Bridge, and a glance to the east provides a view of Mt. Hood and east Portland. This is also a great place to view the vividly changing colors of autumn trees.

Down below to one side is the Urban Plaza, where at night, after the traffic has quieted to a few random drivers, the rhythm of the fountains’ steady flow gives a relaxing background for some star gazing. For those rainy days that are an inevitable part of Portland life, a covered area provides shelter with plenty of lighting for nighttime reading.

With a pizza restaurant and coffee shop also down below, one doesn’t have to worry about going too far to satisfy the appetite, either.

There is access to this patio from the stairwell adjacent the west wing’s third-floor elevator and also from the sky bridge that connects to the fourth floor of the building’s east wing.