Portland Art Museum boasts progress in campus renovation with 'topping out' ceremony

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Nearly a year after starting construction on its new pavilion, the Portland Art Museum is boasting a pivotal milestone.

On Monday, real estate developers at Mortenson joined the museum in hosting a “topping out” ceremony at the downtown campus. The event marked when construction crews installed the top roof beam that will serve as the structure for the almost 22,000-square-foot Mark Rothko Pavilion, named after the abstract artist who grew up in the Rose City.

The glass structure will connect PAM’s main building, which was built in 1932 and holds most art exhibits, with the Mark Building. The latter joined the campus later in 2005 and is often used for events like the Cinema Unbound Awards.

The pavilion is a part of the museum’s $110 million “campus transformation” designed to modernize the space. Hennebery Eddy Architects, the same design firm behind Multnomah County’s new Northwest Library and the potential Keller Auditorium renovation, is leading the project.

PAM’s expansion will bring more outdoor terraces, public plazas and café and store space to visitors. Crews will also reinstall the museum’s encyclopedic collection which features different art mediums from a multitude of cultures. In total, about 100,000 square feet of the campus will either be new or upgraded.

“The museum is the anchor of our downtown cultural district, and we look forward to being able to better serve our audiences across the city and state, and to welcoming national and global visitors to experience the work of artists from across the region and around the world,” PAM Director and Chief Curator Brian Ferriso said in a statement.

At Monday’s ceremony, guests were able to sign their names on the pavilion’s final beam. The full transformation is projected to open to the public in late 2025.