May 17, 2024 - News

Reser Center: Betting big on the arts

Joseph Gallivan

Concrete and glass performance center next to a creek under a sunset — The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, which sits on Beaverton Creek, opened in 2022 as an alternative to going out in Portland. Photo: Joe Cantrell

Funded by $13 million from the Reser's Fine Foods fortune, other donors and a hotel lodging tax, the Patricia Reser Center for the Performing Arts is designed to be the northern nucleus of downtown Beaverton, as well as an arts destination for the region.

Zoom in: With a patio overlooking Beaverton Creek, an art gallery and 550-seat theater, the cultural hub features community artists and some acts that might otherwise only play in Portland, such as Pink Martini, Och & Oy and the Trinity Irish Dance Company.

If you go: The center sits in the Round between the Beaverton Creek — once occupied by the Atfalati branch of the Kalapuya Tribe, who called this area Chakeipi, or "place of the beaver" — and the Central MAX Station. Most importantly, it has a connected parking garage.

Add Axios on Google

Reser Center: Betting big on the arts

More Portland stories