Space

Space

Space

Tuesdays in July and August 5:30-8:30pm.

Join us at the river with tunes from PopCart PDX and DJ Carlos as well as delicious BBQ from JP at Southern Grill! Audrey McCall Beach (AMB) is a great river-side hangout just off the Eastside Esplanade between the Hawthorne Bridge and OMSI. With amazing views of downtown and sunset, AMB is Portland’s newest community gem. It is accessible by foot, bike, or car–additional bike parking was recently installed along the esplanade and ample free street parking can be found on SE Madison, SE Water and SE Main. Bring a chair, towel, river shoes–always recommended in any river–and a friend (river floats are also encouraged). Many thanks to Central Eastside Industrial Council and Pacific Power for providing funding to make this happen!

HISTORY AND IMPACT

Human Access Project has been working to restore Audrey McCall Beach since 2011. When we took on the project, the beach was littered with large concrete chunks making it inaccessible and unsable. To remove the concrete, we had to seek permission from 8 separate agencies. While our request was eventually approved, it came with the caveat that we could not use heavy mechanized equipment. Armed with an ATV, volunteers, and an Inverness Inmate work crew, it took us 4 years to remove over 200 tons of concrete from the shore. 

With this newly created beach came calls for increased public access. In response, HAP privately funded a lifeguard program to establish AMB as a swimming area. Then came the pandemic. We shifted our attention to Duckworth Dock, converting it into a swimming dock and to Cathedral Park, removing 150 tons of concrete and replacing its dock. Now, with a bit more space in our programming, we are returning our attention to Audrey McCall–working to permanently establish it as a Portland swimming beach.

In June 2025, HAP received a $250,000 Capital Grant from Metro to improve AMB. A few ways we plan to use the funding include: removing the temporary fencing that has been under the Hawthorn bridge for over a decade and activating the space with bike racks and art; adding a safety railing to the steep bank of the esplanade trail; and removing all blackberry on the bank and replacing it with native wildflowers and other plant species.

HAP's organizational objectives are Build it, Use it, Love it, Sustain it. Audrey McCall Beach is now ready for summer use - come support our work by joining in our weekly Tuesday events to help us get this great beach on the public's radar and Use it. Bring a friend and help others Love it. Positive use of this space and the public seeing value in this space will help Sustain it. We are very excited to roll Audrey McCall Beach out to the public, Portland's newest spot to get in the river! Above are photos from 2011 when we started our work and how it is looking today - it will only get better from here!

 Thank you to our sponsors!