The Plywood Wall Protecting City Hall From Protesters Is Coming Down Only a Day After It Was Built

It's the end of yet another era in Portland: The plywood wall surrounding City Hall is coming down.

Who could forget where they were the day the structure first went up? It was a humid Tuesday in June 2020—June 9, if I recall correctly. A sister to the Portland Police Bureau's beloved Justice Center fence, the enclosure was meant to protect the building from being graffito-tagged by protesters of police violence. Soon, though, it became clear that those thin wooden boards were not just encircling city property, but also our hearts. Or at least our Twitter feeds.

All wood things, however, must come to an end.

Surely, we will all remember with equal clarity what we were doing the moment it was announced the wall would be removed—particularly given that it was later in the day on June 9, 2020.

"The plywood was intended to protect iconic public buildings and minimize expenses," Tom Rinehart, the city of Portland's chief administrative officer, said in a press release. "But we need to put our relationship with the community first. The city of Portland is open for civic engagement—especially now. We need to hear our community's demands for racial justice, even when those demands take the form of spray paint."

The wall is expected to be gone by Wednesday evening. What will a Portland without a plywood wall around City Hall look like? Will we recognize the landscape? Will we recognize ourselves?

Goodbye, wall. Or should we say…good-ply?