Ernie Bonner Collection

The Ernie Bonner Collection contains a wide variety of documents, reports, minutes, notes and other resources related to the history of urban planning and development in Portland, Oregon.

Ernie Bonner (1932 - 2004) served as chief planner in Cleveland, Ohio before he was recruited to Portland as the city’s Director of Urban Planning in 1973. He acted as Portland’s chief urban planner until 1978; in this capacity, he was instrumental in the formation of both Tom McCall Waterfront Park and Pioneer Courthouse Square.

After leaving the City Council he worked as a Metro councilor, president of Sunlight Energy Systems, and as an energy conservation manager for Bonneville Power Administration. Later he worked or volunteered with various Portland groups including: Riverfront for People, Metro 7, Portland Planning Commission, and the Park Blocks Foundation.

The Bonner Collection also is a repository for documents and historical materials collected by Bonner that are related to the Portland Public Market, Harbor Drive, Front Street and the Park Blocks.

See Related Collections held by PSU:
Ernie Bonner Papers, 1919-2003
Ernie Bonner Oral History Collection, 1994-2004