For a moment in the ’70s, the Portland Plaza was one of the tallest buildings in the city, with its 25 floors reaching 267 feet into the sky. Then came the 1980s, with Big Pink and KOIN Tower. In the years since, the Plaza has been bumped down the list to 25th. Still, it was an early condominium project that brought “luxury high-rise living” to Portland long before the Ritz came to town.

Much was made of the building’s unique shape. Instead of the standard glass box, it’s a triangle, rounded by nodes that pop out at each of its three points to offer 230-degree views for most apartments. Advertisements touted the building as “the shape of things to come,” and buyers bought in. Three-quarters of its 145 units were sold before Senator Mark Hatfield ceremoniously broke ground on the project with a 100-year-old pickax in 1972.

Two-bedroom units are the standard here, such as this 1,319-square-foot unit currently for sale on the ninth floor. Each bedroom has large windows and access to its own bathroom, including an en suite for the larger, primary room with a double vanity and abundant custom storage.

The main living spaces are airy, with high ceilings and pale wood floors. The kitchen forms a neat galley, with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, wine storage, and a breakfast bar with a pass-through window. That leaves the main room and its generous curved wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, which capture views of the trees in the West Hills as well as the concrete and steel forest of downtown.

A long list of amenities comes with the price (and HOA fee), including 24-hour concierge, gym, library, heated saltwater pool, gardens, and BBQ area tucked under a swooping glass pergola—not to mention regular window washing to keep those views pristine.

The building also sits just behind the Keller Fountain Park, a location that caused quite the uproar in the years before the Portland Plaza’s completion. The internationally celebrated fountain, designed by influential landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, was completed in 1970. New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable called it “one of the most important urban spaces since the Renaissance.” And this glass tower cast too large of a shadow over the new public space, dismaying public opinion enough to nix plans for a second tower.

The Keller Auditorium itself is at the center of a more current public discourse. The latest news doesn’t look great for the theater; a recent study commissioned by the city advised building a new hall on the Portland State campus instead of renovating the Keller. But should it be revitalized with its own pedestrian plaza, per a recent proposal, this condo would put you only a block away.

Listing Fast Facts

• Address: 1500 SW 5th Ave #906
• Size:  1,319 square feet, 2 bed/2 bath
• List Date: 8/19/2025 
• List Price: $325,000, with $1,237 monthly HOA dues
• Listing Agent: Leah Lentz, Works Real Estate

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. Contact Dalton here. 

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].