Entry No. 30 — the Portland file — filed under: haunted
Cathedral Park
The St. Johns Bridge's 400-foot Gothic-arch towers give this riverside park both its name and its eerie cathedral silhouette after dark; local folklore holds it's haunted by Thelma Taylor, a teenager murdered on the site in 1949, and the park stays open — arches lit, river black — until midnight.
The story
Stand under the St. Johns Bridge at dusk and you’ll see how the space got its name. The concrete and steel piers reach up toward the bridge deck, framed into sweeping 400-foot Gothic arches that give the Willamette riverbank the quiet silhouette of a sunken nave. Traffic hums high overhead, but down on the grass, you are standing inside an immense architectural shadow.
The eerie reputation isn't just an accident of design. In 1949, fifteen-year-old Thelma Taylor was abducted and murdered near the bridge abutments long before the manicured lawn existed. Local folklore has tethered her spirit to the site ever since, giving the dark stretches near the water an unsettling edge after sunset.
Unlike most city green spaces that close at dusk, Cathedral Park stays open until midnight. When night falls, floodlights illuminate the underside of the green steel arches, turning the river black and transforming a neighborhood park into a shadowy sanctuary.
What it's like
Park near N Edison Street and Pittsburg Avenue and walk down the grassy slope toward the water. During the day it's a neighborhood lounge for dogs and picnickers, but late at night the crowd disappears, leaving mostly night-walkers and shadow hunters. You'll hear the metallic clatter of traffic 200 feet overhead and the low hum of heavy industry from across the river. Tip: grab dinner in downtown St. Johns first, then walk down to sit on the riverbank once the green bridge lights switch on.
The move: Walk under the lit bridge arches after dinner in St. Johns, then sit on the riverbank until the industrial lights across the Willamette start reading more like stars than streetlamps.
- 📍 St. Johns, North Portland
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: N Edison Street and Pittsburg Avenue, Portland, OR 97203
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Paul Bunyan Statue — Swap Gothic bridge shadows for a 31-foot concrete roadside giant standing guard over nearby Kenton since 1959.
- Local Art Glass — Pair a night walk under the arches with a daytime visit to a working hot-shop studio set inside an old St. Johns pickle factory.
- McMenamins Chapel Pub — Keep the eerie architectural theme going with a beer inside a converted 1930s mortuary chapel that still holds its original pipe organ.
Good to know
What is the history behind the haunting at Cathedral Park?
Local lore links the park to the 1949 murder of teenager Thelma Taylor near the bridge supports, leading to decades of stories about strange sounds and cold spots along the riverbank.
How late is Cathedral Park open?
The park stays open until midnight, making it a rare spot where you can legally wander under the illuminated bridge arches late into the evening.
Where do you access the best views of the bridge arches?
Head down to N Edison Street and Pittsburg Avenue; paths lead directly under the massive Gothic support piers and down to the Willamette riverfront.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: portland.gov · Wikipedia · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-20