Portland honors late drag queen Darcelle XV with new plaza for ‘all walks of life’

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – As thousands of people gather for the Portland Pride Festival at the waterfront on Saturday, the Darcelle XV Plaza kicked off at last in Southwest Portland.

A year in the making, the Darcelle XV Plaza at the former O’Bryant Square will serve as a tribute to the late drag queen. Portland community members came together to honor the legendary performer.

“It’s a very emotional day for me. Very emotional,” Darcelle’s daughter Maridee Woodson said. “This means everything to our family. This is something I wish he could have been here to witness.”

Walter Cole, also known as Darcelle, died last year at 92 years old after headlining the world’s longest-running drag show for more than 50 years.

The plaza is named after the nightclub where Cole performed for decades, roughly half a mile from the plaza. The club still remains open through other performers like co-hostess Poison Waters .

“I hope this will bring community to the community just like Darcelle’s in Old Town for 57 years,” Poison Waters said. “This will be another place – a gathering place – for people of all walks of life to come here, be themselves, to celebrate each other and life.”

The former O’Bryant square closed back in 2018 due to structural issues underground, which have since been fixed. Supporters of the plaza, like Poison Waters, say they hope it brings more people back to the city with “the openness that’s going to be in the middle of downtown Portland.”

“Downtown Portland is back,” Poison Waters said. “We’re alive and thriving to build something new and fresh, green for the community it’s just so important.”

The plaza will feature a dog park, event stage, and a “Walk of Dame” — in true Darcelle fashion.

“His talent, his ambition, his motivation, his love for entertaining,” Woodson said. “He was such a great performer. Not only that. He was a great dad.”

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