Philip Augustus Marquam

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Philip A. Marquam (1823 - 1912) was a lawyer, judge, legislator, and real estate developer in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Marquam was born in Maryland, and went to law school in Bloomington, Indiana. He went to California as a "49er" during the gold rush of 1849, and was elected judge in Yolo County. He moved to Portland, Oregon, then a small town of under 1000 inhabitants, in 1851.

For many years he was the largest landowner in Multnomah County, Oregon, counting among his holdings Portland's Fulton District and his homestead on Marquam Hill in southwest Portland. The hill was part of a 300 acre (1.2 km²) donation land claim he purchased for $2500 in 1857 from John Donner, brother of George Donner of the ill-fated Donner Party. The hill is now the site of the Oregon Health & Science University.

Marquam gained a reputation as a transportation advocate and developer. He was instrumental in the formation of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company in 1887.

He built the Marquam Grand Opera House in Portland, later renamed the Orpheum Theater. The theater was torn down in the 1970s.

He is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Portland.

Bearing his name is the Marquam Bridge in Portland, opened in 1966, Marquam Hill and the adjacent Marquam Gulch, Marquam Nature Park, and Portland's Marquam Building at SW 6th and Morrison Streets. The community of Marquam, Oregon is named for his nephew, Alfred. The Marquam Trolley formerly ran between Portland and Council Crest, a popular amusement park and scenic viewpoint.