All Things Portland

[Fez Hammersticks]

Feel free to add

Portland was named by the flip of a coin by its two original settlers, Asa Lovejoy and Francis W. Pettygrove. Lovejoy wanted to name the new settlement after his hometown of Boston; Pettygrove wanted to name it after his hometown of Portland, Maine. Pettygrove won the coin toss, best two out of three.

The Portland metropolitan region (population 2.3 million) is the 22nd largest metro area in the country and is the largest in the nation without a Major League Baseball franchise. Portland is by far the largest metro area in the nation with only one major professional sports franchise; the region's ratio of population to professional sports franchises is behind only New York and Los Angeles.

The South Waterfront is a high-rise district under construction on former brownfield industrial land in the South Portland neighborhood south of downtown Portland, Oregon, U.S. It is one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in the United States. It is connected to downtown Portland by an extension of the Portland Streetcar, and to the Oregon Health and Sciences University campus atop Marquam Hill by the Portland Aerial Tram, as well as roads to Interstate 5 and Oregon Route 43.

The South Waterfront is part of the Portland Development Commission's North Macadam Urban Renewal District.[1] The first phase of the South Waterfront is the $1.9 billion "River Blocks" development. Construction began in early 2004. The full build-out of the district envisions many residential (primarily condominiums) and medical research towers ranging in height from 6 stories to 35+ stories.

Portland lies on top of an extinct Plio-Pleistocene volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field. The Boring Lava Field includes at least 32 cinder cones such as Mount Tabor, and its center lies in Southeast Portland. The dormant but potentially active volcano Mount Hood to the east of Portland is easily visible from much of the city during clear weather. The active volcano Mount Saint Helens to the north in Washington is visible in the distance from high-elevation locations in the city and is close enough to have dusted the city with volcanic ash after an eruption on May 18, 1980

 

[maxiep]

Thank you and repped. Man do I miss Portland. When I tell most people around the country that I live in Denver, their response is, "You're lucky. Denver is one of the best places to live in the US." While I always say, "Yes, it's very nice", in my heart I really think, "Yeah, but it doesn't hold a candle to Portland."

 

[THE HCP]

Portland is home to The HCP!

 

[THE HCP]

Hey we could have been the Boston Trailblazers!

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

The Pearl District is an area of former warehouses, light industrial and railroad classification yards in Portland, Oregon now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significant urban renewal since the late 1990s, including the removal of a viaduct and construction of the Portland Streetcar. It now mostly consists of high-rise condominiums and warehouse-to-loft conversions.

The Tualatin Mountains (also known as the West Hills or Southwest Hills of Portland) are a range of hills on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A spur of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, they separate the Tualatin Basin of Washington County, Oregon from the Portland Basin of western Multnomah County and Clark County, Washington.

The Portland Aerial Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon carrying commuters between the city's South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. It is the second commuter aerial tramway in the United States (after New York City's Roosevelt Island Tramway). The tram travels a horizontal distance of 3,300 feet (5/8 mi, 1 km) and a vertical distance of 500 feet (150 m) in a ride that lasts three minutes

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university in Oregon with a main campus, including three hospitals, in Portland and a smaller campus in Hillsboro. It was formed in 1974 as the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, combining state dentistry, medicine, and nursing programs into a single center. It was renamed Oregon Health Sciences University in 1981 and took its current name in 2001, as part of a merger with the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology (OGI) in Hillsboro. In addition, the university has several partnership programs including a joint PharmD Pharmacy program with Oregon State University.

Their signature Voodoo Doughnut is gingerbread man-shaped, with a pretzel stick stabbed through its abdomen and red jelly "blood" filling. The "Tex-Ass Challenge" is another popular Voodoo attraction: if you can eat an entire "Tex-Ass" doughnut--a glazed doughnut the size of six full-size doughnuts--in 140 seconds or less, the doughnut is free. Vegan doughnuts are also featured, along with a rotating and frequently changing menu of specialty doughnuts and unusual variations on traditional varieties.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

One of your "Portland Facts" is wrong, Fez. Portland was not dusted with volcanic ash during the May 18th, 1980 eruption. The winds were flowing northeast at the time, and Yakima and Spokane got decimated. It wasn't until later in May, and to a greater extent June, that the Portland area saw any ashfall from the volcano.

Sometime later, a study was done to determine what the impact would have been to the city HAD the winds been blowing towards Portland on May 18th, since Portland is considerably closer to Mt. St. Helens than Yakima: something like 4 1/2 feet of ash dumped on the city. Imagine New Orleans after Katrina for the level of disaster that would have caused.

 

[maxiep]

One of your "Portland Facts" is wrong, Fez. Portland was not dusted with volcanic ash during the May 18th, 1980 eruption. The winds were flowing northeast at the time, and Yakima and Spokane got decimated. It wasn't until later in May, and to a greater extent June, that the Portland area saw any ashfall from the volcano.

Sometime later, a study was done to determine what the impact would have been to the city HAD the winds been blowing towards Portland on May 18th, since Portland is considerably closer to Mt. St. Helens than Yakima: something like 4 1/2 feet of ash dumped on the city. Imagine New Orleans after Katrina for the level of disaster that would have caused.

Huh? I remember quite well ash coming down in my yard that day, to the tune of about 1 1/2 inches in LO. Coming from New Jersey, the "brown snow" reminded me where I was born.

And if it came down in LO, it certainly fell in Portland. The majority headed east, but it blanketed a radius around Mt. St. Helens.

 

[THE HCP]

NorthEast Portland got a ton of ash that day. My parents still have the coffee containers I filled up! We used to have to wear those dust masks to school for a least a few weeks.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

Not on May 18th. Later in May, yes, but ash did not fall on Portland on that particular day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens

The ashfall that you are probably remembering was on May 25th.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Nike, Inc. The company is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of $18.6 billion USD in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.

Portland is home to the regional headquarters for Adidas.

The Fremont Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge over the Willamette River located in Portland, Oregon. It carries Interstate 405 and US 30 traffic between downtown and North Portland where it intersects with I-5. It has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon and is the second longest tied arch bridge in the world (after Caiyuanba Bridge across the Yangtze River, China)

The St. Johns Bridge is a steel suspension bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, USA, between the St. Johns neighborhood and the northwest industrial area around Linnton. It is the only suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley and one of three public highway suspension bridges in Oregon.

 

[Rodolfo]

I was born at the Adidas Headquarters when it was a hospital:/

 

[MickZagger]

I was born at the Adidas Headquarters when it was a hospital:/

I was born there too. My mom worked there as well. Back when it was Bess Kaiser hospital.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

McMenamins

Bridgeport

Lucky Lab

Widmer

 

[THE HCP]

BeerBoy you live in The Couv, you are NOT allowed in this thread!

 

[BTOWN_HUSTLA]

I was born there too. My mom worked there as well. Back when it was Bess Kaiser hospital.

me too on both counts. born there and my mom used to work there!

 

[BTOWN_HUSTLA]

 

[BTOWN_HUSTLA]

 

[The Professional Fan]

lol

 

[SodaPopinski]

Portland has earned a reputation for its high homeless population. Any day walking downtown you will see people sitting, begging with a tiny kitten or large dog.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Description: The flag of the City of Portland is an offset cross of light blue, edged by white-yellow-white stripes, with a white four-pointed star in the left center, all on a background of Kelly green. The official size, proportions, and color elements in the City Flag are specified in the Portland City Code 1.06.010 (http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&c=28155).

History: In 1969, at the suggestion of Mayor Terry Schrunk, the Portland Art Commission established a special committee to select a designer for an official city flag. It chose Douglas Lynch, former president of the Art Commission and a prominent local graphic design professional and teacher. After extensive research and consultation with art commission members and city commissioners, he proposed a design in a process he called “as much diplomatic as it was artistic”. The Portland City Council adopted the flag in January 1970. In 2002, with the encouragement of the Portland Flag Association, Mr. Lynch simplified and improved the design, and the revised version was adopted by Ordinance 176874 on September 4, 2002.

Symbolism: Green symbolizes Oregon’s forests, which surround Portland. The intersecting vertical and horizontal blue stripes represent the Columbia and WillametteRivers, with the central white star (technically, a “hypocycloid”) signifying Portland at their confluence. The yellow stripes symbolize the harvest of golden yellow grain (Portland is a major exporter of wheat) and the gold of commerce. The white stripes are merely decorative. The offset cross is not intended to resemble a Scandinavian cross. The design inspired the logo of the Port of Portland.

Locations: The City Flag flies in front of the PortlandBuilding (5th Avenue) and City Hall (4th Avenue), in Pioneer Courthouse Square, and on many other commercial buildings around the city. It also hangs in the City Council Chamber and the PortlandBuilding’s 2nd-Floor Auditorium.

Previous flags: Portland has used three previous flags, with the first proposed in a flag contest sponsored by Mayor H. R. Albee in 1917 but never officially adopted.

[Source: AmericanCity Flags, North American Vexillological Association, ©2004: “Portland, Oregon” by Mason Kaye.]

 

[THE HCP]

I have lived here my whole life and have NEVER seen that flag!

 

[maxiep]

I have lived here my whole life and have NEVER seen that flag!

You've never seen the flags at PDX?

 

[Rodolfo]

I have lived here my whole life and have NEVER seen that flag!

people wave that flag at Timbers games.

 

[barfo]

You've never seen the flags at PDX?

Where are they?

barfo

 

[Rodolfo]

Pretty sure one is up at Pioneer C.H. Square.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

I have lived here my whole life and have NEVER seen that flag!

That's why I made the post Hardly anyone knows Portland's flag.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Portlandia is a sculpture by Raymond Kaskey located above the entrance of Michael Graves' Portland Building in downtown Portland, Oregon at 1120 SW 5th Avenue. It is the second-largest copper repoussé statue in the United States, after the Statue of Liberty.

Laika, Inc. is an animation studio specializing in feature films, commercials, music videos, broadcast graphics and short films. It is owned by Nike co-founder and Chairman Philip H. Knight and is located in Portland, Oregon. The company has two divisions, one for feature films and the other for commercial work such as advertisements and music videos. LAIKA's staff have won two Academy Awards, eleven Emmy Awards, eleven Clio Awards, three London International Advertising & Design Awards, five Mobius Advertising Awards and two Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival awards.

Movies: Corpse Bride (2005), Coraline (2009)

[video=youtube;FCpqeMhK0cg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCpqeMhK0cg[/video]​

 

[Rodolfo]

Don't forget, "Portland, Oregon"
[video=youtube;VuC_l3ymXhM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuC_l3ymXhM[/video]

 

[barfo]

[video=youtube;fEHxFcoo3H0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEHxFcoo3H0[/video]

We wrote our names in the tunnel back when
Coos Bay was as far away as we'd ever been
Pine trees climbing up winding hills
Fishing boats and paper mills
Multnomah County's where I come from
Hometown to Bigfoot and the Burnside bums
Rain clouds hangin' down low and grey
God knows I wish it would have rained today

Tonight I've got those old Rose City blues
Tonight I've got those old Rose City blues

Tonight I'm drivin' through some other town
Radio on with the windows down
Old song comes on from a long time ago
How on earth did that DJ know?

Tonight I've got those old Rose City blues
Tonight I've got those old Rose City blues
Rain rain rain
Pouring rain doesn't bother me

We wrote our names in the tunnel back then
And last night we went down and did it again
One sip too many from that old loving cup
Rose City people never do grow up

Tonight I've got those old Rose City blues
Tonight I've got those old Rose City blues

barfo

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

A funny list of 'fun-facts' I got from a Real-Estate site:

Portland has more bumper stickers per capital than anywhere else in America.

We have some of the funniest bumper stickers too:

Legalize Tofu
What would Scooby do?
WWXD? (what would Xena do?)
Stop continental drift.
My other car is a piece of crap, too.
No food with a face.
Vegetarians taste better.
Keep Portland weird.

We have our own food pyramid. At the bottom is espresso.

If you carry an umbrella, we know you're not local.

If you dye your hair, we know you're not local.

You'll think by looking at us that we are completely oblivious to the rain. We don't use umbrellas. We don't bother to put up our hoods. However, there's one clue that lets you know that we do notice whether or not it's raining. In the rain, we wear clogs. No rain? We wear sandals. It doesn't matter if it's January.

Portlanders love micro-brew beer. We don't really care what they taste like as long as they have interesting labels.

Portland is one of the few places in the world outside of France where you can take your dog to pubs.

Portland pre-schoolers play at indoor play park during the rainy seasons.

You may think that we're a bunch of tree huggers. But we know better. Them tree huggers live in Seattle.

We think valet parking is like bragging. It's just poor manners.

Portland is one of those few places in the world where real estate prices go up when there's a good independent coffee shop in the neighborhood. Starbucks doesn't cut it.

Portlanders are anti-chain. We like the little guy and we want to shop local. So local that we don't even want to shop outside our neighborhoods sometimes.

The most ordered beverage in Portland is a half caff, 16 oz, soy latte. Beware, if you say, half decaf, this will label you as a non-local.

At the Oregon zoo, Pachy, the senior elephant in residence gets a birthday party with his own birthday cake every year. The flavor? Carrot cake.

Beaverton is the city in Oregon where you're most likely to give birth on the way to the hospital cause you're stuck in traffic.

When in Beaverton, make sure that you get your vocabulary straight. You gotta called Nike's headquarters a "campus".

If you live in Lake Oswego, then chances are you're not a native Oregonian. You're likely to be from California or New York. That explains why real estate prices are higher here. Then again, so is the appreciation.