10 Facts You Need to Know About Portland(ers)

What you need to know

ONE | WE LIKE TO “PARK”

PORTLAND PARKS And lots of them! Portland Parks & Recreation provides care to over 10,000 acres of parks, natural areas, community centers, swim pools, and other recreation facilities. The City of Portland depends on a workforce of 400 permanent employees, 1,000 part-time employees, and over 6,000 volunteers. Portland is a city of parks, with 37,000 acres set aside for your enjoyment. The 130 acre  Washington Park is a beautiful refuge that includes traditional Japanese Gardens (proclaimed one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan), the famed International Rose Test Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, The World Forestry Center, The Oregon Zoo, The Oregon Holocaust Memorial, and CM2 Children’s Museum. And that’s just one park!

The 195 acre Mt. Tabor Park is home to an extinct volcano, while The Grotto is a Catholic sanctuary with flower-lined pathways, reflecting ponds and cliff-side vistas. Peninsula Park and Rose Garden is a favorite of Northeast and North Portland residents because of it’s almost always quiet and uncrowded. And of course Forest Park, the nation’s largest city park – at 5,000-acres of mostly second growth forest with some patches of old growth forest as well. Hike, mountain bike or take a leisurely upward stroll on the old fire lanes that are still in use today.

TWO | WE’RE LOVERS OF NATURE

SCENIC This city is a gateway to an outdoors (wo)man’s dream world. The nearby Columbia River Gorge, which boasts more than 70 waterfalls, is one of the loveliest spots in the Northwest. The Multnomah Falls cascade 620 feet, earning their reputation as one of the nation’s highest waterfalls. Some of our favorite falls are the Oneonta Gorge (photos below) where you hike, sometimes waist deep, up the gorge to a crystal clear pool and a waterfall working it’s way down the side of Mt. Hood. Plan on getting fully wet. And the water is chilly!

Looking for an interactive map and guide that will help you find just the right spot? Check out Waterfalls West where you can peruse by location or difficulty. There are falls hidden everywhere in the Columbia Gorge. Sometimes when we drive down the gorge, we forget people come from all over the world to see these treasures.

THREE | WE’VE MADE IT HOME

COMFY Portland is filled with stately homes built by lumber barons, shipping magnates and traders. Neighborhoods are lined with turn-of-the-century Victorian and French Renaissance mansions, including the Pittock Estate. This 1914 home is a must-see with its ornate chandeliers, friezes and carved-stone fireplaces.

The Arts and Crafts style is the most prolific style of house in Portland.  These houses are asymmetrical with multiple single-room-wide extensions.  Second floors cantilevered over polygonal or curved bay windows.  The roofs are multiple steeply pitched gables, hipped-roof and gabled dormers.  Usually the roofs are wood shingled. Portland has a love affair with the Bungalow and many are located on the east side.  Actually the Bungalow is a form of the Arts and Crafts home style. The most predominant style features are the low-pitched, side-gabled roof, widely extended and support by brackets, the banks of casement windows, and a prominent porch, often across the entire front of the house.

Although my partner and I love to fix things and make things work better, when we were looking for a new home, we had all the desire for the angles and details of a Craftsman home, but we didn’t want to be forever working on it. We found a great compromise in Ryan Olsen. Our home is everything we ever wanted. People often ask us who did the remodel and how did they do it so well. During the spring and summer, people pull up and ask us if we have the paint colors handy because they are so classically Craftsman. We have a huge double-decker porch in the front where we catch the last rays of the sun. We planted an ever-blooming garden in the front and have a deck and hot tub in the back with a patch of grass large enough for Jetson to stretch his legs. All just off Alberta Street. A great combination. Our home is “green” and efficient. And everything just works. Ryan lives only blocks from us in Northeast Portland and is a great spirit. He still checks in on us and wants to know about anything that happens with the house that he might want to consider in new builds. The photos below are of some other homes he did in a suburb before the “big downturn”. He’s now concentrating on infill lots once again in his native Northeast Portland.

FOUR | WE LIKE TO SHOP

LOCAL From antiques to books, Portland is a shopper’s paradise. Sellwood District offers a wealth of antique dealers, while Hawthorne Boulevard packs used bookstores into its boundaries. Powell’s City of Books is especially noteworthy; with more than a million books for sale, it bills itself as the nation’s largest bookstore. Northwest 23rd Avenue is a day-long shoppers dream. Christmas light cover all the trees on a 15 block stretch of fine shops, restaurants, coffee shops and bars.

Two of my favorite areas to spend a couple of hours are Mississippi Avenue and Alberta Street. Both offer one-of-a-kind shops that are locally owned, from clothes to comics, from pets to garden. You won’t find a Starbucks on either of these streets. Several local coffee shops engage in friendly competition for people looking to duck out of the rain. Yeah, you’ll find that. Both streets have several food cart areas where you can grab some cheap eats from all over the world. Alberta Street also is getting to be quite famous for it’s street festivals that take place on the Last Thursday of Every month, weather permitting. Galleries have new shows that open on that night and the street closes and floods with urban and suburbanites looking to have a good time, purchase street art or watch an impromptu parade.

Here’s a movie I made while selling tees at a Last Thursday street fair. All while I stood on 29th and Alberta. Check out the kind of things you might see.


FIVE | WE LIKE TO DRINK

BEER Forget Budweiser and Miller Light when you visit Portland. This city has cultivated a reputation as the Munich on the Willamette, offering more brewpubs and craft breweries than any other city in the nation. Beer events are  a weekly staple around here. Two major beer festivals are well-attended events in Portland. The Summer “Oregon Brewers Festival” held in Waterfront Park and the Winter event called “Portland’s Holiday Ale Festival” held at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Pick up your Beervana Tee right here!

  • The total economic impact from the beer industry on Oregon’s economy is $2.25 billion.
  • There are currently 73 brewing companies, operating 96 brewing facilities in Oregon.
  • There are 30 breweries operating in Portland, more than any other city in the world.
  • The Portland metro area has 38 breweries, more than any other metro area in the US.
  • The Portland metro area is the largest craft brewing market in the US.
  • Oregon breweries directly employ more than 5,200 people, many at family wage jobs.
  • Over the last five years Oregon breweries created 2,300 jobs.
  • Oregon is the second largest producer of craft beer in the US.
  • Oregon is the 4th largest craft beer market in the US in supermarket sales.
  • 37% percent of all draft beer consumed in Oregon is brewed in Oregon.
  • Oregon has the 4th highest percentage of beer draft sales in the US.
  • Oregonians consumed 2.72 million barrels of beer in 2008; of that, more than 327,000 barrels were made in Oregon or about 12 percent of the total beer consumed in Oregon – the highest percentage of local craft beer consumption in the country.
  • Oregon is the No. 2 hop growing state in the country with a 2008 crop value of $38,000,000, which ranks 18th in Oregon’s five billion dollar agricultural economy.

Source: Oregon Brewers Festival website

SIX | WE LOVE TO SPIN OUR WHEELS

BIKES ABOUND Portland claims the title of America’s bike capital without much dispute. The city has more than 250 miles of bike lanes and offers free-usage bicycles to encourage alternate transportation. According the the League of American Bicyclists, “Portland is Platinum! Bicycle provisions and promotion is integrated into almost every action taken by Portland – beginning in the Mayor’s Office, down to actions taken by maintenance crews on the streets. Portland has a seamless and varied bicycle network that connects all parts of the city and has proven success.

Portland dramatically increased its bicycle use and has a strong bicycle culture where all types of cyclists can find limitless opportunities to enjoy riding a bicycle. Annually there are an estimated 2,100 rides, races or other events held to encourage cyclists – an average of six per day – and they draw more than 40,000 participants. Portland’s increased ridership comes with an increased focus on safety though a Share the Road ticket diversion program, newly installed side underrun guards on all city trucks and an ‘Eye to Eye’ campaign. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance offers one of the nation’s leading Safe Routes to School programs. The Community Cycling Center also offers an exciting Create a Commuter program that donates low income adults with a fully outfitted commuter bike, requisite commuting gear and bike safety training.”

Need a map to find your best route?

Bike in Red Bird Studio‘s window: Alberta Street, Portland OR

SEVEN | WE LIKE LIFE (A LOT)

QUALITY OF LIFE They know a good thing when they see it – over 2 million people call the Portland area home. In fact, it’s the 23rd largest metropolitan area in the country and the fourth largest city on the West Coast. Portland contains residents from six counties spanning over 5000 square miles. According to Sustain Lane, Portland is the #1 place to live (2008). On BudgetTravel.com, you can read a 5 page article entitled “Portland Oregon: Can a place be too perfect?“. This article covers our sordid past, culture, food, architecture, art, just about anything you’d want to dig into. The article is from 2005, so some parts are dated, but general history and culture are right on. By the way, people in Oregon love to say “Right on!” as a statement of agreement. Right on! Check one of the reasons Portland is Right On in the video below.

EIGHT | THE END OF THE ROAD

END OF THE LINE Go west, young man! Portland’s Willamette Valley was the final destination along the Oregon Trail. By 1840, settlers had begun journeying to the Northwest, using the rugged wagon train route that cut through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho. It’s too bad the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center’s website is lacking any kind of design or motivation to get up and go. The few people I have talked to have really enjoyed the visit and learned a lot. The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is located on Abernethy Green, at a site often identified as the end of the Barlow Road portion of the Oregon Trail. Visitors are guided by a living history interpreter, who brings alive the journey from Missouri to Oregon through dramatization and story telling. Things to see include artifacts from pioneer days, a video presentation, and a gift shop.”

There is a pretty comprehensive website that shows you what you can see from the views from the Oregon City Municipal Elevator, one of only 3 in the world! This is close to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and worth a stop. And a few more photos to show you what to expect.

Photo by Gary Poush, for “End of the Oregon Trail,” an Oregon Local Legacies project

NINE | WE LOVE CREATIVITY

ART The 1970s “Expose Yourself to Art” campaign got its start in Portland, a city filled with fountains and public art. The “Portlandia” statue at the Portland Building is the world’s second-largest hammered copper sculpture, taking a back seat only to the Statue of Liberty. Street fairs are a mainstay during the summer.

Portland’s Saturday Market could easily be the Pier 39 of Portland. The place no local will ever go unless they have out-of-town visitors. But Saturday Market is nothing like Pier 39, fortunately. Music, food, and of course, art about every weekend. Operating since 1974, the Portland Saturday Market is the largest continually operating outdoor arts and crafts market in the nation. Centered in Portland’s historic “Old Town”, the market is one of the most popular shopping for local handcraft goods. The first video shows you the kind of impact it has on the first-timer and the second shows you what you might encounter “under the bridge”.

TEN | WE WERE ALMOST BOSTON

THE TOSS What’s in a name? Certainly not originality! Portland’s shares its name with the city in Maine, which was Francis Pettygrove’s hometown. This early settler won a coin toss with another early settler named Asa Lovejoy to name the fledgling city. Lovejoy’s suggestion? Boston – his own hometown. I guess that would have had a lot of people wondering why if I’m from Boston, I don’t have an accent!

Thank goodness for double-headed coins, there’s no place like PDX. Check out Travel Oregon’s take on the city. The best promotional video for a city that you will find.

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