The Portland Hotel (originally called the Hotel Portland), a project initiated by Henry Villard and the Northern Pacific Railroad, was designed in 1882-1883 and constructed …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Portland has used two locations for its major commercial airport—Swan Island from 1927 to 1940 and the floodplain of the Columbia River since 1940. The …

Oregon Encyclopedia

For more than forty-five years, the Portland Japanese Garden has offered a personal encounter with Japanese culture and a tranquil experience that celebrates the natural …

Oregon Encyclopedia

In November 1972, the first Portland Marathon attracted 86 marathoners (and about the same number of "half-marathoners") to a course on Sauvie Island, a flat …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The Portland Paramount Theatre once dominated the city’s Great White Way, a series of brightly lit cinemas that dazzled downtowners along Southwest Broadway Street. The …

Oregon Encyclopedia

While America's premier landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, traveled the country in the mid-nineteenth century, encouraging mayors and town councils to add parks to their …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The Portland Penny is an 1835 American copper penny that was used in an 1845 coin toss to name the new town of Portland.  By …

Oregon Encyclopedia

In July 1883, the Oregonian announced a “grand athletic tourney” at Portland's Mechanics Arena. Among other activities, “the sciences of Greco-Roman and Scotch back-hold wrestling …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Designated "market squares" were once common in American city plans, and Portland's 1853 plat identified two blocks that served this purpose. One of those blocks, …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Portland Railway Light & Power (PRLP) was created in 1906 through the consolidation of nearly every transportation and power generation utility between Vancouver, Washington, and …

Oregon Encyclopedia