Portland, Oregon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Portland, Oregon —  City  — City of Portland Portland's skyline. Flag Seal Nickname(s): "Rose City"; "Stumptown"; "PDX"; see Nicknames of Portland, Oregon for a complete list. Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Portland, Oregon Location in the United States Coordinates: 45°31′12″N 122°40′55″W / 45.52000°N 122.68194°W / 45.52000; -122.68194Coordinates: 45°31′12″N 122°40′55″W / 45.52000°N 122.68194°W / 45.52000; -122.68194 Country United States State Oregon Counties Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas Founded 1845 Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  • Type Commission  • Mayor Charlie Hales  • Commissioners Steve Novick Dan Saltzman Nick Fish Amanda Fritz  • Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade Area  • City 145.09 sq mi (375.78 km2)  • Land 133.43 sq mi (345.58 km2)  • Water 11.66 sq mi (30.20 km2) Elevation 50 ft Highest: 1,280 ft 7,306 NW Penridge RD 122.75335W 45.52683N Lowest: -1.20 ft Columbia River & Willamette River Low water 1/7/37 122.76289W 45.65096N ft (15.2 m) Population (2010)  • City 583,776  • Estimate (2012) 603,106  • Density 4,375.1/sq mi (1,689.2/km2)  • Metro 2,289,800  • Demonym Portlander Time zone PST (UTC-8)  • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7) ZIP codes 97086-97299 Area code(s) 503 and 971 FIPS code 41-59000 GNIS feature ID 1136645 Website www.portlandonline.com

Portland is a city located in the U.S. state of Oregon, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, estimated to have reached 587,865 in 2012 making it the 28th most populous city in the United States. Portland is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest region, after Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately 2,289,800 people live in the Portland metropolitan area (MSA), the 19th most populous MSA in the United States.

Portland was incorporated in 1851 near the end of the Oregon Trail and is the county seat of Multnomah County. The city has a commission-based government headed by a mayor and four other commissioners as well as Metro, a distinctive regional government. The city is noted for its superior land-use planning and investment in light rail. Because of its public transportation networks and efficient land-use planning, Portland has been referred to as one of the most environmentally friendly, or "green", cities in the world.

Located in the Marine west coast climate region, Portland has a climate marked by both warm, dry summers and wet, cool-to-chilly winter days. This climate is ideal for growing roses. For more than a century, Portland has been known as the "City of Roses", with many rose gardens – most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. The city is also known for its abundant outdoor activities, liberal political values, and beer and coffee enthusiasm. Portland is home to a collection of independent microbreweries, microdistilleries and food carts that contribute to the unofficial but widely utilized slogan "Keep Portland Weird".

History

Main article: History of Portland, Oregon Portland in 1890

The land that is occupied today by Multnomah County was inhabited for centuries by two bands of Upper Chinook Indians. The Multnomah people settled on and around Sauvie Island, and the Cascades Indians settled along the Columbia Gorge. These groups fished and traded along the river and gathered berries, wapato, and other root vegetables. The nearby Tualatin Plains provided prime hunting grounds. The later settlement of Portland started as a spot known as either "Stumptown" or "the clearing", which was on the banks of the Willamette, located about halfway between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton saw great commercial potential for this land but lacked the funds required to file a land claim. He struck a bargain with his partner, Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts: for 25¢, Overton would share his claim to the 640-acre (2.6 km2) site. Overton later sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Pettygrove and Lovejoy each wished to name the new city after his respective home town. In 1845, this controversy was settled with a coin toss, which Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society.

At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851, Portland had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500. The city merged with Albina and East Portland in 1891, and annexed the cities of Linnton and St. Johns in 1915.

Portland's location, with access both to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and the Columbia rivers and to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the "Great Plank Road" through a canyon in the West Hills (the route of current-day U.S. Route 26), gave it an advantage over nearby ports, and it grew very quickly. It remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without the treacherous navigation of the Columbia River.

The most common nickname for Portland is The City of Roses, the city's official nickname since 2003. Other nicknames include the City of Bridges, Stumptown, Bridgetown, Rip City, Little Beirut, Beervana or Beertown, P-Town, Soccer City USA, Portlandia, Cloud City, and the synecdoche PDX.

Geography

The Willamette River runs through the center of the city, while Mount Tabor (center) rises on the city's east side. Mount Saint Helens (left) and Mount Hood (right center) are visible from many places in the city. Topography

Portland is located 70 miles east of the Pacific Ocean at the northern end of Oregon's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. Downtown Portland straddles the banks of the Willamette River which flows north through the city center, separating the east and west sections of the city before veering northwest to join with the Columbia River less than 10 miles from downtown. The Columbia River serves as the natural boundary between the states of Washington and Oregon and consequently divides the city of Portland from its most populated suburb Vancouver, Washington. Portland is situated near the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains, also called the West Hills and the Southwest Hills, which pierce through the Northwest and Southwest regions of the city. Council Crest Park, the tallest point within city limits, is located in the West Hills and rises to an elevation of 1,073 feet. To the west of the Tualatin Mountains lies the Oregon Coast Range, and to the east lies the actively volcanic Cascade Range. On clear days Mt. Hood and Mt St. Helens dominate the horizon while Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier also are sometimes visible in the distance.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 145.09 square miles (375.78 km2), of which, 133.43 square miles (345.58 km2) is land and 11.66 square miles (30.20 km2) is water. Although almost all of Portland lies within Multnomah County, small portions of the city lie within Clackamas and Washington counties with mid-2005 populations estimated at 785 and 1,455, respectively.

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. Mount Adams, another prominent volcano in Washington state to the northeast of Portland, is also visible from parts of the city.

Climate

As with much of the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascades, Portland experiences a temperate oceanic climate typified by warm, dry summers and mild, damp winters; the city proper straddles the border between USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8B and 9A. According to the Köppen climate classification, Portland falls within the cool, dry-summer mild temperate zone (Csb), also referred to as cool-summer Mediterranean, because of its relatively dry summers. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha, place it firmly in the Oceanic zone (Do).

Summers in Portland are warm to hot, dry and relatively sunny with moderately low humidity. The four months of June, July, August and September account for only 4.47 inches (114 mm) of total rain combined – a small fraction of the 36.03 inches (915 mm) inches of precipitation that falls throughout the year. The warmest month is August with a daily average temperature of 69.5 °F (20.8 °C); normal temperatures peak in late July and early August. Because of its inland location 70 miles from the coast, as well as the protective nature of the Oregon Coast Range to its west, Portland summers are less susceptible to the moderating influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean. Therefore Portland can experience heatwaves, particularly in July and August, with air temperatures rising over 90 °F (32 °C) for days at a time. Temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) 14 days per year and reach or exceed 100 °F (38 °C) 1.4 days per year on average. Portland has reached triple digit temperatures in all five months from May through September. The highest temperature ever recorded was 107 °F (42 °C), on July 30, 1965, as well as August 8 and 10, 1981.

Spring and fall can bring rather unpredictable weather including warm spells that send temperatures surging above 80 °F (27 °C), cold snaps the plunge daytime temperatures into the 40s, thunderstorms rolling off the Cascade Range and, although rare, occasional tornadoes. However, mild temperatures in the 50s and 60s °F (10−21 °C) and overcast skies are the norm – with rainy or partly overcast days becoming frequent in mid fall and continuing into mid spring. Portland receives less annual rainfall than most cities on the East Coast, however rain often falls as a light drizzle for several consecutive days at a time, contributing to the high number (155) of days with measurable (≥0.01 in or 0.25 mm) precipitation annually. Temperatures have reached the 90 °F (32 °C) mark as early as April and as late as October.

Winters in Portland are mild to chilly, overcast and wet with normal temperatures bottoming out in the second half of December and early January; the coolest month is December, with a daily average of 40.4 °F (4.7 °C). Approximately 55% of Portland's annual precipitation falls between November and February. Nighttime temperatures drop below freezing 33 nights per year on average, and occasionally to or below 20 °F (−7 °C) – however, there are only 2.1 days where the high fails to rise above freezing per year. Snowfall in downtown Portland is uncommon and does not happen every winter – due in part to downtown's low elevation as well as the effects of its urban heat island. Neighborhoods outside the downtown core, especially in slightly higher elevations near the West Hills and Mount Tabor, will frequently experience a dusting of snow while downtown receives no snow at all. The city has experienced a few major snow and ice storms in its past with snowfall totals occasionally reaching several feet (snowfall of 60.9 inches or 154.7 centimetres fell in the winter of 1892–93). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Portland was −3 °F (−19 °C), on February 2, 1950.

Climate data for Portland, Oregon (PDX), 1981–2010 normals Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 66 (19) 71 (22) 80 (27) 90 (32) 100 (38) 102 (39) 107 (42) 107 (42) 105 (41) 92 (33) 73 (23) 65 (18) 107 (42) Average high °F (°C) 47.0 (8.3) 51.3 (10.7) 56.7 (13.7) 61.4 (16.3) 68.0 (20) 73.5 (23.1) 80.6 (27) 81.1 (27.3) 75.8 (24.3) 63.8 (17.7) 52.8 (11.6) 45.6 (7.6) 63.1 (17.3) Average low °F (°C) 35.8 (2.1) 36.3 (2.4) 39.6 (4.2) 43.1 (6.2) 48.6 (9.2) 53.6 (12) 57.8 (14.3) 58.0 (14.4) 53.1 (11.7) 46.0 (7.8) 40.5 (4.7) 35.2 (1.8) 45.6 (7.6) Record low °F (°C) −2 (−19) −3 (−19) 19 (−7) 29 (−2) 29 (−2) 39 (4) 43 (6) 44 (7) 34 (1) 26 (−3) 13 (−11) 6 (−14) −3 (−19) Precipitation inches (mm) 4.88 (124) 3.66 (93) 3.68 (93.5) 2.73 (69.3) 2.47 (62.7) 1.70 (43.2) .64 (16.3) .66 (16.8) 1.47 (37.3) 3.00 (76.2) 5.64 (143.3) 5.49 (139.4) 36.03 (915.2) Snowfall inches (cm) 3.8 (9.7) 1.3 (3.3) 0.4 (1) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0.7 (1.8) 1.6 (4.1) 7.8 (19.8) Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 18.0 14.9 17.6 16.4 13.6 9.2 4.1 3.9 6.8 12.5 19.0 19.0 155.0 Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.4 0.9 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.3 0.8 2.5 Percent possible sunshine 28 38 44 50 52 55 66 64 62 44 28 23 45 Source: NOAA (extremes 1940–present, percent sunshine through 2009)

Cityscape

Panorama of downtown Portland in the day. Hawthorne Bridge viewed from a dock on the Willamette River near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Panorama of downtown Portland at night. View from across the Willamette River in SE Portland. See also: Architecture of Portland, Oregon, List of tallest buildings in Portland, Oregon, Downtown Portland, and Neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon The "Five Quadrants" of Portland

Portland straddles the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River. The denser and earlier-developed west side is mostly hemmed in by the nearby West Hills (Tualatin Mountains), though it extends over them to the border with Washington County. The flatter east side fans out for about 180 blocks, until it meets the suburb of Gresham. Rural Multnomah County lies farther east. In 1891 the cities of Portland, Albina, and East Portland were consolidated, and duplicate street names were given new names. The "great renumbering" on September 2, 1931, standardized street naming patterns, and changed house numbers from 20 per block to 100 per block. It divided Portland into five sections: Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, North, and Northeast. Burnside St. divides north and south, and the Willamette River divides east and west. The river curves west five blocks north of Burnside and in place of it, Williams Ave. is used as a divider. The North section lies between Williams Ave. and the Willamette River to the west.

On the west side, the RiverPlace, John's Landing and South Waterfront Districts lie in a "sixth quadrant" where addresses go higher from west to east toward the river. This "sixth quadrant" is roughly bounded by Naito Parkway and Barbur Boulevard to the west, Montgomery Street to the north and Nevada Street to the south. East-West addresses in this area are denoted with a leading zero (instead of a minus sign). This means 0246 SW California St. is not the same as 246 SW California St. Many mapping programs are unable to distinguish between the two.

Parks and gardens Tom McCall Waterfront Park seen from the north Main article: List of parks in Portland, Oregon

Parks and greenspace planning date back to John Charles Olmsted's 1903 Report to the Portland Park Board. In 1995, voters in the Portland metropolitan region passed a regional bond measure to acquire valuable natural areas for fish, wildlife, and people. Ten years later, more than 8,100 acres (33 km2) of ecologically valuable natural areas had been purchased and permanently protected from development.

Portland is one of only three cities in the contiguous U.S. with extinct volcanoes within its boundaries (along with Jackson, Mississippi and Bend, Oregon). Mount Tabor Park is known for its scenic views and historic reservoirs.

A panoramic view of the International Rose Test Garden

Forest Park is the largest wilderness park within city limits in the United States, covering more than 5,000 acres (2,023 ha). Portland is also home to Mill Ends Park, the world's smallest park (a two-foot-diameter circle, the park's area is only about 0.3 m2). Washington Park is just west of downtown, and is home to the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Japanese Garden, and the International Rose Test Garden.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park runs along the west bank of the Willamette for the length of downtown. The 37-acre (15 ha) park was built in 1974 after Harbor Drive was removed and now hosts large events throughout the year. Portland's downtown features two groups of contiguous city blocks dedicated for park space: the North and South Park Blocks.

Tryon Creek State Natural Area is one of three Oregon State Parks in Portland and the most popular; its creek has a run of steelhead. The other two State Parks are Willamette Stone State Heritage Site located in the West Hills and the Government Island State Recreation Area located in the Columbia River near Portland International Airport.

Culture and contemporary life

See also: List of fiction set in Oregon

Portland is often awarded "Greenest City in America" and "most green cities" designations. Popular Science awarded Portland the title of the Greenest City in America in 2008, and Grist magazine listed it in 2007 as the second greenest city in the world. The city is home to the Rose Bud and Thorn Pageant, started in 1975 and modeled after the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court of Oregon.

In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS MoneyWatch.

Entertainment and performing arts See also: Music of Oregon The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, home of the Oregon Symphony, among others

Like most large cities, Portland has a range of classical performing arts institutions which include the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera and the Portland Youth Philharmonic. It also has quite a few stages similar to New York's Off Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway such as Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Miracle Theatre, Stark Raving Theatre, and Tears of Joy Theatre. Portland hosts the world's only HP Lovecraft Film Festival at the Hollywood Theatre.

Portland is home to famous bands such as The Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders, both famous for their association with the song "Louie Louie" (1963). Other widely known musical groups include The Dandy Warhols, Everclear, Pink Martini, Sleater-Kinney, The Shins, Blitzen Trapper, The Decemberists, and the late Elliott Smith. The city's now-demolished Satyricon nightclub is well known for being the place where the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love met each other; Love had grown up in Portland for most of her life. In recent years, a number of indie music bands from Portland have been touring nationally.

According to the New York Times, the dozens of karaoke bars in Portland make it not just "the capital of karaoke" in the United States, but "one of the most exciting music scenes in America.

Widely recognized animators who hail from Portland include Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama) and Will Vinton (Will Vinton's A Claymation Christmas Celebration). Dan Steffan, cartoonist-illustrator for Heavy Metal and other magazines, lives in Portland. Portland is also home to Laika stop motion animation studio, creators of Oscar-nominated feature films Coraline (2009) and Paranorman (2012).

Filmmaker Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting (1997), Milk (2008)) is also a Portland native. Actors from Portland include Sam Elliott and Sally Struthers. Pop artist, Johnny Cash protégé and filmmaker Trevor Chowning resides in Portland.

Recent films set and shot in Portland include Gone, Extraordinary Measures, Body of Evidence, What the Bleep Do We Know!?, The Hunted, Twilight, Paranoid Park, Blue Like Jazz, Wendy and Lucy, Feast of Love, Untraceable, Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho. Coraline and ParaNorman were both filmed in the Portland suburb of Hillsboro. An unusual feature of Portland entertainment is the large number of movie theaters serving beer, often with second-run or revival films. Notable examples of these "brew and view" theaters includes The Bagdad Theater and Pub and the Laurelhurst Theater, in operation since 1923.

The IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia, starring Fred Armisen and former Sleater-Kinney member Carrie Brownstein, shoots on location in Portland, satirizing the city as a hub of liberal politics, organic food, alternative lifestyles and anti-establishment attitudes.

MTV's long-time running reality show, The Real World, was recently shot in Portland for the show's 29th season. The Real World: Portland premiered on MTV on March 27, 2013 and was filmed in a loft in the Pearl District. The show featured the cast members taking part in several Portland activities, such as hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. The cast members worked at a local frozen yogurt shop and the local Pizza Schmizza.

Other TV shows which have shot in the city include Leverage, Under Suspicion, Grimm, Nowhere Man and Life Unexpected.

Authors

Authors from Portland include science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin, famous for her Earthsea novels, Hainish Cycle and Orsinian Tales; Katherine Dunn author of the bestselling novel Geek Love; transgressional fiction novelist Chuck Palahniuk, best known for his award-winning novel Fight Club; best-selling Christian author Don Miller; Washington Institute Book Prize-winning author and journalist Michael J. Totten, and Beverly Cleary, author of the famous series of children's books featuring Henry Huggins, his dog Ribsy, Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby and Ramona Quimby. Klickitat Street, where Cleary's characters live, is an actual street in northeast Portland. Statues of the characters stand in nearby Grant Park.

Portland is home to a number of independent, small graphic novel publishers such as Dark Horse Comics and Oni Press, as well as comic book artists and writers such as Brian Michael Bendis, Greg Rucka, and Farel Dalrymple.

Tourism See also: Tourism in Portland, Oregon and List of artists and art institutions in Portland, Oregon The White Stag sign is a popular city landmark Oaks Amusement Park is Portland's Main Amusement Park

Portland is home to a diverse array of artists and arts organizations, and was named in 2006 by American Style magazine as the tenth best Big City Arts Destination in the U.S.

The Portland Art Museum owns the city's largest art collection and presents a variety of touring exhibitions each year. With the recent addition of the Modern and Contemporary Art wing it became one of the United States' twenty-five largest museums. Art galleries abound downtown and in the Pearl District, as well as in the Alberta Arts District and other neighborhoods throughout the city.

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is located on the east bank of the Willamette River across from downtown Portland, and contains a variety of hands-on exhibits covering the physical sciences, life science, earth science, technology, astronomy, and early childhood education. OMSI also has an OMNIMAX Theater and is home to the USS Blueback submarine, used in the film The Hunt for Red October.

Portland is also home to Portland Classical Chinese Garden, an authentic representation of a Suzhou-style walled garden.

Portlandia, a statue on the west side of the Portland Building, is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the U.S. (after the Statue of Liberty). Portland's public art is managed by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Powell's City of Books claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world, occupying a multistory building on an entire city block in the Pearl District. In 2010, Powell's Technical Books was relocated to Powell's Books Bldg. 2 across the street from the flagship store.

The Portland Rose Festival takes place annually in June and includes two parades, dragon boat races, carnival rides at Tom McCall Waterfront park, and dozens of other events.

Washington Park, in the West Hills, is home to some of Portland's most popular recreational sites, including the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Japanese Garden, the World Forestry Center, and the Hoyt Arboretum.

Portland hosts a number of festivals throughout the year in celebration of beer and brewing, including the Oregon Brewers Festival. Held each summer during the last full weekend of July, it is the largest outdoor craft beer festival in North America with over 70,000 attendees in 2008. Other major beer festivals throughout the calendar year include the Spring Beer and Wine Festival in April, the North American Organic Brewers Festival in June, the Portland International Beerfest in July, and the Holiday Ale Festival in December.

Shopping Hawthorne District

Portland has many options for shopping. Some of the well known shopping areas are Downtown Portland, Nob Hill (NW 21st & 23rd Avenues), Pearl District, Hawthorne Avenue for vintage apparel, and the Lloyd District. Major department stores in downtown include Nordstrom, Macy's, and H&M. The major malls in the metropolitan area are Lloyd Center, Washington Square, Clackamas Town Center, Westfield Vancouver, Bridgeport Village and Pioneer Place. Another destination is the Portland Saturday Market, a town bazaar-like environment where many kinds of goods are sold from Artisan Crafts to Tibetan Imports, reflecting the many cultures of Portland. The Saturday Market is open every weekend from March through Christmas.

Breweries

Portland is well known for its microbreweries. Oregon Public Broadcasting has documented Portland's role in the microbrew revolution in the United States in a report called Beervana. Some illustrate Portlanders' interest in the beverage by an offer made in 1888 when local brewer Henry Weinhard volunteered to pump beer from his brewery into the newly dedicated Skidmore Fountain. Portland's modern abundance of microbreweries dates to the 1980s when state law was changed to allow consumption of beer on brewery premises. Brewery innovation was supported by the abundance of local ingredients, including two-row barley, over a dozen varieties of hops, and pure water from the Bull Run Watershed.

Portland is home to more than 60 breweries—more breweries than any other city in the world—which is partially responsible for CNBC naming Portland the best city for happy hour in the U.S. in 2010. The McMenamin brothers alone have over thirty brewpubs, distilleries, and wineries scattered throughout the metropolitan area, several in renovated cinemas and other historically significant buildings otherwise destined for demolition. Other notable Portland brewers include Widmer Brothers, BridgePort, Hair of the Dog, and Hopworks Urban Brewery. In 1999, author Michael "Beerhunter" Jackson called Portland a candidate for the beer capital of the world because the city boasted more breweries than Cologne, Germany. The Portland Oregon Visitors Association promotes "Beervana" and "Brewtopia" as nicknames for the city. In mid-January 2006, Portland Mayor Tom Potter officially gave the city a new nickname: Beertown.

The original Stumptown Coffee location at 45th and Division. Cuisine

Portland has a growing restaurant scene, and among three nominees, was recognized by the Food Network Awards as their "Delicious Destination of the Year: A rising city with a fast-growing food scene" for 2007. In 2010, The Washington Post called Portland "one of the best places in the country to dine." Travel + Leisure ranked Portland's food and bar scene #5 in the nation in 2012. The city is also known for being among the most vegetarian-friendly cities in America.

Portland has been named the best city in the world for street food by several publications, including the U.S. News & World Report and CNN. Food carts are extremely popular within the city, with over 600 licensed carts, making Portland one of the most robust street food scenes in North America.

In addition to its reputation as a craft beer capital, Portland is also known for its artisanal coffee culture. The city is home to Stumptown Coffee Roasters as well as dozens of other micro-roasteries and cafes.

Sports Main article: Sports in Portland, Oregon The Rose Garden, home of the Portland Trail Blazers. Jeld-WEN Field, home of the Portland Timbers.

Portland is home to two major league teams: the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. The city is also home to a number of minor league teams.

Running is a popular sport in the metropolitan area, which hosts the Portland Marathon and much of the Hood to Coast Relay, the world's largest (by number of participants) long-distance relay race. The city is home to two elite running groups, the Nike Oregon Project and Oregon Track Club, which include American record holder at 10,000m Galen Rupp, British 2012 Olympic 10,000m and 5,000m champion World Champion at 5,000m Mo Farah and 2008 American Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000m Shalane Flanagan. Skiing and snowboarding are also highly popular, with a number of nearby resorts on Mount Hood, including year-round Timberline Lodge.

Portland was formerly home to the Portland Rosebuds of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the first professional sports team in Oregon and the first professional hockey team in the United States. The Rosebuds played in the 1916 Stanley Cup Finals, the first American team to do so.

The city also has one of the most active bicycle racing scenes in the United States. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association sanctions hundreds of bicycling events each year. Weekly events at Alpenrose Velodrome and Portland International Raceway allow for racing nearly every night of the week March through September, and cyclocross races September through December, such as the Cross Crusade, can have over 1,000 riders and boisterous spectators.

Portland is also home to the Rose City Rollers, a women's flat track roller derby league.

Portland has two Division I college sports teams, the University of Portland Pilots and the Portland State Vikings. Both universities field teams in numerous sports, including soccer, baseball, basketball, and football. The University of Portland plays at Joe Etzel Field, the Clive Charles Soccer Complex, and the Chiles Center. Portland State University plays at the Stott Center and Jeld-Wen Field. In addition, Lewis & Clark College fields several sports teams that compete in NCAA Division III.

Club Sport League League championships Home venue Founded Portland Trail Blazers Basketball National Basketball Association 1 (1976-77) Rose Garden 1970 Portland Timbers Soccer Major League Soccer 0 Jeld-Wen Field 2009 Portland Thorns Women's soccer National Women's Soccer League 0 Jeld-Wen Field 2012 Portland Winterhawks Ice hockey Western Hockey League 2 (1982–83, 1997–98) Rose Garden 1976 Media Main article: Media in Portland, Oregon

The Oregonian is the only daily general-interest newspaper serving Portland. It also circulates throughout the state and in Clark County, Washington.

Smaller local newspapers, distributed free of charge in newspaper boxes and at venues around the city, include Portland Tribune (general-interest paper published on Thursdays), Willamette Week (general-interest alternative weekly published on Wednesdays), The Portland Mercury (another weekly, targeted at younger urban readers published on Thursdays), and The Asian Reporter (a weekly covering Asian news, both international and local).

Portland Indymedia is one of the oldest and largest Independent Media Centers. The Portland Alliance, a largely anti-authoritarian progressive monthly, is the largest radical print paper in the city. Just Out, published in Portland twice monthly until the end of 2011, was the region's foremost LGBT publication. A biweekly paper, Street Roots, is also sold within the city by members of the homeless community.

The Portland Business Journal, a weekly, covers business-related news, as does The Daily Journal of Commerce. Portland Monthly is a monthly news and culture magazine. The Bee, over 105 years old, is another neighborhood newspaper serving the inner southeast neighborhoods.

Portland is well served by television and radio.

Economy

The Portland House-Price Index has remained stronger than the national average.

Portland's location is beneficial for several industries. Relatively low energy cost, accessible resources, North-South and East-West Interstates, international air terminals, large marine shipping facilities, and both west coast intercontinental railroads are all economic advantages. The US consulting firm Mercer, in a 2009 assessment "conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments", ranked Portland 42nd worldwide in quality of living; the survey factored in political stability, personal freedom, sanitation, crime, housing, the natural environment, recreation, banking facilities, availability of consumer goods, education, and public services including transportation.

The city's history of attracting and retaining company headquarters is mixed. Major businesses such as Willamette Industries, Louisiana-Pacific, CH2M HILL, U.S. Bank, and Evraz North American (formerly known as Oregon Steel Mills), have moved headquarters out of the city, as have smaller companies such as Lucy Activewear and Northwest Pipe Company. Examples of how the city has attracted a company's world, North American, or U.S. headquarters include Vestas Wind Systems, and sporting goods manufacturers Li-Ning Co., Hi-Tec Sports, KEEN, Inc. and Adidas.

Other Portland based companies include advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy; financial services companies Umpqua Holdings Corporation and StanCorp Financial Group; data tracking firm Rentrak; utility providers PacifiCorp, NW Natural and Portland General Electric; communications provider Integra Telecom; restaurant chains McMenamins and McCormick & Schmick's; toolmaker Leatherman; and architectural firms ZGF Architects LLP and Boora Architects.

Computer components manufacturer Intel is the Portland area's largest employer, providing jobs for more than 15,000 people, with several campuses to the west of central Portland in the city of Hillsboro. The metro area is home to more than 1,200 technology companies. This high density of technology companies has led to the nickname Silicon Forest being used to describe the Portland area, a reference to the abundance of trees in the region and to the Silicon Valley region in Northern California. While manufacturing and hardware have been the core in the past, a budding group of software-oriented startup companies has taken root in Portland as well, supported by new seed funding organizations and business incubators.

Portland is home to the North American headquarters for Adidas, while the metropolitan area serves as the headquarters for Nike, FLIR Systems, Columbia Sportswear, and TriQuint Semiconductor, among others. Nike and Portland based Precision Castparts are the only two Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Oregon. Other manufacturing companies based in Portland include Freightliner Trucks, Zidell Companies, The Collins Companies, while Western Star Trucks builds their trucks in the city. Leatherman Tools and Langlitz Leathers, considered – respectively – the industry leaders in multitools and motorcycle riding wear, are also based in Portland.

The steel industry's history in Portland predates World War II. By the 1950s, the steel industry became the city's number one industry for employment. The steel industry thrives in the region, with Schnitzer Steel Industries, a prominent steel company, shipping a record 1.15 billion tons of scrap metal to Asia during 2003. Other heavy industry companies include ESCO Corporation and Oregon Steel Mills.

Portland is the largest shipper of wheat in the United States, and is the second largest port for wheat in the world. The marine terminals alone handle over 13 million tons of cargo per year, and is home to one of the largest commercial dry docks in the country. The Port of Portland is the third largest export tonnage port on the west coast of the U.S., and being located about 80 miles (130 km) upriver, it is the largest fresh-water port.

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Portland, Oregon MAX Light Rail is the centerpiece of the city's public transportation system Portland Streetcar runs north-south through the west end of downtown

The Portland metropolitan area has transportation services common to major US cities, though Oregon's emphasis on proactive land-use planning and transit-oriented development within the urban growth boundary means that commuters have multiple well-developed options. In 2012, Travel + Leisure magazine rated Portland as the #1 most pedestrian and transit-friendly city in the United States. A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Portland 12th most walkable of fifty largest US cities.

Some Portlanders use mass transit for their daily commute. In 2008, 12.6% of all commutes in Portland were on public transit. TriMet operates most of the region's buses and the MAX (short for Metropolitan Area Express) light rail system, which connects the city and suburbs. The 1986-opened MAX system has expanded to four lines, and a fifth (to Milwaukie) is under construction. Westside Express Service, or WES, opened in February 2009 as commuter rail for Portland's western suburbs, linking Beaverton and Wilsonville.

The city-owned Portland Streetcar operates from the South Waterfront District through Portland State University and north through the West End of downtown, to shopping areas and dense residential districts north and northwest of downtown. The Streetcar line will add 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of tracks on the east side of the Willamette River when a second line opens in September 2012. The line will complete a loop to the tracks on the west side of the river once the new Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge is completed in 2015.

Fifth and Sixth avenues within downtown comprise the Portland Transit Mall, two streets devoted primarily to bus and light rail traffic with limited automobile access. Opened in 1977 for buses, the transit mall was renovated and rebuilt in 2007–09, with light rail added. Starting in 1975 and lasting nearly four decades, all transit service within downtown Portland was free, the area being known by TriMet as Fareless Square, but a need for deep budget cuts prompted the agency to limit free rides to rail service only in 2010, and subsequently to discontinue the fare-free zone entirely in 2012.

TriMet provides real-time tracking of buses and trains with its TransitTracker, and makes the data available to software developers so they can create customized tools of their own.

I-5 connects Portland with the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, and California to the south and with Washington to the north. I-405 forms a loop with I-5 around the central downtown area of the city and I-205 is a loop freeway route on the east side which connects to the Portland International Airport. US 26 supports commuting within the metro area and continues to the Pacific Ocean westward and Mount Hood and Central Oregon eastward. US 30 has a main, bypass, and business route through the city extending to Astoria to the west; through Gresham, Oregon, and the eastern exurbs, and connects to I-84, traveling towards Boise, Idaho. Portland ranks 13th in traffic congestion of all American cities, and is 16th among all North American cities.

Union Station

Portland's main airport is Portland International Airport, located about 20 minutes by car (40 minutes by MAX) northeast of downtown. In addition Portland is home to Oregon's only public use heliport, the Portland Downtown Heliport. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Portland at Union Station on three routes. Long-haul train routes include the Coast Starlight (with service from Los Angeles to Seattle) and the Empire Builder (with service from Portland to Chicago.) The Amtrak Cascades commuter trains operate between Vancouver, British Columbia and Eugene, Oregon, and serve Portland several times daily.

Portland is the only city in the United States that owns operating mainline steam locomotives, donated to the city in 1958 by the railroads that ran them. Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 and the world-famous Southern Pacific 4449 can be seen several times a year pulling a special excursion train, either locally or on an extended trip. The "Holiday Express", pulled over the tracks of the Oregon Pacific Railroad on weekends in December, has become a Portland tradition over its seven years running. These trains and others are operated by volunteers of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, an amalgamation of rail preservation groups which collaborated on the finance and construction of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, a permanent and publicly accessible home for the locomotives, which opened in 2012 adjacent to OMSI.

Portland Aerial Tram connects the South Waterfront district with OHSU

In Portland, cycling is a significant mode of transportation. As the city has been particularly supportive of urban bicycling it now ranks highly among the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. Approximately 8% of commuters bike to work, the highest proportion of any major U.S. city and about 10 times the national average. To further encourage commuting by bike, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance sponsors an annual Bicycle Commute Challenge, in which thousands compete for prizes and recognition based on the length and frequency of their commutes. For its achievements in promoting cycling as an everyday means of transportation, Portland has been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists and other cycling organizations for its network of on-street bicycling facilities and other bicycle-friendly services, being one of only three US cities to have earned a Platinum-level rating.

Car sharing through Zipcar, Car2Go, Getaround, and U Car Share is available to residents of the city and some inner suburbs. Portland has a commuter aerial cableway, the Portland Aerial Tram, which connects the South Waterfront district on the Willamette River to the Oregon Health & Science University campus on Marquam Hill above.

Portland has five indoor skateparks and is home to historically significant Burnside Skatepark. Gabriel Skatepark is the most recent, which opened on July 12, 2008. Another fourteen are in the works. The Wall Street Journal stated Portland "may be the most skateboard-friendly town in America."