The Portland Penny

Did You Know...

One of the exhibits at the Oregon History Center is a copper 1835 coin known as the Portland penny. When two pioneers tossed it in 1845, the name of the city was decided. If Asa Lovejoy had won the coin toss, instead of Francis Pettygrove, his hometown of Boston would have been our city’s namesake.

The architect who renovated the 1933 Portland Art Museum in 1995, Ann Beha of Boston, had been a student of the original architect, Pietro Belluschi, at M.I.T.

The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall houses the world’s largest electronic organ, originally built by an Oregon firm, Rogers Organ Co., for Carnegie Hall.

The designer of the Benson Bubbler drinking fountains was architect A.E. Doyle, who also designed the Benson Hotel, Central Library, the Meier & Frank Building and other significant Portland structures.

Patrons of Central Library pitched in and helped carry by hand some of the 1.25 million books moved to a temporary location in 1995 during the building’s renovation.