Portland Profile

Portland, Oregon, gracefully combines its eccentric touches with the traditional to roll out a whimsical welcome mat.

While in Portland . . .

General information

Facts and Trivia

While in Portland, Oregon…

Watch the Weather Machine's predictions at noon each day at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Set foot (or maybe just a toe) in the world's smallest dedicated park, 24-inch Mill Ends Park.

Choose a favorite blossom in the International Rose Test Garden. There are more than 560 varieties to choose from.

Drown out the city noise in the Classical Chinese Garden, an entire city block of tranquility.

Ride the only three-door elevator west of the Mississippi at Powell's City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. Don't forget to notice the 1 million-plus books.

Visit the Oregon Zoo, where more Asian elephants have been born than in any other North American city.

Gaze up at Portlandia, a 36-foot hammered-copper statue, second in size only to the Statue of Liberty.

Get caught in an earthquake registering 5.5 on the Richter scale at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).

Ask your server about the secret ingredient in the pizza dough at BridgePort Brewing Company (You'll never guess!).

Plan a pub crawl to some of the 40 microbreweries and brewpubs located in the Portland area.

Hob-nob with local artists during a First Thursday Gallery Walk, when Portland's best art galleries stay open late and introduce their newest exhibitions.

Take in a flick at any of Portland's McMenamins brew-'n'-view theaters, where pizza, comfy couches and a $3 admission make any movie a winner.

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Powell's Books

With more than a million volumes, this is the nation's largest independent bookstore (it occupies an entire city block). Visitors, however, don't need to worry about getting lost inside Powell's; friendly staff members distribute maps detailing the store's floor plan and sections. A coffee shop, where browsers can read possible purchases and grab a snack, is also on site. Open year-round. No admission.

General Information

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Facts and Trivia

• Portland was almost named Boston. City founders Asa Lovejoy, who hailed from Boston, Mass., and Francis Pettygrove, of Portland, Maine, were each determined to name the new city after their respective hometowns. Unable to settle the argument, they decided to flip a coin, now known as the "Portland Penny" and on display at the Oregon Historical Society. Pettygrove won on two out of three tosses.
• Many of the characters in The Simpsons are named after streets and locations in Portland, Simpsons' creator Matt Groening's hometown.
• The Portland Police Department hired the nation's first policewoman, Lola Baldwin, in 1908.
• Portland is home to Voodoo Doughnut, a 24-hour doughnut shop that offers — in addition to a crazy selection of doughnuts — legal wedding ceremonies.
• The Portland Saturday Market is the largest continuously operating open-air crafts market in the United States.
• Powell's City of Books, occupying an entire city block, is the world's largest independent bookstore.
• The Port of Portland is the largest wheat export port in the United States.
• The Portland Rose Festival's Junior Parade is the largest children's parade in America.
• Portlandia is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the United States (the Statue of Liberty is the first).
• Portland's International Rose Test Garden is the oldest in the nation.
• More Asian elephants (27 to date) have been born in Portland than in any other North American city.
• Portland is the beer capital of the world, with 32 breweries inside the city's limits — that's more than any other city in the world. If you count the entire metro area, the number jumps to 38.
• Portland is home to the world's smallest dedicated park: Mill Ends Park, a mere 24 inches (61 centimeters) across. There are 37,000 acres (14,973 hectares) of parks in the Portland metro area.
• Portland's nicknames include "Rose City," "City of Bridges," "Beervana," and "Rip City."
• The Oregon Brewers Festival, held on Portland's waterfront, is the largest gathering of independent brewers in North America.
• The city of Portland was officially incorporated on February 8, 1851.
• There is no sales tax in Oregon.
• Oregon is one of just two states in which residents — and visitors — enjoy the luxury of always having their gas pumped for them. It's the law!

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