Portland Center, a district within the South Portland Urban Renewal Project, was designed in the 1960s as a “city within a city.” The city set …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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

In 1905, when Portland Mayor Harry Lane addressed a crowd at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, one memorable phrase emerged from his otherwise-forgotten speech. …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The Rosebuds, Portland’s first professional ice hockey team, was the first United States-based franchise to compete for the Stanley Cup. A member of the …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The Portland Seamen's Friend Society was organized in 1877 by Reverend R.S. Stubbs and prominent Portland merchants, including Henry Corbett, William S. Ladd, Simeon …

Oregon Encyclopedia