History

Five Facts ✋ about the Black Exclusion and Lash Laws 😠, plus historic and viral 🎥 videos you need to watch

When most people think of American cities that are progressive about equality and civil rights, one of the first cities that comes to mind is Portland. But has Portland acknowledged its racist history? Do a search on YouTube for “Racism in Portland Oregon” and “Racism in Oregon” and there is proof that ignorance prevails. We’ve […]

/ January 31, 2022

45 Portland💡Inventions and Patents Everyone Should Know – 😺 How Curious!

Squeegees! Zipper pulls! Interactive vibrators! The latter part of last century, before digital patents like the one for Generation node-B (GNB), (UE) and (MIMO) arrangements began to crowd out the entries for bottle cap removers, field cookers and vibrators (!), and when pagers and personal computers were still a hot commodity, Portland inventors applied for […]

/ January 23, 2022

A Bridge and its Park

The St. Johns Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in Portland, but the area below it has its own history. It was home to Native American tribal grounds and a Lewis and Clark landing site before it became Cathedral Park. For decades, it housed junkyards and factories. But “honorary mayor” Howard Galbraith and […]

/ January 18, 2022

Finding Love at Oaks Park

So where to find love in Portland? Start with a perfect date! Oaks Amusement Park in Sellwood has hosted everything from roller derby events to competitive beer miles to holiday festivals. Along the way, the 114-year-old park has helped more than a few Portlanders find love. Why? Their new showstopper is the over-the-top thrill ride […]

/ January 11, 2022

Did you know this secret about the Pearl Neighborhood?

The Neighborhood: The Pearl District The Place: In the early ‘90s, the Pearl District (then known as the River District) was a sparsely populated neighborhood “as rugged as any in the Pacific Northwest.” But why is it called the Pearl? What’s the real secret behind the name? It’s been quoted many places that a gallery […]

/ January 11, 2022

A 110-Year-Old Fraternity Lives On at the Kenton Masonic Temple

The Kenton Masonic Temple in North Portland is either the home of a clandestine fraternity that secretly runs the world, or it’s a good place to get a haircut. It just depends who you ask. The historic building was renovated in 2011, and it now doubles as the home for Bart’s Barbershop, Kenton Cycle Repair, […]

/ October 31, 2021

🐴 The weird, tiny history of Portland’s horse rings

You can still find tiny horses tied to horse rings in Portland. This delightful community art project is one of many aspects of Portland’s weirdness.

/ April 21, 2021

📜 Three historic PDX women to know

For Women’s History Month, we highlight three Portland women of color, whose contributions helped shape our city.

/ March 12, 2021

Swift and Union Pays Homage to ‘Cow Town’ Kenton

Portland is considered one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the U.S., but once upon a time, the area now known as Kenton was actually a company town built around meat. Today, the legacy of the Union Meat Company — which was purchased by Swift and Company in 1906 — lives on at a popular […]

/ February 1, 2021

Black Lives Haven’t Always Mattered to the Climate Movement. Here’s How to Fix That.

Support Local Entrepreneurs Fighting Climate Change We are a nonprofit fighting climate change by providing funding and holistic support to cleantech entrepreneurs. Join us today.   This series is sponsored by VertueLab. VertueLab did not provide editorial input. Black Americans are more likely to breathe polluted air, more likely to live near a landfill, more likely […]

/ August 10, 2020

How Waterfront Park Brought the Water to Portlanders

The pace of change in Portland can be maddening sometimes, but as we wait for the Albina Vision, the Green Loop, and the Duckworth Dock of our dreams to become a reality, it’s worth remembering that most local gems weren’t created overnight. Take Waterfront Park. The idea for a riverfront park in downtown dates back […]

/ August 28, 2019

PDXplained: Why Isn’t Lower Albina an Official Portland Neighborhood?

(📸: Library of Congress, via the Volga Germans in Portland blog) ALBINA’S ORIGIN STORY About a century before neighborhood associations even existed, Albina was incorporated as an independent city — separate from the neighboring cities of Portland and East Portland. Albina’s earliest non-native residents were pioneers who claimed free land from the U.S. government and […]

/ February 25, 2019

The Church that Stood Strong

WHAT: Lower Albina has seen a lot of change over the last 50 years, but one constant through it all has been the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, which will celebrate its 75th birthday next month. The church has withstood decades of gentrification and displacement, and its members today span multiple generations. WHY IT MATTERS: […]

/ February 14, 2019

Meet the Railroad Bridge

The original Railroad Bridge was the longest bridge of its kind in the world. (📸: Library of Congress) WHAT: The Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge, built in 1908 and rebuilt in 1989 FUN FACT: The original Railroad Bridge swung open around a central “pedestal” — and ships had a heck of a time avoiding it. The worst collision happened […]

/ October 12, 2018

Portland Loves Its Bridges. Here’s What Makes Them Special.

These are the most unique, fun facts we learned about each of Portland’s iconic 12 bridges.

/ October 11, 2018

Meet the Ross Island Bridge

The Ross Island is the busiest non-interstate bridge in Portland — and one of the worst to get caught on during rush hour.

/ October 11, 2018

Meet the Burnside Bridge

The Burnside Bridge was the first Willamette River bridge in Portland to be designed with the help of an architect.

/ October 11, 2018

Meet the Hawthorne Bridge

Did you know an epic chase scene in a Benicio Del Toro movie involved his character jumping off the Hawthorne Bridge into the Willamette River?

/ October 11, 2018

Meet the Steel Bridge

Every year tons of bicyclists cross this bridge, which is also known as the last operational “telescoping vertical-lift bridge” in the U.S.

/ October 11, 2018

Meet the Sellwood Bridge

The Sellwood Bridge was hastily constructed in less than a year, and before it was rebuilt in 2016, it was one of the most structurally unsound bridges in the country.

/ October 11, 2018