- The Portland town site was once one of the densest forests on the North American continent. Trees were the biggest and tallest that early settlers could remember ever seeing. Portland was first called “The Clearing” by trappers and Native Americans, then “Stumptown” by early settlers and finally named in 1845 with a coin toss between Pettygrove and Lovejoy. A large penny was flipped to determine who would win the privilege of naming the city, Asa Lovejoy of Boston or F.W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Mr. Lovejoy lost two out of three tosses. The 1835 penny is on display at the Oregon Historical Society.
- Native Americans stopped at “The Clearing” on their trips up the Willamette River to the falls at Oregon City. When horse drawn streetcars were being replaced by electrically driven ones, some people objected to the overhead wires. One man said, “I’m more offended by a tired horse trying to pull a loaded streetcar up a hill.”
- The Willamette River is about 187 miles long, the 13th largest river in the USA by water volume. Tides flow 112 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria into the Willamette and continue as far as the Oregon City Falls. The name Willamette, from about 1841, is from an Indian name for the area near the Oregon City Falls: Wal-lamt. Even in 1870 it was spelled as Wallamet.
- The Willamette River is the main reason why Portland is located where it is and why it became the major city of the region. Ocean-going ships were able to get to Portland’s docks but not much further. The Plank Road (Jefferson Street) provided relatively easy access for the Tualatin Valley’s agricultural products.
- The Plank Road was the primary route for bringing agricultural products from the Tualatin Valley to the Willamette River. This trip (now Beaverton to the Willamette) took all day. If the weather was bad or wagons broke down, they had to camp out near the current zoo or Sylvan. They often had to unload the wagon to get up the hill. Building the Plank Road made the city the most important port on the Columbia River.
- Skid roads and plank roads were “greased” with tallow until the bears attracted to it became a problem.
- Horse-drawn trolleys traveled First Avenue in the 1870’s, charging 10 cents a ride between NW Glisan and SW Caruthers. Many residents thought it was too expensive and elegant for Portland and a round-trip took too long – one hour. During the cobblestone-trolley era, downtown was very noisy with horseshoes on stone and bells on trolleys at intersections.
- In early days when “Puddletown” was a good description of Portland, the relatively few women in town were troubled by wolf whistles and remarks from the many men hanging around the shopping area. Since, to avoid the mud, the ladies had to draw up their skirts and their ankles came into view, husbands leaped into battle and defended their wives’ honor, something police were unable to handle. The Oregonian subsequently published on the top corner of the front page information as to which days were dry enough for the ladies to venture downtown.
- The original wooden Morrison Street Bridge charged 5 cents for sheep, hogs or footmen to cross.
- When the Pioneer Courthouse was built in 1869, the local citizens complained that it was too far out of town (555 SW Yamhill.) The site had been chosen because it was out of the flood plain.
- An early Portland law stated that each resident/business had to keep the sidewalk on their property clean and swept.
- During the great floods of early Portland, people took their belongings to the second floor to keep them dry. They took their cows and horses up around SW 18th Avenue to keep them from drowning.
- The streets in Northwest Portland (and SW Ankeny) do not line up with their neighbors to the south. In 1845, surveyor Thomas Brown laid out the original Portland plat, from Front to 2nd Avenue and from Washington to Jefferson Streets, according to magnetic north, which followed the river’s flow quite closely. In 1865, Captain John Couch subdivided his property north of Ankeny Street. As a sea captain and careful navigator, he chose to have his streets line up with the North Star (true north) which was 20 degrees west of magnetic north.
- Ankeny Street is so narrow because it is half a street. Only Mr. Ankeny gave his half for the street. Mr. Stark, who owned the north portion of the Overton donation land claim, had originally promised to give the south half of the street. He ended up not doing so because he was called to Washington D.C. to serve the last 14 months of a senator who was killed early in the War Between the States.
- The first play presented at the New Market Theatre was “Rip Van Winkle” in 1875. Critics called it a success that was “bewildering to the senses.”
- Council Crest Amusement Park was a destination location for streetcars. A line was built specifically to provide transportation to that location.
- The first long range power line in the U.S. was built between Oregon City and Portland in the 1880’s. It provided power for homes, businesses, streetlights and streetcars.
- Portland’s first phone service was in the 1870’s and consisted of about 30 lines.
- Oregon had the first female governor in U.S. history – for one weekend, in 1909. This was when Carolyn B. Shelton took charge of the state for 48 hours. She and other Oregon women were still three years away from gaining the right to vote. Since then, Barbara Roberts was the first woman elected to that office; and Kate Brown was Oregon’s second woman governor.
- The Farrell Sycamore Tree at SW 9th and Main was planted in 1880 in front of a home at that site. The man who lived in the house before the current parking lot was put in was fond of the tree and knew its historical value. He went to City Hall threatening to chain himself to the tree to save it. The tree still stands because of the efforts of one man.
- There is only one alley in downtown Portland, and it is located on Salmon behind the Heathman Hotel. Portland was designed to have small city blocks, which create more corners and therefore more revenue for merchants. Other cities have much larger blocks and therefore more alleys. Many buildings have delivery elevators in the sidewalks in front of them.
- The Hilton Executive Tower is on the former site of the Corbett family house. Mrs. Corbett kept a cow in a pasture by the house and refused to sell her land so they could build high-rise buildings. She got quite upset when the Pacific Building was built next door and shaded her garden.
- Inspired by the Skidmore Fountain, David Thompson arranged for the Elk Fountain to be built between 3rd and 4th on SW Main. Before the fountain was built in 1900 and buildings were there, a male elk led a herd on that site to the river for water. The fountain commemorates his leadership. In 1853, at the age of 19, Thompson had driven a herd of sheep across the Oregon Trail – walking every step of the way. He had blankets and slept on the banks of the river and in the pouring rain he slept under logs. He went to Oregon City with no money expecting to collect $40 for this order, but the Colonel he was delivering to had no money to pay for the order. He asked about a job and was told they needed someone to cut 200 cords of wood. He had never before cut wood but got tools and axes and provisions and 4 months later, October to February, he finished with the help of another man needing some money. They were paid $408.00. He later served as Mayor of Portland and was prominent in building the first railroad in the state – a line constructed around Willamette Falls.
- During the cobblestone-trolley era, downtown was very noisy with horseshoes on stone and bells on trolleys clanging at every intersection.
- The “Rebecca at the Well” fountain in the Park Blocks was dedicated by Mr. Shemanski to his wife and dog. That is why there is a high fountain and a low fountain.
- Legend had it that pioneer women brought roses with them on the Oregon Trail, somehow managing to keep them damp in the pockets of their aprons during the entire six-month journey. In fact, they stuck the cuttings in potatoes, enabling the roses to utilize the moisture in the potato for weeks before needing to re-soak the potato.
- The following information about the source of Portland as the Rose City was provided by the First Congregational Church: “Frank E. Beach (1853-1934), a member of the First Congregational Church and active on the building committee when our present edifice was built, dubbed Portland “The Rose City” and was one of the leaders in encouraging home owners to plant roses in the parking strips where visitors could see them. While president of the Board of Trade, a predecessor to the Chamber of Commerce, he became concerned in his travels that easterners of that day knew little of Portland except that it rained (wags said “365 days each year, and the inhabitants who survived had webbed feet”). To create a different image he promoted the idea: call Portland “The Rose City.” Residents accepted the idea enthusiastically, and it became the thing to do to plant roses in front yards and parking strips.” The Beach Family pew is marked with a nameplate.
- The kite-shaped windows in the First Congregational Church were the only means of ventilation. A Virginia Creeper, planted to conceal the stone design that caused the church to be called the “Checkerboard Church” was cut down when the church was remodeled in 1992. In 1995 the 100+ year old supporting columns needed to be replaced, as their sandstone bases and capitols were slowly washing away. A center core was drilled through the marble into which a steel rod was inserted to support the wall. The columns were replaced with new bases and capitols made of cement coated with fiberglass with the same design as the original sandstone. On the day the church was to be jacked up, TV stations were asked to film the event, but they did not come. One replied, “If the church falls down, we’ll come.” The engineer received a national award for his successful achievement.
- Simon Benson (Northwest lumber king) donated $10,000 in 1912 to install 20 bronze four-bowl drinking fountains. There are two main stories circulating as to why Benson had the fountains made.
The first: He was moved after seeing a thirsty young girl crying during a Fourth of July parade.
The second: Benson employed many workers and the story goes that he realized that his workers were unable to find anywhere to get a drink of water at lunchtime. Saloons only served beer. His distaste for alcohol is legendary. In any case, in 1912 he commissioned A.E. Doyle to design 20 fountains and paid to have them made and installed in the city. - In 1976 Benson High School Students made an additional 4 bronze fountains. The first of these new bubblers was installed in front of the Oregon Historical Society where it stands today. Two Benson fountains have been given away, one to Portland’s sister city, Sapporo, Japan and another bubbler was installed at the Maryhill Museum of Art in the Columbia River Gorge as requested by Sam Hill, founder of the museum and a friend of Simon Benson. Currently there are 52 of the four-bowl Benson Bubbler fountains throughout the city. The city owns the molds. The fountains serve fresh (not recycled) Bull Run drinking water. They are on timers and flow from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm 365 days a year, with some exceptions.
- Simon Benson also built the Benson Hotel. In 1915 he purchased 1000 acres containing Multnomah Falls, Horsetail Falls and Wahkeena Falls and gave them to the City of Portland. Benson believed in the value of education. He also gave the city $100,000 to help fund the building of Benson High School.
- Heathman Hotel—the two oil paintings by Claude Gellee were made about 1660—not 18th century as stated previously. These pieces were painted when people dressed as depicted. The connecting door between the Heathman Library and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall was placed by the architect for convenience at the time the two buildings were being simultaneously erected. Upon completion the door was covered over and not until a remodel in 1980 was the door’s existence revealed.
- Some stories in Portland history are controversial as to their validity or have conflicting versions. These stories are considered to be legends. “Solid academic sources on the following story are hard to find as so much of what we know of the Portland shanghai scene of the late 1800’s is tinged with folklore.” (Quoted from Richard Dillon’s Shanghaiing Days”) What seems clear is that “crimping” was the unscrupulous hotelier’s art of allowing young men, mostly sailors who had left their ships when they put in to harbor, to stay for free at his hotel and run up large food bills on credit. Then when the next ship was due to sail, he would present the man with a large bill and demand immediate payment, knowing full well that he could not pay. To avoid arrest, the victim would be told to sign an agreement and report for duty to the captain of the ship in question, who would already be expecting him and would pay the hotelier handsomely for his “services”. If the victim refused to go quietly, he might risk being kidnapped or shanghaied and sold as a crew member to a needy captain. Many bar owners and hotel operators relied on “crimping” or the “shanghai trade” to supplement their businesses, and Joseph “Bunco” Kelly, an hotelier, was one of the most notorious scoundrels in the trade. In his autobiography, Kelly boasted about getting paid by the captains to intoxicate potential crewmembers, and then delivering his drunken quarry to the waiting ships. The unfortunate men would wake up the next day – stranded at sea and forced to work for indefinite periods of time far from home. In one attempt to make a quick buck, Kelly reportedly stole a six-foot-tall wooden Indian from a cigar store, wrapped it in a tarp and cashed it in for fifty dollars in blood money…or so the story goes. When the captain learned the next morning that his new crew member was a wooden statue, he became so angry that he threw it overboard. The statue was reported recovered 60 years later.
- Teddy Roosevelt Statue: A legend regarding statues of soldiers on horseback states that one can determine the fate of the soldier. If the horse has all of his hooves on the ground, then the soldier was unharmed. If the horse has only three hooves on the ground, then he was injured. If the horse is rearing up, then the soldier was killed in battle. Even though this is only a legend, it has been true for many such statues and makes an interesting story.
- The story of the Teddy Bear: Nearly 100 years ago President Theodore Roosevelt went on a bear hunting trip. He enjoyed nature and being out in the woods where animals lived. Because he was the President of the United States, the people organizing the hunt wanted to make sure the hunt was successful. After 3 days of walking, climbing and riding, no bears were found. The next day the hunting guide finally found a bear and tied it to a tree. Roosevelt said it would not be sporting for him to shoot the defenseless animal. (In the end, due to injuries the bear had to be put down.) Newspapers ran political cartoons showing the president refusing to shoot the bear. Was it a young bear or an old bear that Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot? The size of the bear in relation to the people was different in various cartoon versions so it was difficult to tell. Whether it was an adult bear or a baby bear is not the main point of the story. To sell more newspapers, an enterprising storekeeper in New York, named Morris Michtom, put two stuffed bears his wife had made next to the newspaper in his shop window. People wanted to buy the bears. Later Michtom asked President Theodore Roosevelt for permission to call these bears “Teddy’s bears”. The name caught on and now toy bears are often called teddy bears. The storekeeper and his wife eventually started a toy company, Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. (A descendent of the Michtom’s and her grandfather participated in an UTG walking tour a few years ago and verified this part of the story.)
- The sculptor of the Lincoln statue, George Waters, chose the stance to depict the seriousness of the times (The Civil War) during Lincoln’s presidency.
- The major terra cotta buildings went up post-WWI and were located beside streetcar lines. Terra Cotta, sometimes called “baked earth” is used as decorative facing for buildings. Made from fine grain clay mixed with grog (ground up bits of already fired clay such as bricks, sewer tile, fine china), to give body and reduce shrinkage. The mixture is poured into molds, partially dried, sprayed with glaze and fired for 3 ½ days in kilns at 2035 degrees F. The size of pieces was limited to what masons could lift, generally 70 pounds per cubic foot.
- The smallest dedicated park in the world (Mill Ends Park) and one of the largest parks within any city limits (Forest Park) can be found in Portland.
- Raptors such as Peregrine Falcons, Bald Eagles, Red-tailed hawks and Osprey can be found in the downtown area. They often use the ledges on downtown buildings like cliffs to watch for prey in or near the river. Bald Eagles have been spotted on the side of the Justice Center.
- Standard Plaza has a weather indicator on the roof. The lights indicate:
White = colder Blinking = precipitation
Red=warmer Steady=no change
Green=same temperature - Portland City Hall was designed to resemble the Taj Mahal.
- Eco-roofs: The Mark Hatfield Federal Courthouse 16th floor gives a good view of the eco-roof on top of the Portland Building. Portland is a leader with several eco-roofs including the Main Library. These roofs absorb rainwater, keeping streams cleaner, insulate the roof-top, provide wildlife habitat, capture air pollution and extend the life of the roofs.
- The Eastbank Esplanade was built in 2001 to reclaim the east side of the river from the Steel Bridge to the Hawthorne Bridge. It links with Tom McCall Waterfront Park to form a three-mile loop, which is heavily used by bicyclists, joggers and others. Its bioengineering is designed to improve diversity, to improve habitat for endangered fish and to provide a natural drainage area to filter rainwater before it reaches the river. It cost approximately $30 million dollars, which works out to be about $419 an inch.
- Any Portland, Oregon, Sunny Weather Always Makes You Think Some More Magic Just Came Calling, Madam. This mnemonic device can help you remember the streets south of Burnside: Ash, Pine, Oak, Stark, Washington, Alder, Morrison, Yamhill, Taylor, Salmon, Main, Madison, Jefferson, Columbia, Clay and Market.
- The original wooden Morrison Street Bridge charged 5 cents for sheep, hogs, or footmen to cross.
- Cycling is popular in Portland nowadays, but cycling really started here when Fred T. Merrill arrived in 1885 and set up shop in a tent where he sold the occasional bike. When the “safety” bicycle, with two equal-size wheels and decent brakes came along, business boomed. By 1888 he had the largest bike shop in the country at 127 Washington Street. He sold a total of 52,000 bikes in 20 years. He also promoted wrestling and boxing matches and ran a restaurant and hotel on the east side called the Twelve-Mile House. He opened the first automobile dealership in Oregon selling both bikes and Fords. T. T. Geer, Oregon’s first bicycling Governor, bought a “Rambler” from Fred Merrill and biked the 8 miles from his farm to the Capitol. He rode his bike 6 months out of the year. The roads were bad but the people weren’t ready for comprehensive road legislation, so in 1899 he signed Oregon’s first Cycle Path legislation, creating a network of side paths for cyclists and pedestrians.
