Five Things You May Not Know About Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon is one of the signature urban areas in the Pacific Northwest. The city was founded and developed because of its location on the Columbia River and proximity to the Pacific Ocean. What started as a frontier trading post has developed into an international city that has earned a reputation as a great destination. One of the biggest strengths of the Portland area as a destination for travelers is its location close to the mountains, the Columbia River gorge and the Pacific coastline. There is a great deal known about the city, but here are five things you may not know about Portland, Oregon.
1. Portland’s two founders came from Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine. Both men wished to name the new city after their home towns and chose to decide who would get naming honors by flipping a penny. The Oregon Historical Society is in possession of this penny, now referred to as the Portland Penny, and displayed proudly in their headquarters.
2. Portland has been known as The City of Roses for more than one hundred years. The most famous, and possibly most remarkable rose garden in the city is the International Rose Test Garden. The garden is home to well over 500 different varieties of roses and includes a total of more than 7,000 rose plants.
3. The city of Portland now sits on the site of three former communities. Prior to 1891, when they were all consolidated into one city, the area’s three separate towns were Portland, East Portland and Albina.
4. A section of roadway called the Mount Hood Freeway was a proposed east-west freeway intended to run through southeast Portland. that was never constructed. The citizens of Portland came out strongly against this plan and the project was cancelled in the early 1970s. One lone feature still exists pointing to this abandoned project. The most traveled bridge in the state of Oregon is Portland’s double decked Marquam Bridge and on the eastern end is an unfinished ramp stub that was to have lead to the Mount Hood Freeway.
5. One of the big attractions at the very popular Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is the USS Blueback submarine that is open for public tours and is docked right outside the museum. This submarine was used in the 1990 Sean Connery film, The Hunt For Red October.
Portland is a great place to visit for a wide variety of reasons, but the overall best reason is that it offers a great deal of diverse things to do that should interest and occupy any visitor lucky enough to head that way. From the wealth of outdoor recreational opportunities available in the area to the many historical sites, the city has the ability to cater specifically to the very broad range of visitors that travel its way every year. Portland has had a long and interesting history and has proven itself to be a great destination throughout its existence. It remains to be one of the best places to go to in the Pacific Northwest each and every year.