Portland:
Things to See

PORTLAND’S BRIDGES

Because the City of Portland is located at the confluence of two very large rivers, the Willamette and the Columbia, the transportation system requires a system of bridges to serve both vehicular and rail traffic. A total of 26 bridges handle all this traffic in, out and around Portland.

TOM McCALL WATERFRONT PARK

The 3km (2mi) stretch of Waterfront Park flanking the west bank of the Willamette River was once a freeway. Happily, the lanes have been torn up and replaced with a grassy park, complete with fountains and an esplanade. Popular with joggers, in-line skaters, strollers, sun-bathers and anglers, the park also hosts a number of summer festivals and concerts

PORTLAND IS KNOWN FOR ITS DOWNTOWN FOUNTAINS

The City of Portland is located between two large rivers – The Willamette and The Columbia. Celebrating this relationship with the surrounding waters, the City of Portland has installed a system of fountains that is worth seeing. There are 10 fountains with 25 bronze sculptures of Northwest animals along the Max light rail lines. Numerous other fountain structures are worth searching out and enjoying in Portland.

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

In October 2005, the museum opened a new 141,000 square foot facility that contains new offices, two ballrooms, a new Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, plus the new Northwest Film Center, and Art Study Center and Library. The museum’s total gallery space of over 112,000 square feet is the largest cultural art resource center in the Northwest. Over 35,000 works of art make up the museum’s permanent collections of European, American, Asian, Native American, Northwest and Graphic arts. Its exhibit of Northwest native American carvings is excellent. http://www.pam.org/ 

PORTLAND BUILDING AND PORTLANDIA

No downtown building has drawn more notoriety than the Portland Building, designed by postmodern architect Michael Graves to house city government bureaus. This blocky, pastel-coloured edifice is considered the world’s first major structure in the postmodern style.

Three stories above the main entrance to the building is a massive statue of Portlandia. Portlandia is based on a figure in Portland’s city seal of a woman, dressed in classical clothes, who welcomes traders into the port of the city. The sculpture is placed on the landing on the third floor of the Portland Building. The sculpture is 36 feet tall but if Portlandia was magically to stand up, she would be over 50 feet tall. Portlandia is the second largest hammered copper statue in America (the largest is the Statue of Liberty). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlandia

POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS

From humble storefront beginnings in 1971 on a derelict corner of northwest Portland, Powell’s Books has grown into one of the world’s great bookstores, with seven locations in the Portland metropolitan area, and one of the book world’s most successful dot-coms (www.powells.com), serving customers worldwide.

Powell’s roots begin in Chicago, where Michael Powell, as a University of Chicago graduate student, opened his first bookstore in 1970. Encouraged by friends and professors, including novelist Saul Bellow, Michael borrowed $3,000 to assume a lease on a bookstore. The venture proved so successful that he managed to repay the loan within two months. The story continues from here, but a visit to Powell’s is close to a religious experience if you love books. http://www.powells.com/

CLASSICAL CHINESE GARDEN

The authentic Suzhou-style Classical Chinese Garden is a one-block haven of tranquillity with a teahouse in the ‘Tower of Cosmic Reflections’. Tours (free with admission) daily. http://www.portlandchinesegarden.org/

PORTLAND JAPANESE GARDEN

Perhaps one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan, the Portland Japanese Garden is situated about 500 feet above sea level in the hills surrounding the city, just above the International Rose Test Garden.

This is an authentic Japanese Garden, including a strolling pond garden, tea garden, natural garden, sand and stone garden and flat garden. Guided tours are given several times daily, and tour times are posted just inside the entrance.

The Portland Japanese Garden is created in the traditional style, which means the paths are made of natural materials, and they can sometimes be a bit uneven or wet. Wear comfortable shoes with non-slip soles.  http://www.japanesegarden.com

INTERNATIONAL ROSE TEST GARDEN

Portland’s International Rose Test Garden is considered the oldest official, continuously-operated, public rose test garden in the United States, Although twenty four gardens across the nation now test roses, Portland is the only international rose test garden still receiving roses from around the world to be tested in this mild climate between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain range - and is the only North American city that can issue its awards to roses of merit throughout the world. http://www.rosegardenstore.org/thegardens.cfm