Starring My Town…

The Pacific Northwest was pummeled with snow and ice during the winter of 2007 and one of the cities under siege was Portland , Oregon where it is said that “snowfall is rather uncommon”. So this winter issue of Arabella salutes the “City of Roses ”

Portland , Oregon ….

…. our newest winter wonderland!


...a wintry morning on January 16, 2007

Trams carry emergency workers over snow- blocked highways.

Portland is the largest city in Oregon and sits at the forks of the Williamette and Columbia Rivers .
It exports lumber, aluminum and wheat and is the state’s principal port.


Portland by day.....and night!

It was settled in 1829 on the site of an old Indian village within distance of the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. The city was laid out and incorporated in 1845 and, by the toss of a coin, named after Portland, Maine, founder Francis Pettygrove’s hometown. Asa Lovejoy, his partner from Boston, lost the toss!

Pettygrove is the bearded one in the center!

Portland was the major port in the entire Pacific Northwest until Seattle stole its place in the 1890s by connecting its deep water harbor to the rest of the mainland by rail.

Portland in 1890

In 1966, The Portland General Electric Company that generated the electricity and steam for Downtown Portland by burning woodchips, was razed to make way for housing and businesses. The woodchips were all sent off to be made into engineered or composition wood!

Portland pre-1966

. A good thing to know when you are visiting the city….downtown Portland is centered around Pioneer Courthouse Square. The streets are laid out in a grid with “streets” perpendicular to the river and the “avenues” run parallel to the river. This rule doesn’t hold true in the hilly regions, however.


Pioneer Courthouse Square	Downtown Portland

There is only one major sports team in Portland….the Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association. The city and the fans make them comfortable at the Rose Garden Arena!

The Rose Garden Arena

In 1915 there were 70 theaters in Portland and tickets to see the show ranged from 5 to 15 cents. Broadway shows, vaudeville and both silent and then sound films came to town. Today multiplexes have taken over and many of the old movie palaces are gone.

The Hellig (later renamed the Fox) was built in 1910…torn down to make room for the Fox Tower).

The Hellig Theater

The Oriental (opened in 1927) was torn down to make a parking lot.

The Oriental Theater

The Whiteside built in 1922 still exists as a movie theater.

The Whiteside (1939)

The Whiteside (1998)

Just some of the films shot entirely or in part in Portland or nearby areas…..


"Elizabethtown" 2005 with Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom	"My Own Private Idaho" 1991 with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix

"Batman Forever" 1995 with Jim Carrey (The Riddler) and Drew Barrymore (Sugar)	Body of Evidence" 1993 with Madonna and Willem DaFoe