Portland Media Kit

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Facts, Accolades and Trivia

About Portland

Portland Accolades

• No. 1, "America's 50 Greenest Cities" – Popular Science magazine (February 2008)
• 2008 Distinctive Destination (one of 12 cities chosen in the United States) – National Trust for Historic Preservation (February 2008)
• "Top 10 Cities for Independent Moviemakers" – Movie Maker magazine (Winter 2008 and Winter 2006)
• "Top 10 Cities to Beat" / "Portland: Leader of the New Urbanism" – Business Week (January 2008)
• No. 1 in access to outdoors, characteristics (overall), cityscape, ease of getting around, environmental awareness, pedestrian friendliness, public parks/spaces – CNN Headline News/Travelandleisure.com (October 2007)
• No. 2, "10 Greenest Cities in America" – MSN.com City Guides
• No. 1 in United States for biking to work – U.S. Census Bureau (July 2007)
• America's "Best Eating Destination" – The Food Network (April 2007)
• No. 9, "Top 25 Fittest Cities in the United States" – Men's Fitness (February 2007)
• No. 2, Cooking Light's 20 Best Cities Awards – Cooking Light (January-February 2007)
• One of the World's Top Travel Destinations for 2007 – Frommer's Guidebooks/Frommer's.com (January 2007)
• No. 1, "Most sustainable big cities in America" – SustainLane.com (June 2006)
• Oregon named "Top Dog in the USA" for mountain biking – Annual International Mountain Biking Association's "Report Card" (Winter 2006)
•  "America's Cleanest City" – Reader's Digest (2006)
• No. 10, "Best Arts City in America" – AmericanStyle (June 2006)
• "Best Place to Live in the U.S." – Men' s Journal (April 2006)
• "Best Walking Town in America" – Prevention magazine (April 2006)
• "Best Cycling City in the U.S." – Bicycling magazine (March 2006)
• "One of 18 perfect towns that have it all: Hip, smart and packed with adventure." - Outside (August 2005)
• "Best running town" and home of the "Best urban running trail: the Leif Erickson Trail" – Runner's World (May 2003)
• No. 1 urban destination for summer travel in the United States, according to Travel + Leisure readers; plus No. 1 for general safety; No. 1 for ease of getting around; No. 3 for fall travel. – Travel + Leisure magazine (April 2003)

Facts and Trivia

• Portland was almost named Boston. City founders Asa Lovejoy, who hailed from Boston, Mass., and Francis Pettygrove, of Portland, Maine, were each determined to name the new city after their respective hometowns. Unable to settle the argument, they decided to flip a coin, now known as the "Portland Penny" and on display at the Oregon Historical Society. Pettygrove won on two out of three tosses.
• Many of the characters in The Simpsons are named after streets and locations in Portland, Simpsons' creator Matt Groening's hometown.
• The Portland Police Department hired the nation's first policewoman, Lola Baldwin, in 1908.
• Portland is home to Voodoo Doughnut, a 24-hour doughnut shop that offers — in addition to a crazy selection of doughnuts — legal wedding ceremonies.
• The Portland Saturday Market is the largest continuously operating open-air crafts market in the United States.
• Powell's City of Books, occupying an entire city block, is the world's largest independent bookstore.
• The Port of Portland is the largest wheat export port in the United States.
• The Portland Rose Festival's Junior Parade is the largest children's parade in America.
• Portlandia is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the United States (the Statue of Liberty is the first).
• Portland's International Rose Test Garden is the oldest in the nation.
• More Asian elephants (27 to date) have been born in Portland than in any other North American city.
• Portland is the beer capital of the world, with 32 breweries inside the city's limits — that's more than any other city in the world. If you count the entire metro area, the number jumps to 38.
• Portland is home to the world's smallest dedicated park: Mill Ends Park, a mere 24 inches (61 centimeters) across. There are 37,000 acres (14,973 hectares) of parks in the Portland metro area.
• Portland's nicknames include "Rose City," "City of Bridges," "Beervana," and "Rip City."
• The Oregon Brewers Festival, held on Portland's waterfront, is the largest gathering of independent brewers in North America.
• The city of Portland was officially incorporated on February 8, 1851.
• There is no sales tax in Oregon.
• Oregon is one of just two states in which residents — and visitors — enjoy the luxury of always having their gas pumped for them. It's the law!