Portland is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is a major port in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in Northwestern Oregon. As of 2020, Portland had a population of 652,503, making it the 25th-most populated city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest after Seattle. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area (MSA), making it the 25th most populous in the United States. Its combined statistical area (CSA) ranks 19th-largest with a population of around 3.2 million. Approximately 47% of Oregon’s population resides within the Portland metropolitan area.
Named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the timber industry was a major force in the city’s early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering. After the city’s economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II, its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its growing progressive political values, earning it a reputation as a bastion of counterculture.
The city operates with a commission-based government guided by a mayor and four commissioners as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the “City of Roses” for over a century.
S.W. 5th and Morrison Street, 1912A red electric pulls the liberty bell past the Circle Theater, 1915Broadway in the late 1910sEast 15th and Burnside, 1919First traffic signal in Portland SW 3rd Ave and Morrison St., 1915Grand parade on Broadway, 1910Jackson Tower, 1918Looking east on Sandy at 37th street, 1915Motorcycle club at 4th and Taylor, 1912Northeast Weidler Street during ice storm in 1917Ramapo Hotel at 1337 S.W. Washington street, 1918S.E. Morrison & Water, 1915S.W. 3rd avenue, looking North from Morrison, 1910S.W. Sixth and Yamhill, 1915S.W. Washington and Broadway, 1914Sixth and Taylor streets, 1910Sixth street, looking North, 1912Skidmore fountain, 1910sThe 23rd Avenue steetcar, 1910sThe corner of 23rd and Burnside in 1913The Heilig theatre, 1912The Quimby House on 4th and Couch, 1910sThird Street on the Road of a Thousand Wonders in Portland, 1910sTrain station, 1913Union Oil Fire on June 26, 1911Wagons and businesses along Front Avenue, 1910West Burnside and SW Washington at 19th, 1910Women at fountain, 1910sPortland Fire Dept., Engine 3 crew pose inside station next to the telegraph alarm system, 1912.Portland Fire Dept., Engine 3 at 12th & Washington fire, 1910Portland Fire Dept., Engine 3, ca. 1917Portland Fire Dept., Station 3 personnel in front of station, 1914Horse drawn water tanker, 1912.Street Drinking Fountains in Portland, 1917One of the First Benson Bubblers, Portland, 1917City Garage on 10th Street, Portland, 1915Construction crew on Hawthorne (Madison St.) Bridge, 1910Willamette River Conduit Crossing with barges and pipe assembly in 1910Fireboat George Williams, 1910Driver George Welch bringing Engine No. 2 out of the station in Portland. 1918The White Eagle saloon, one of many in Portland that had reputed ties to illegal activities such as gambling rackets and prostitution. 1910View of Front Ave, 1910Four firefighters from Truck 5 posing outside Station 8 at 45 NE Russell Street, circa 1910.Fire Chief Jay Stevens (second from left) and Station 23 crew in quarters, 1914. The building is located at 1917 SE 7th Avenue.Officers and crew pose around Fire Station 4 watch desk, 1913.Williams Ave., 1910SW 6th Avenue looking north near SW Morrison Street, 1910.Portland Hotel, 1910
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