If there is any single person we can attribute the concept of Forest Park to, it is most certainly the landscape architect, John C. Olmstead. In 1903, Olmstead envisioned the forested hills of West Portland as an urban park—a natural recreational resource for local residents. Planned in conjunction with the upcoming Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905, Olmstead recommended that the “romantic wooded hillsides” be preserved as parkland. To the naysayers he argued, “It is true th

Play ball! During the 1970s, umpires called out the famous phrase to launch Portland Mavericks baseball games at Civic Stadium (Providence Park) in one of the most colorful chapters in the history of Portland baseball.

If you’re like many Oregonians, summertime and Marionberries go hand-in-hand. From early July through August, Marionberries are harvested and begin appearing in the produce section of grocery stores, pies and a plethora of other food and drink items. But, did you know that this scrumptious berry did not even exist until the 1940s? Had you walked into a Portland diner in the 1920s and asked for a slice of Marionberry pie, you would have been met with puzzled looks.

If asked what the official gemstone of their state is, there’s a good chance that many residents of Oregon and Washington might respond with a blank stare. While the official state mammals are more commonly known—the Beaver for Oregon and the Olympic Marmot for Washington—the official state gemstone is a bit more obscure. Despite the obscurity of this knowledge, each of the state’s gemstones has a tale to tell in the natural history of their respective state.

Although actor Bill Bixby certainly played many different types of characters throughout his nearly 32-year television acting career, the essential Bill Bixby television persona is that of an everyman who makes the fantastical seem plausible.

The mansion on the hill: this is how many local residents think of the stately French Renaissance-style mansion with the red-tiled roof perched high above the city in the West Hills. One of Portland’s beloved landmarks, the Pittock Mansion has been treasured for generations, and is symbolic of the ambition, glamor and spirit of those intrepid entrepreneurs who shaped the city of Portland at the turn of the 20th century. But just who were the Pittocks, and how did they amass t