There are several well-known and commonly used nicknames of Portland, Oregon.
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Bridgetown
Portland is known as Bridgetown due to numerous bridges crossing the Willamette and Columbia rivers.[1] In total, there are eleven bridges over the Willamette, including eight in the central area, and three over the Columbia.
City of Roses
The most common nickname for Portland is The City of Roses[2][3] or Rose City.[4][1] The first known reference to Portland as "The City of Roses" was made by visitors to an 1888 Episcopal Church convention, the nickname growing in popularity after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition where Mayor Harry Lane suggested that the city needed a "festival of roses."[2] The first Portland Rose Festival was held two years later and remains the city's major annual festival a century later. There are many other cities and towns known as Rose City or The City of Roses.
The nickname is often attributed to Leo Samuel,[5] who founded the Oregon Life Insurance Company in 1906 (know today as Standard Insurance Company). Samuel, who moved to Portland in 1871,[6] grew roses outside his home. He placed a pair of shears outside his garden so people could snip a rose from his garden to take for themselves. This encouraged other people and business to plant their own roses outside their homes and business. Today, roses are still planted outside the Standard Insurance Company's home office building in downtown Portland.
Niketown
Nike's headquarters in the Portland suburb of Beaverton are the source of this nickname. One of the area's largest employers, Nike has a notable presence in the Metro area in terms of employment, connected industries, exposure for the city, and community philanthropy. Niketown is actually a store in downtown Portland, and several outlet stores have opened through the Metro area. Niketown is also a nickname for the Beaverton Nike campus, a complex including a man-made lake, full sports facility, and several sculptures of sponsored athletes.[citation needed]
Little Beirut
Staffers of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush used to refer to Portland as Little Beirut because of the protesters he encountered during his visits.[7]
P-town
Portland is sometimes affectionately called P-town by locals.[8]
PDX
The city of Portland is nicknamed PDX synecdochically after the International Air Transport Association airport code for the Portland International Airport which is within the city limits. For example, the domain name for Portland State University is pdx.edu.
Rip City
The nickname Rip City is usually used in the context of the city's NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers.[9] The term was coined by the team's legendary play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Blazers' first season.[10] In a recurring segment on Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Schonely explained that a three-point play by Blazers' player Jim Barnett caused the net on the basket to rip. Schonely exclaimed "Rip City!" at the sight, and a member of his broadcasting team urged him to run with that as a rallying cry for the young team.[citation needed]
Stumptown
Stumptown was coined in a period of phenomenal growth in Portland after 1847. The city was growing so rapidly that the stumps of trees cut down to make way for roads were left until manpower could be spared to remove them. In some areas, the stumps remained for so long that locals painted them white to make them more visible, and used them to cross the street without sinking into the mud.[11] In more modern terms, Stumptown is humorously used as Portland's nickname for the city's lack of tall skyscrapers, the highest being only 546 feet.[12] There are other U.S. cities nicknamed Stumptown as well.
See also
References
- ^ a b "The Water". Portland State University. http://www.pdx.edu/water.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-07.
- ^ a b City Flower. City of Portland Auditor's Office - City Recorder Division.
- ^ http://www.taglineguru.com/monikerlist.html
- ^ Queen City
- ^ StanCorp Financial History Page
- ^ Answers.com History of StanCorp Financial Group
- ^ McCall, William (August 19, 2003). "'Little Beirut' nickname has stuck". The Oregonian.
- ^ "P-Town". Urban Dictionary. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=P-Town. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
- ^ Jaynes, Dwight (5 June 2007). "The day Rip City ruled the Rose City". The Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=118099107884146100. Retrieved on 26 November 2008.
- ^ "Bill Schonely Returns to Blazers". NBA. http://www.nba.com/blazers/news/Bill_Schonely_Returns_to_Blaze-84012-41.html. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
- ^ "From Robin's Nest to Stumptown". End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/road2oregon/sa33pdx.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-07.
- ^ "Wells Fargo Center data". www.emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/?id=101329. Retrieved on 2008-11-25.