Downtown Portland

Welcome to my hometown Portland, OR. When I was growing up I always wanted to leave and explore life outside of Portland. As I got older and had the opportunity to travel I realized that while its fun to travel and see the world, there is no place like home.


My first panorama photo! I am so happy it turned out better than I expected. It was such a beautiful day in August (2007), a wonderful day to enjoy the fall before the wet winter arrives.


Ross Island Bridge

The Ross Island Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It carries U.S. Route 26 (Mount Hood Highway) across the river between southwest and southeast Portland. Although it looks like a deck arch bridge, it is the only cantilever deck truss bridge in Oregon, 535 ft long.

KOIN Center & Wells Fargo Center

In the photo above, the skyscraper you see with the bluish top is the KOIN Center. Also locally known as the Mechanical Pencil for obvious reasons. It's the #3 tallest building in Portland standing 509 feet tall, 35 floors built in 1984. The KOIN Center includes offices on floors 4-19 for CBS Radio and studios of KUPL & KLTH with 48 luxury apartments on the upper 11 floors. The building does not have a 13th floor!

The white taller building you see to KOIN Center's left is the Wells Fargo Center, the tallest skyscraper in Portland, Oregon standing 546 feet with 40 floors of office space. It's Oregon's tallest building since 1972. Due to public outcry over the tower's height and the potential development of newer and taller buildings, Portland created a height restrictions on all new and future developments after the tower's opening.

The Portland Saturday Market is the largest outdoor arts and crafts market in continuous operation in the United States. It is held every Saturday and Sunday from March to December under the west end of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon. In addition, the market has a Festival of the Last Minute, which runs daily until Christmas Eve. The market has over 400 vendors who generate about $8 million in gross sales annually and attract over 750,000 visitors to the historic Old Town district of Portland each year.

If you're ever in Portland from March to December, visit downtown and stop by the Saturday Market for unique gifts.
http://www.saturdaymarket.org

MAX
Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. It is operated by TriMet and currently has three lines: Blue, Red and Yellow, with Green under construction and Orange planned. MAX is the fourth most ridden light rail system in the United States and the most ridden stand-alone light rail system in the country.

Skidmore Fountain
Ahh yes, the Skidmore Fountain, it's more than just a foundatin to take a cool bath in on a hot summer day!
The Skidmore Fountain is a historic fountain in Portland, Oregon. It was dedicated September 22, 1888 in memory of Stephen G. Skidmore and partly financed by his will. Designed and built by sculptor Olin Warner for $18,000, all of which was donated. It is styled after fountains Skidmore viewed on his visit to the 1878 Paris Exposition and intended for "horses, men and dogs" to drink from. Henry Weinhard offered to pump beer into the fountain at the dedication. The MAX Light Rail line runs past it and has a nearby stop named after the fountain.


Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is 36.59 acres comprised of 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland. The name of the park was changed in 1984 to honor former Oregon Governor Tom McCall. It is currently home to the Waterfront Blues Festival, Oregon Brewers Festival, and Bite of Oregon. The park is also the host of many Rose Festival events.



In these photos you will see the The Oregon Convention Center, the twin green glass building with the signature twin spires. The Oregon Convention Center is a convention center in Portland, Oregon. It is located on the east side of the Willamette River in the Lloyd District neighborhood. The Oregon Convention Center is best known for the twin spire towers which provide light into the building's interior. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. It is also the largest convention center in the State of Oregon, with the largest ballroom in the City of Portland at 35,000 SF.


Here you can sorta see the Steel Bridge.
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It carries railroad and pedestrian traffic on the lower deck, and Highway 1W (former Route 99W), MAX Light Rail and a vintage streetcar on the upper deck, making it one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical lift bridge in North America.