Portland, the Gentleman of Cities
Written: Aug 19 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Safety; coziness; culture; cuisine; natural setting
Cons: Rainy season; wish it was closer to the ocean.
The Bottom Line: Portland does not mind being in the shadow of Seattle or Vancouver; in fact, it enjoys its low-key reputation. This is the city for comfortable, civilized, nature-minded living.
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| hayzen's Full Review: Portland |
Portland could have been called Boston. Apparently, the two pioneers, one from Boston, the other one from Portland, Maine, tossed a coin as to what the new settlements was to be called. Portland won, and now, 150-some years later, when we don’t use the state denomination after Portland, it usually assumed it is the one in the West Coast… And so different from the Portland in the East.
I still remember my reaction when a job assignment took me to Portland.
‘Portland?’ I exclaimed. ‘Why not Seattle, or Vancouver, or San Francisco? Just my luck…’ I sulked. I still remember how this city greeted me upon my evening arrival in January with a cold, inhospitable drizzle. I remember taking a walk downtown on my first night (it was a Sunday), and having the inexorable sensation of being in the last frontier, the true West.
Since then, for the several months that I spent in Portland, almost every day I discovered new great things that make this city America’s best-kept urban secret. By the end of my stay, I learned to appreciate its almost shy and completely unassuming attitude, its friendly character, cozy layout, majestic setting and liberal spirit.
Most new comers to Portland can’t help comparing it to Seattle, and Portlanders are very proud to point out how much better then reckon their city is. I can’t really do a point-by-point comparison of my own, as I have only visited Seattle a few times and never lived there, but I can definitely see why many favour Portland in this almost inevitable competition. It is an ideal city for quiet, yet urban living, and perfect for young families who are hip and cultured and who also want safety and comfort without breaking a bank. My apartment on the 20th floor in the downtown part of the city with a view of Mt. Hood and Willamette (and a garage) was only slightly over $1000 a month and would be at least twice that much in a place like San Francisco.
There is no doubt, Seattle does have a scenic setting that is probably unrivalled in the lower 48 states. But as a city of such cultural (and musical) significance, it has much to live up to, and a very high image to uphold. Portland is devoid of such a problem, and is therefore a much more relaxing, welcoming place, to which you can come and be surprised every day, without having to prove or refute any stereotypes. There is literally not a place in Portland where I could ever feel uneasy, underdressed or unwelcome. From Morton’s Steakhouse on Clay Street to a deli round the corner, I felt equally at home. Speaking of food, I was lucky enough to experience Portland’s diverse and rich choice cuisine. Some of my favourite restaurants are Murata with the best sushi I’ve ever had, Tuscany Grill with delicious Italian offering, Brasserie Monmartre with the magician entertainment, Demetri’s Greek café, and Ashoka Palace for that curry fix.
Portland has a surprisingly lively nightlife. I have to give my thumbs up to the best jazz club I have ever visited anywhere in the world – Jazz de Opus, especially on Thursday nights, when all of the delicious martinis are only $3. Tasteful, talented bands entertain live every night there, and the place also offers good snacks. The only drawback I can recall was when a friend of mine from England showed her perfectly legitimate UK driver licence to be served and was rejected by the waitress and almost accused of having a fake. Pity really, especially since the spirit of liberalism is sensed everywhere in Portland. On the subject of drinking though, the city does have its share of undercover agents of government’s alcohol control units (or whatever it is called). When there was a beer festival along the Willamette embankment, they literally ruined the party mood by sneaking, like rats, through the crowd in large quantities. In other words, just as in so many places in the US, authorities still do not trust people to enjoy themselves. For fairness sake, Portland bars stop serving alcohol at 2 (as the law says in most states), even though places like San Francisco or Seattle interpret this law such that everybody is kicked out at 1.45. Sounds like a small deal, but it’s an important 15 minutes on a weekend night!
Other bars and clubs worth visiting in Portland are Ohm, with an eclectic dance scene; 1201 with its stylish lounge; Bar XV, the place-to-be for young and hip on a Friday night; Dante’s with its fetish night and other theme nights; Panorama, an ex-gay now all-mixed club with too many dance floors and corridors; and many, many others, mostly concentrated around West Burnside Avenue.
There is plenty to do for a more mature, less barhopping crowd as well. There are theatres and concert halls, museums and galleries, gardens and parks that offer an excellent mix of cultural pastime. My favourite was the Japanese garden, apparently very authentic and certainly enchanting in it tranquility and meaning behind each and every stone, tree, waterfall or pond. As you drive in or around Japanese garden and Washington Park, every so often you see magnificent vistas of this small city. Well, actually, it is not that small, despite a relatively compact downtown. Hard to believe, but it is only slightly smaller than Seattle by population, despite the lack of obligatory megalopolis attributes, such as huge skyscrapers, congestion and crime. Not that these things completely lack in Portland, but they are certainly less present there than in most other mid- to large cities. In fact, Portland is consistently ranked as one of America’s safest cities. And as for skyscrapers, well… there are a couple, but one prominent high-rise, namely the Bancorp Tower, is set a little aside from the rest, and walking past it, you can always feel a gust of wind that this giant glass-and-steel knife cuts out of the sky.
It is the outdoors where Portland excels as a metropolitan centre. Mount Hood is the symbol of the city, of not the entire state of Oregon. Almost a perfect cone, much like Mt. Fuji in Japan, it perches over to the east, visible from most of the city in clear weather. It’s not a particularly tall mountain, only 12000-something feet, but being a part of the Cascades, its sole prominence and dominance of the landscape in combination with year-round snowcap creates the beauty unseen in ranges such as the Rockies or the Sierra. Only over an hour’s drive from the city, Mt. Hood offers great hiking, climbing and the only year-round skiing in the US (as far as I know).
Many, of course, remember that there was another snow-capped peak near Portland, namely Mt. St. Helens in nearby Washington, which exploded with tremendous force in 1980. Eruption site can be seen after a lengthy drive into Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, and with a permit, it is even possible to hike all the way up to the rim of still smoky crater of the volcano. With it comes one of Portland’s natural dangers. Although earthquakes are possible here, it is the volcanoes that cause most concern. It is not the question of ‘if’ but rather ‘when’ will Mt Hood follow Mt St. Helens’ suite, and one can only hope that it will not happen in our lifetimes or the eruption will not be of any major scale.
Meanwhile, Portlanders and visitors can enjoy Mount Hood and the surrounding area. A mere 30-minute drive from downtown along the Columbia River and its famous scenic gorge will take you to an area with one of the highest concentration of waterfalls per square miles. No fewer than 5 spectacular falls are situated on a short, 15-minute drive along the Historical Columbia River Highway, the tallest and most popular of them all being Multnomah Falls.
An hour’s drive west of Portland offers a different kind of nature getaway. A pleasant journey on route 26 will take you to Cannon Beach, one of most beautiful Pacific Coast spots. Strolling along the windswept beach with huge haystack rocks off in the coast, hiking along the piney shores, or simply sitting on a giant washed out log on an small deserted beach watching the sun lower itself into re reddening bath of clouds at the horizon are fine and serene ways to spend a Sunday evening, and wind down before the new week’s beginning. Equally scenic route 6 takes you to Tillamook, another quaint coastal village, and yet another stretch of Oregon’s unspoilt coastline. I have visited coastlines in the Pacific Northwest, from Olympic NP in Washington to Pacific Rim NP on Vancouver Island, and I have to say that Oregon’s shores within an hour from Portland are as beautiful as any of them.
Pastoral and flat Sauvie Island, half an hour from central Portland, on the junction of Columbia and Willamette, is quite famous among the people ‘in the know’ as the nearest clothing-optional beach to Portland. It is even possible to swim in the Columbia River on a hot summer day, unlike the frigid waters of the Pacific. Just make sure you purchase a day-parking permit in the convenience store immediately as you enter the Island. Hot summer days are aplenty in Portland, despite its ‘rainy’ reputation. While it does rain a lot, it is mostly in winter, early spring and late autumn. The summer that I spent in the city was beautiful.
It did rain, however, on my last day in Portland. My work assignment was over, and it was time to leave. I finally admitted to myself how much I got to love this city, and how reluctant I was to go. As the taxi drove me across Morrison Bridge to PDX airport, I looked through the fogged-up window at the hazy reflections of the downtown skyline in the Willamette and thought, I’d be back for sure.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
hayzen
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Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
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