The Runker's ODs
Oregon Discoveries

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I made the big move south of the border to Portland, Oregon, USA in September 1998. On this page I will pass along the things I learn about the "Rose City".

Portland | Media | Resources and Services | Attractions | Entertainment | Food and Drink | Shopping | Community | Recreation | Environs | Portland Portrayed in Popular Culture | Famous (and Infamous) Portland People and Companies | Sister City

Constantly Under Construction

Suggestions? E-mail me: thiruki@ipns.com

Portland

General Information

• Portland, Oregon -- An Overview
• Portland Oregon Visitors Association
• Portland City Search
• PDX Guide
  "Where to go for where to go in Portland"
• About.com: Portland OR
• Alt Portland Guide
  Best cheap eating, drinking and buying in River City
• Oregon Live
• Completely Portland
• Portland City Information
• CascadeLink: Portland
• Portland Kicks Butt A special issue of Monk Magazine
• Discover Oregon Ring A ring of websites about Oregon

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Media

• KATU Channel 2
  www.katu.com
• KOIN-TV Channel 6 News
  www.koin.com
• KGW Channel 8
  www.kgw.com
• K??? Channel 12
  www.oregons12.com
• Oregon Public Broadcasting
  Oregon's National Public Radio affiliate
  www.opb.org
• The Oregonian
  www.oregonlive.com/news/
  Portland's mainstream daily newspaper.
• Willamette Week
  www.wweek.com
  Named for the river that flows through Portland, this free alternative weekly newpaper is the local equivalent of Toronto's NOW Magazine, Vancouver's Georgia Strait and Victoria's Monday Magazine.
• The Asian Reporter International & Local Newsweekly
  www.asianreporter.com
  Weekly Asian community paper with international and local news. (In English)
• computer bits "Oregon's Premier Computer Information Source"
  www.computerbits.com

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Resources and Services

• Multnomah County Central Library 801 SW 10th Avenue, Portland OR
  www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/
  Rainy day refuge offers free internet browsing and a varied program of activities. And books, too. The children's library is named in honour of popular author Beverly Cleary.
• Tri-Met "How we get there matters"
  (503) 238-5811 / www.tri-met.org
  The Metro Portland area's public transit.
• Portland Parks and Recreation
  Portland has a great system of green spaces.

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Attractions

• Portland Art Museum 1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland OR 97205
  www.pam.org/pam/
• Oregon History Center
  www.ohs.org
• Portland Center for the Performing Arts
  www.pcpa.com
• Multnomah County Library
  www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/
  A beautiful building, inside and out. Free Internet access. The children's library bears the name of popular author Beverly Cleary.
• Portland Rose Festival
  www2.rosefestival.org/rose/
• The Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston, Portland OR 97201
  (503) 223-9233 / jgso@transport.com / www.japanesegarden.com
  The Japanese ambassador to America proclaimed this one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan. Open year-round, with different looks in spring, summer, fall and winter, proving Japan isn't the only country in the world with four seasons (as many Japanese believe).
• Oregon Zoo 4001 SW Canyon Road, Portland OR
  (503) 226-7627 / >www.zooregon.org
• Oregon Museum of Science and Industry 1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland OR 97214-3354
  (503) 797-6674 / www.osmi.edu
• South Park Blocks
  Walk along an oasis of treed shelter that stretches for several city blocks north of Portland State University.
• Tom McCall Waterfront Park
  A strip of green alongside the Willamette River. The walkway is popular with joggers and rollerbladers.
• Japanese American Historical Plaza
  A simple commemorative monument to the 1988 Redress Settlement along the Waterfront Park near Burnside Street
• Weekend Market Ankeny Square, Old Town, Portland OR
  Crafts and clothing of the type one ordinarily sees at this kind of market are sold out of about 50 booths. The biggest reason to go here is the food plaza -- not for the usual hot dogs and burgers, but the inexpensive dishes of African, Croatian, Tibetan and other international cuisines.
• The Bridges of Portland, Oregon
  River city + road traffic + river traffic = bridges. There are many spans across the Willamette, some of which are drawbridges. Each of them contends with tall watergoing vessels in a different way.

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Entertainment

• Cinema 21 616 NW 21st Avenue, Portland OR
  (503) 223-4515 / www.cinema21.com
  In the middle of the trendy Nob Hill district in northwest Portland, features offbeat foreign and domestic films, new and vintage, all for a reasonable price ($6). Springloaded seat backs!
• Northwest Film Center Guild Theatre, SW 9th Avenue and Taylor, Portland OR 97205
  (503) 221-1156 / www.nwfilm.org
  International films, retrospectives and rare works, much like the lineup at Toronto's Cinematheque Ontario. Admission discount with Art Museum membership. The Center's faculty also offers courses in filmmaking.
• Mission Theatre & Pub 1624 NW Glisan, Portland OR
  (503) 223-4031 / www.mcmenamins.com
  Sip a pint of microbrew and munch on a burger while catching a flick. The pub-theatre -- what a concept!
• Clinton Street Theatre 2522 SE Clinton Street (at SE 26th Avenue)
  (503) 238-8899 / www.clintonsttheater.com
  Cult film central: Eraserhead, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the like. Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday at midnight!
• Portland Spirit River Cruise Dining 110 SE Caruthers, Portland OR 97214
  (503) 224-3900 / www.portlandspirit.com
  Cruise and dine all day long, all year round.
• The Rose Garden 1 Center Court, Portland OR
  (503) 321-3211 / www.rosequarter.com
• PGE Park Portland's baseball stadium
• Portland Trail Blazers Portland's NBA team
• Portland Fire Women's NBA basketball
• Portland Winter Hawks WHL Junior A ice hockey
• Portland Beavers San Diego Padres Packfic Coast League Triple A baseball affiliate
• Portland Timbers Portland's professional soccer team

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Food and Drink

• Portland Dining Online
• Nob Hill District
  In northwest Portland, 21st and 23rd Streets feature many trendy restaurants to fit all budgets. There are interesting curio stores between the eateries, making this a walking neighbourhood (good thing, because finding parking is a challenge!).
• Rock Bottom Brewery and Restaurant 210 SW Morrison Street, Portland OR
  (503) 796-2739 / www.rockbottom.com
  "You've hit rock bottom!" A popular spot for tourists and locals alike. Watch people from the sidewalk, or TV sports indoors. Personalized mug service for regulars.
• Virginia Cafe 725 SW Park Avenue, Portland OR
  (503) 227-0033
  Cosy bar with diverse clientele.
• Kell's Irish Pub 112 SW Second Ave., Portland OR 97204 (503) 227-4057
  A bit of Ireland in Portland's Old Town. There are microbrews and Guinness on tap, and behind the bar is a wall o' whiskey. Live Celtic music plays seven days a week, with an occasional impromptu bagpipe recital.
• Portland Brewing Company 2730 NW 31st Avenue, Portland OR 97210
  (503) 226-7623 / www.portlandbrew.com/visitors.html
  Hosts of Portland Oktoberfest. Line includes Amber Ale, Honey Beer, Black Porter, Weizen, and seasonals like Winter Ale. Brewery tours on Saturdays 1300 h-1600 h.
• Bridgeport Brewing Company Ale House 3632 SE Hawthorne Street, Portland OR
  (503) 233-6540 / www2.bridgeportbrew.com/bridgeport/
• The Cheerful Tortoise Portland OR
  By Portland State University, but not your average college pub
• St. John's Pub 8203 N Ivanhoe, Portland OR
  (503) 283-8520 / www.mcmenamins.com
  Live traditional and contemporary acoustic music from around the world.
• Nor'Wester Beer Company Lake Oswego OR
  (503) 699-9524 / www.norwester.com
  Local microbrewery with an excellent line of beers including the subtle but effective Raspberry Weizen and their latest creation, Oregon Pale Ale.
• Sokol Blosser Winery
  www.sokolblosser.com/sb/
• Anzen Importers
  www.citysearch.com/pdx/anzen1

  736 NE Martin Luther King Boulevard (opposite the Convention Center) Portland OR 97232 (503) 233-5111

  4021 SW 117th Avenue Beaverton OR 97005 (503) 627-0913

  A family-owned Oregon company since 1905. Japanese food, snacks, cookware, dishes, books, magazines, greeting cards, origami paper and almost anything else you can think of, right down to rice cups for the butsudan no hottoke-sama! Two locations in the Portland area.
• Uwajimaya 10500 SW Beaverton-Hillside Highway, Beaverton OR
  (503) 643-4512 / www.uwajimaya.com
  "The Quality Asian Food and Gift Market Since 1928" An in-store restaurant, travel agency and a branch of Kinokuniya Bookstores

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Shopping

• Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside, Portland OR
  (503) 228-4651 / www.powells.com
  Portland's legendary literary landmark, selling books new and used. They have a large selection of manga (Japanese comic books).
• Northwest Locals Only
  www.localsonline.com
  You may find the CDs, records and tapes of the next Nirvana, Soundgarden or Everclear here.
• Everyday Music 1313 W Burnside, Portland OR
  (503) 274-0961 / www.everydaymusic.com
  They pay cash for any and all used CDs, cassettes and records. High volume -- the "Recent Additions" section is arranged by day of arrival and takes up one whole wall. Chances are you will find the disc you want for a reasonable price.
• Finnegan's Toys and Gifts 922 SW Yamhill, Portland OR (503) 221-0306
  A good place to look if you need to buy a gift for a little person. They also have a Puri-kura machine!
• Clackamas Town Center
  www.clackamastowncenter.com/
  One year I played hockey after hours at The Ice Chalet, the ice rink in this suburban shopping mall. Every time I have been here during the day, the parking lot has been full. Americans love to shop, it seems!

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Community

• Japanese American Organizations in Oregon
• Japanese American Citizens League - Portland Chapter
  www.pdxjacl.org
• Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center 117 NW 2nd Avenue, Portland OR
  (503) 224-1458
  Sharing the history and culture of Japanese Americans in Oregon
• Japan-America Society of Oregon 221 NW 2nd Street, Portland OR
  (503) 228-9411 / www.us-japan.org/oregon/
• The International School 025 SW Sherman Street, Portland OR 97201
  (503) 226-2496
  Total immersion education for children in Japanese, Chinese or Spanish
• Japanese Language Center 10700 SW Beaverton-Hillside Highway, Beaverton OR
  (503) 643-1397
• The Japanese Ancestral Society of Portland 1550 SE Oak Grove, Beaverton OR
  (503) 654-9437
• Consulate General of Japan - Portland 27th Floor, Wells Fargo Center, 1300 SW 5th Avenue, Portland OR
  (503) 221-1811
• Portland Taiko
  Asian American drumming group

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Recreation

• Valley Ice Arena
  Hockey leagues for children and adults, as well as free skating.
• Portland River Company
  www.citysearch.com/pdx/portlandriverco
  Sea kayaking on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers
• Mazamas
  Non-profit climbing, hiking, and backcountry skiing club
• Mount Hood Meadows
  www.skihood.com
  Downhill and cross-country skiing just an hour's drive away from Portland.
• Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument [ LIVE VOLCANOCAM]
  www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm
  This amazing geological site is just an hour north of Portland. Stop in at the Weyerhauser Forest Learning Center on your way up.
• Mount Bachelor
  www.mtbachelor.com
  High Cascade powder near Bend, in Central Oregon. Voted one of Snow Country Magazine's Top 5 Snowboarding Resorts in North America
• Teacup Lake Sno-Park
  www.teleport.com/~tcup
  20 K of groomed touring and skating trails over flats and hills.

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Environs

• Beaches Seals and sea lions frollick
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium Newport OR
    www.aquarium.org
  • Marine Discovery Tours Newport OR
    www.marinediscovery.com
  • Tillamook County Creamery Association
    Visitor center has an observation level of the production floor for Tillamook cheese, one of Oregon's signature products. Enjoy a Tillamook ice cream in their cafe.
  • Camp 15 Restaurant Elsie OR, at Milepost 18 on Highway 26 (22 miles from Seaside)
    (503) 755-1818 / 1-800-874-1810
    Logger style meals on the way to or from the beach. Free logging museum. Oregon Coast Lighthouse Co.
    Great fish and chips, something like "Fish McNuggets": tasty chunks of cod, salmon and tuna deep fried in a garlic-lemon batter.
  • Sea Lion Cave near Florence OR
• Mountains
  • Mount Hood
    Mount Hood Inn 87450 Gov't Camp Loop, Government Camp OR
    www.mthoodinn.com
    Home of the Mt. Hood Brewing Company and Brew Pub -- great food and beer halfway down the mountain.
    Timberline Lodge and Ski Area
    www.timberlinelodge.com
    Where exterior shots for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining were filmed
  • Mount St. Helens
    The volcano that blowed up reeeal good!
• Columbia River Gorge Windsurfer heaven
  • Columbia River Gorge
  • Multnomah Falls
  • Hood River OR
  • Big Horse Brew Pub [REVIEW]
    115 State Avenue, Hood River, OR 97031, Phone: 541-386-4411

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Portland Portrayed in Popular Culture

• Hello Larry (1970s) TV sitcom about a divorced guy who comes to the Pacific Northwest to host a radio talk show. It flopped, but was before its time -- witness the success of Frasier!
• The Shining (1980) Jack Nicholson wields an axe around the Timberline Lodge
• Body of Evidence (1993) Madonna and ... a candle!
• The Temp (1993) The career of a business executive (Timothy Hutton) is saved by the unconventional methods of an office temp (Lara Flynn Boyle).
• My Own Private Idaho Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix as young hustlers
• Drugstore Cowboy Matt Dillon leads a motley crew of druggies
• Slamnation (1998) A documentary about slams, spoken word performance competitions
• Movies and TV programs filmed in Portland, Oregon, USA from the Internet Movie Database
• Crash and Burn (1998) by Sheryl Crow

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Famous (and Infamous) Portland People and Companies

• Beverly Cleary Author of ever-popular children's books like Ramona the Pest grew up in Portland.
• Linus Pauling Double Nobel Prize winner (Chemistry 1954, Peace 1962)
• Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) Abstract painter.
• Dick Fosbury Olympic athlete revolutionized high jumping with his "Fosbury Flop". Fosbury today
• Doc Severinsen Johnny Carson's trumpet-playing band leader on The Tonight Show
• Bill Johnson Men's Downhill Olympic gold medallist at Sarajevo learned to ski at Mt. Hood.
  Remembering Bill Johnson
• Damon Stoudamire "Mighty Mouse" was the first draft pick and franchise player of the NBA Toronto Raptors until being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1997.
• Ursula K. LeGuin Author of popular science fiction and fantasy books set in the magical world of Earthsea.
• The Kingsmen The band that recorded 1963 hit "Louie, Louie"
• Dr. Demento Free-form radio host attended Reed College in Portland, where he collected many of the old records he plays on his show today.
• Sally Struthers Played the daughter on the 1970s TV series All In The Family
• James Beard Food authority and author
• Margaux Hemingway Model and actor
• Everclear Alterna-rock band formed in Portland in 1991
• Matt Groening Creator of the "Life is Hell" cartoon and "The Simpsons" animated TV series
• John Callahan Outrageous quadraplegic cartoonist (biography | interview)
• Gus Van Sandt director of Drugstore Cowboy with Matt Dillon and My Own Private Idaho with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix (Portland was the setting for these two films), To Die For with Nicole Kidman, Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon and Robin Williams, and 1998's Psycho: The Remake
• Bob Packwood Ex-senator and sexual harassment king of Capitol Hill.
• Tonya Harding Outlawed figure skater and the former Mrs. Gilooly (watch your knees!).
  Tonya Today | Tonya Jokes
• Monica Lewinsky Alumna of Lewis and Clark College, where she was caught forging a professor's letter of reference for a friend.
  Portland companies you may have heard of
• Nike
• Columbia Sportswear
• Jantzen, Inc. Swimwear and Clothing
• Stash Tea
• Tazo Tea

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Sisters

• Sapporo-shi Portland's sister city in Japan
• Toyama-ken Oregon's sister prefecture in Japan

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