Free Walking Tour Portland Oregon

23/05/2024

Portland, Oregon has three free public rose gardens. The oldest is at Peninsula park, the biggest is the International Rose Test Garden in Washington park, and the third is four separate gardens in Ladd's addition. I took some pictures of the roses in Ladds addition

23/05/2024

I visited the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon today. The garden isn't in full bloom yet, but there are plenty of beautiful roses to see and smell. There are over 10,000 roses there representing 600 varieties of roses. Admission is free and from the MAX Station you can catch the free bus that takes you to the gardens and other attractions in the park.

22/05/2024

I went to Peninsula Park's Rose garden today, it's older than the International Rose Test Garden in Washington park, but a bit smaller. There are over 5,000 roses here representing dozens of varieties rather than the 600 represented in Washington park.

21/05/2024

21/05/2024

Views of downtown Portland, Oregon from the grounds of Pittock mansion. Parking at the mansion is $2.00 an hour or $8.00 for all day. Touring the grounds and hiking the nearby trails is free. The self guided tour of the mansion and gate house is $15.50 for adults, $13.50 for seniors and active duty military, $11.50 for youths, and children under 6 years of age are free.

21/05/2024

Pittock mansion parlor

21/05/2024

I took a tour of Pittock Mansion today. In the parlor there were cards laid out on the table, I asked the volunteer there if she knew anything about the game that was depicted, she didn't. So I did a Google image search, turns out it's a game called "Flinch", it was popular in the early part of the 20th century.

21/05/2024

I took a tour of Pittock mansion today, on a table in the parlor they had some cards laid out - I asked the person at the front door if she knew anything about the card game that was portrayed... she didn't. After a bit of research I found out it was a game called "flinch"

11/05/2024

I got new business cards. Scan the QR code to sign up for a tour.

08/05/2024

I spent some time around downtown Milwaukie, Oregon today. The city hasn't done much in terms of preserving historic buildings or landmarks, but the cities founder, Lot Whitcomb, did a lot to spur on the Portland trio - consisting of Daniel Lownsdale, Stephen Coffin, and William Chapman. Whitcomb's Milwaukie beat Portland in issuing a newspaper and he was the first to introduce a steamship on the Willamette River. The early growth of Portland was often a matter of trying to keep up with other towns competing as the major port in the area.

Here is a link to my free tour of downtown Portland where I talk more about how the city became what it is today while visiting some of the interesting architecture, significant sights, and historic landmarks:
https://www.guruwalk.com/walks/54762-portland-oregon-downtown-walking-tour?fbclid=IwAR1NrXWPAwYSMqp2ZnLwYLVxM4a_P_P8K814O75jKhp53h_5TYDWgOo2JyA

08/05/2024

I spent some time around downtown Milwaukie, Oregon today. The city hasn't done much in terms of preserving historic buildings or landmarks, but the cities founder, Lot Whitcomb, did a lot to spur on the Portland trio - consisting of Daniel Lownsdale, Stephen Coffin, and William Chapman. Whitcomb's Milwaukie beat Portland in issuing a newspaper and he was the first to introduce a steamship on the Willamette River. The early growth of Portland was often a matter of trying to keep up with other towns competing as the major port in the area.

Here is a link to my free tour of downtown Portland where I talk more about how the city became what it is today while visiting some of the interesting architecture, significant sights, and historic landmarks:
https://www.guruwalk.com/walks/54762-portland-oregon-downtown-walking-tour?fbclid=IwAR1NrXWPAwYSMqp2ZnLwYLVxM4a_P_P8K814O75jKhp53h_5TYDWgOo2JyA

Portland, Oregon Downtown walking tour . Guided by experts with locals. Detailed information and booking here!

04/05/2024

Back in the early days of public transport between Oregon City and Portland, Oregon - horse drawn trolleys took people from place to place. They stopped at all the townships and neighborhoods between the bigger cities. What is believed to be the last remaining, intact trolley is on display outside the Milwaukie Museum. I took a few pictures on my visit there today.

Here is a link for my walking tour of Portland, Oregon:

https://www.guruwalk.com/walks/54762-portland-oregon-downtown-walking-tour?fbclid=IwAR1NrXWPAwYSMqp2ZnLwYLVxM4a_P_P8K814O75jKhp53h_5TYDWgOo2JyA

28/04/2024

I went to the Pearson airfield museum today, they have a full size replica of the Curtis pusher airplane that Silas Christopherson built. On my tour I point out the site where he flew his airplane from, during the 1912 Rose Festival

Link to book my tour:

https://www.guruwalk.com/walks/54762-portland-oregon-downtown-walking-tour?fbclid=IwAR1NrXWPAwYSMqp2ZnLwYLVxM4a_P_P8K814O75jKhp53h_5TYDWgOo2JyA

26/04/2024

Do you know which Portland bridge has a connection with the San Francisco Golden gate bridge?

21/04/2024

Portland, Oregon Downtown walking tour . Guided by experts with locals. Detailed information and booking here!

18/04/2024

This sculpture in marble by Count Alexander von Svoboda was commissioned by Georgia Pacific and installed in 1970 at 900 SW 5th Avenue near SW Taylor St. It's titled The Quest but is often referred to as three groins in a fountain, the quest for the breast, or Saturday night at the Y.

While it's not included in the tour it is an interesting display of public art.

17/04/2024

I'm getting ready to launch a second walking tour. This one will focus on the game Pokémon Go and will cover the story behind some of the Poke stops in the game. The tour will take about an hour and cover about a mile of flat ground. The cost of the tour will also be free, but if you enjoyed the tour, I do appreciate tips.

16/04/2024

Originally known as the Northwest National Bank Building, the American Bank building sits at 621 SW Morrison. While only 15 stories high, from the time it was built in 1913 until 1927, when the Public Service Building was completed, it was the tallest Building in Portland, Oregon. Both the American Bank building and the Public service building were designed by A.E. Doyle

16/04/2024

Let me know in the comments if you would like to take my walking tour of Portland, Oregon. Tours start at 10AM meet me on the 6th street side of Pioneer Courthouse Square near the directional sign.

12/04/2024

The New Market building is a stop on the tour, when it opened it was said to be one of the finest theaters on the west coast. It is an example of some of the cast iron architecture that is part of the tour

11/04/2024

Built in 1892 the Dekum building is one of the stops on the tour. It carved sandstone on the lower floors and brick with terra cotta designs on the upper floors

09/04/2024

While the United States National Bank Building is not on the tour, I am considering offering a tour that does include this historic building. It was designed by A. E. Doyle who was responsible for many of the buildings around the city. It's located on the north west corner of SW sixth and SW Harvey Milk street.

08/04/2024

Free walking tours are available Monday - Friday this week. Meet at 10AM on the 6th street side of Pioneer Courthouse Square by the directional sign. Please let me know in the comments if you plan to attend.

07/04/2024

I'm considering changing the time for my Free Walking Tours. Let me know in the comments if an earlier or later time would work better for you than the current 10:00 AM starting time.

07/04/2024

I almost missed this one, Today is the 40th anniversary of the opening of Pioneer Courthouse Square. Let's all raise a toast to Portland's Livingroom.

05/04/2024

The Next Free Walking Tour is Monday April 8th. Tours start at 10AM. Tours are available M-F. Meet at Pioneer Courthouse Square on the 6th street side by the directional sign. Tour lasts about 2.5 hours and covers about 2 miles of mostly flat and fully accessible ground. Let me know in the comments if you plan to attend.

30/03/2024

Portland has a history of supporting women, it wasn't always supportive of all women but it did have some first in support of women. We had one of the nation's first police women. We also had one of the first female mayors.

28/03/2024

Learn the story about how the man in the "Expose Yourself to Art" poster ended up as the Mayor.
Kvinneakt - Bronze Sculpture by Seattle based artist Norman J. Taylor installed in 1973.

Find out why an ornate arched gazebo, adorns the entrance of a fondue restaurant.
Gazebo by former congress motel

Discover the story behind the blocks around the base of a hotel, that was once the tallest in the city.
Etched granite blocks with some of Oregon's highest peaks

View the second largest hammered copper statue in the USA and find out why it never became as known as her taller sister - the Statue of Liberty.
Raymond Kaskey's - Portlandia Statue

Get the whole story behind why some people think, a certain park was reserved for men only.
Lownsdale Square

Feel the history while standing at the site of the world's first transmission of electric power.
Chapman Square

Learn why Daniel Lownsdale's and William Chapman's partner, who was one of the Portland Trio, didn't get a park named after him.
Stephen Coffin plaque

Stop and have your picture taken at the world smallest park. If you're lucky you might catch a glimpse of a Leprechaun - There is also an opportunity to see/use a famous Portland Loo (They are stocked and cleaned daily)

See the building that survived the great flood of 1894 and became the oldest commercial building in the city.

See some of the some of the city's Cast-Iron Architecture, and find out what city in the USA has more of this style - that was popular from the late 1800's until early 1900's.

Discover the fountain that could have been filled with beer for its public unveiling - It's also considered the city's oldest piece of artwork.
Skidmore Fountain

Discover a local doughnut shop that became a national sensation.
The original Voodoo Doo Doughnuts.

See where a daredevil pilot took off from the roof of a famous hotel in a Curtiss Pusher biplane during the June 11, 1912, Rose Festival

Learn the story behind how a Chinese immigrants became the owner of the city's oldest restaurant know as being the largest buyer of, Kahlúa coffee liqueur of any independent restaurant in the nation.
Huber's Restaurant

See where some of the city's annual costumed bar crawls such as Brides of March, Plunderathon, and Santacon visit every year.
The Rialto

Find out how a city block went from a schoolhouse to a prominent hotel, to a parking lot, the cities living room.
Pioneer Courthouse Square

See some of the city's historic buildings, see some of the artwork, walk on the same basalt bricks that were part of the streets over a century ago, learn some of the history.

Bonus stories:
Learn the history behind how Disney's - Donald Duck became an authorized mascot of the University of Oregon
Learn where some of the Simpson characters got their names.
Hear about the lumber baron behind the four barrel drinking fountains.
Learn about the Portland's Weather machine.
Discover the cities many nicknames and the stories behind them... ever wonder why people call Portland - Rip City

Bonus stories may be included on the tour as time permits - feel free to ask about any that were not covered at the end of the tour.

26/03/2024

This is carved sandstone rather that the elaborate and decorative cast iron seen on other Portland buildings.
It is on the tour.

26/03/2024

The only place with more Iron architecture in the nation is the Soho district of NYC. A few examples are included on the tour and I have included a few more here.