Author: Tanya March
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Fun Fact #54: Which Slabtown grade school student became the invisible Dodger?
Read more: Fun Fact #54: Which Slabtown grade school student became the invisible Dodger?Answer: Charles Lenard Neal Charles Lenard Neal, a former student at Guild’s Lake School and member of the Guild’s Lake Fire Brigade, became the spidery speedster and batting star of the 1959 World Series. This fun fact was inspired by the Portland Diamond Project’s event celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Negro League. While Charley […]
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Nob Hill Fun Fact #53 What bands might you have seen…1970s in Portland’s Nob Hill?
Read more: Nob Hill Fun Fact #53 What bands might you have seen…1970s in Portland’s Nob Hill?Answer: Just to name a few: Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, The Dils, The Wipers, Rubbers, Smegma, Stiphnoyds, Inputs, Cleavers… Numerous punk rock/new wave bands played at The Earth Tavern at 632 NW 21st. The Earth offered all ages shows and some of the live recordings have made it in onto Youtube. This fun fact […]
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Nob Hill Fun Fact #52 Why do some curbs in Portland have metal curb guards?
Read more: Nob Hill Fun Fact #52 Why do some curbs in Portland have metal curb guards?Question: Why do some curbs in Portland have metal curb guards? There are existing historic street pavements in Northwest Portland that were installed prior to the annexation of East Portland, Albina & St. Johns. Many sidewalk curbs in the Alphabet Historic District had a simple “N” the mason’s kit was not missing the letter […]
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Fun Fact #51 What is the name of the first park in St. Johns?
Read more: Fun Fact #51 What is the name of the first park in St. Johns?Answer the first park in St. Johns was Cedar Park. You still will get full points if you answered Pier Park which is the oldest remaining park in St. Johns and the first public park in St. Johns. After the timeline there is additional information on Cedar Park. St. Johns Parks Timeline 2015 “White Oaks” […]
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Fun Fact #50 Nonsensical Concrete Pads
Read more: Fun Fact #50 Nonsensical Concrete PadsWere the Concrete Pads on NW 28th and Thurman the Footings of the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition Water Towers? The Final Verdict. (updated 8/18/2025 text rewritten for clarity as the pads are no longer) History is a puzzle, and sometimes the most interesting discoveries are made when a piece doesn’t fit. For years, […]
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Fun Fact #49 What famous Trail Blazer’s ponytail was cut off at a barbershop on NW 23rd?
Read more: Fun Fact #49 What famous Trail Blazer’s ponytail was cut off at a barbershop on NW 23rd?Answer: William Theodore Walton III, No. 32 Portland Trail Blazer Bill Walton was known for his genius on the basketball court; he stood out with his Hippie hairstyle, vegetarianism and radical politics. Four decades before Ariana Grande’s ponytail was making headlines, this basketball player’s spectacular ponytail was in the news. NBA’s hippie superstar and 1974 first […]
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Fun Fact #48 Which poet has a pocket park honoring her in Nob Hill?
Read more: Fun Fact #48 Which poet has a pocket park honoring her in Nob Hill?Answer: Hazel Hall “The Hazel Hall Poetry Garden” Remembering Hazel Hall: The Portland Poet Immortalized in a Nob Hill Park Hazel Hall began her journey as a writer at just nine years old. Tragically, only three years later in 1898, she contracted scarlet fever. While scarlet fever is easily treatable today with modern antibiotics, no […]
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Fun Fact #47 Where was the first use of an Infant Incubator in Portland?
Read more: Fun Fact #47 Where was the first use of an Infant Incubator in Portland?Hint: It was not in a hospital. The Bizarre History of Portland’s 1905 Infant Incubator Carnival Have you ever walked through Portland and wondered what incredible, forgotten histories took place right beneath your feet? As a PhD historian leading premium walking tours in the Pacific Northwest, my mission is to unearth the gripping, strange, and […]
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Fun Fact #46 Did a cat once own a building on NW 23rd?
Read more: Fun Fact #46 Did a cat once own a building on NW 23rd?Did a cat once own a building on NW 23rd? Answer: No. Nina Churchman Larowe did not leave her building to a cat that is an urban myth. She bequeathed the theater building on NW 23rd valued at $25,000 to the Oregon Human Society in 1922. She was childless. Because her husband died young; Larowe […]
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Fun Fact #45 Tin Plate Laws: “Is there any hardship on anybody to merely acknowledge what he owns?”
Read more: Fun Fact #45 Tin Plate Laws: “Is there any hardship on anybody to merely acknowledge what he owns?”Portland’s History of Building Placards: From Vice to Earthquake Safety On October 3, 2018, the Portland City Council voted on a proposed placard ordinance. The plan was to require owners of unreinforced brick buildings (URMs) to post public warnings stating their structures are unsafe in an earthquake. This proposal has sparked intense debate, but it […]
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Fun Fact #44 What is the wooden walkway and grate right at the beginning of the Lower Macleay Trail?
Read more: Fun Fact #44 What is the wooden walkway and grate right at the beginning of the Lower Macleay Trail?What is the wooden walkway and grate right at the beginning of the Lower Macleay Trail? Answer: Trash Filters (As of 2025 the system has been rebuilt with metal bars.) Balch Creek/Kulla Kulla Once Connected to the Willamette River The urban stream known as Balch Creek goes underground in Lower Macleay Park, just before the […]
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Fun Fact #43 Public Character & Artist
Read more: Fun Fact #43 Public Character & ArtistWhat street in NW Portland should be renamed for John Callahan? There is no wrong answer to the Fun Fact #43 question, provided you listed an existing street in Northwest Portland. We propose that the block-long stretch of Westover Road between NW 23rd Place and NW 23rd Avenue be renamed “Callahan Street.” This change would […]
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Fun Fact #42 Rush Me out of the Ballpark
Read more: Fun Fact #42 Rush Me out of the BallparkHow did they put out fires under the stands at Vaughn Street Ball Park? AnsWER: Sand Sand was used to put out fires at the old ballpark—sand shoveled on to a fire covers the burning materials and extinguishes the fire by cutting off the supply of oxygen. With the news that the Portland Diamond Project […]
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Fun Fact #41 How did three US Olympic hopefuls rank on the largest-ever man-made night ski-jumping structure?
Read more: Fun Fact #41 How did three US Olympic hopefuls rank on the largest-ever man-made night ski-jumping structure?Update: 6-19-2025 Added Links, Sources, Name of Location How did three US Olympic hopefuls rank on the largest-ever man-made night ski-jumping structure? (in Portland, Oregon, in 1951) The 1951 Rose Festival was building up to the 1952 Oslo Winter Olympic Games by hosting an international ski jump competition: The Golden Rose. During the summer of […]
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Fun Fact #40 The Proposal of Groundhog Day as a Public Holiday, and Other Oddities.
Read more: Fun Fact #40 The Proposal of Groundhog Day as a Public Holiday, and Other Oddities.The Forgotten Fight for Groundhog Day: Oregon’s Strangest Prohibition-Era History The beloved groundhog—the world’s most famous furry weather prophet—is not indigenous to Oregon. In fact, on February 2, 1897, The Oregonian bluntly informed its readers that they would simply have “to rely on weather bureaus and almanacs for information about the coming spring.” However, a […]
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Fun Fact #39. Fun Fact: What sort of Escort Service did Mike Ryerson start in 1975?
Read more: Fun Fact #39. Fun Fact: What sort of Escort Service did Mike Ryerson start in 1975?The Portland Police Were Displeased with Mike Ryerson’s Escort Service. Answer: A Crime Stoppers Buddy System – Anti-Rape Escort Service This “escort service” was organized by Mike Ryerson when he was a display manager for Montgomery Ward department store. Seven NW Portland women had reported being raped, and the serial rapist was attacking nurses and […]
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Fun Fact #38 Was the largest ice rink in US really in Portland’s Slabtown?
Read more: Fun Fact #38 Was the largest ice rink in US really in Portland’s Slabtown?Discover the lost history of Slabtown’s Ice Hippodrome, once the world’s largest artificial rink and home to the first US team on the Stanley Cup.
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Fun Fact #37 Is that bat light really historic or is it from the Spirit Store?
Read more: Fun Fact #37 Is that bat light really historic or is it from the Spirit Store?The original cast for these bat lights is from the Mackenzie House. The Nathan Lob House (726 NW 22nd) is also has one that quite possibly is a replica. The original lamp at the Mackenzie House was a interior gas lamp. In Scottish folklore the bat is associated with witches, dark magic, sorcery and necromancy. The […]
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Fun Fact #36 Did they really move houses with horses and oxen?
Read more: Fun Fact #36 Did they really move houses with horses and oxen?How many houses have been moved in the Alphabet Historic District? The Morris Marks House was cut in half and moved in two parts across PSU this past weekend—that got us thinking. In early Portland moving houses was once more common—horses and oxen would pull houses set on rolling logs. Which structures […]
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Fun Fact #35 How many blocks in Slabtown were slated for Urban Renewal/Residential Demolition in 1952?
Read more: Fun Fact #35 How many blocks in Slabtown were slated for Urban Renewal/Residential Demolition in 1952?The 1950s Vaughn Street Redevelopment Area’s project area included 44 blocks (35 whole blocks and 9 partial blocks details shown on map to the right). They spanned NW 18th to 27th and NW Savier to York. Three areas in the city of Portland were surveyed for urban renewal, and according to a Housing Authority of […]
