The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Portland, Oregon, United States.
19th century 1845 – Portland, named after Portland, Maine, was founded by two real-estate men from New England. 1850 – The Oregonian newspaper founded. 1851 Portland incorporated. Hugh O'Bryant becomes mayor. City's first general merchandise store opens, becoming Olds & King in 1878. Portland Public Schools is founded. 1855 – Lone Fir Cemetery established. 1857 – Aaron Meier's mercantile store, predecessor of Meier & Frank, in business. 1860 – Portland Gas Light Company in operation. 1864 – Library Association of Portland founded. 1866 – Oregon Herald newspaper begins publication. 1868 – Population: 6,717. 1869 – Lincoln High School opened as Portland High School. 1871 – City Park established. 1872 – Portland Street Railway horsecars begin operating. 1873 - Fire. 1875 – Good Samaritan Hospital founded. 1876 – University of Oregon established. 1880 Willamette University College of Medicine relocates to Portland. Portland Chamber of Commerce founded. 1881 – Unsightly beggar ordinance effected. 1882 – River View Cemetery established. 1883 Northern Pacific Railway begins operating. Population: 20,000 (approx). 1885 – Web-Foot Cook Book published. 1886 – Oregon Staats Zeitung newspaper begins publication. 1887 – First Morrison Bridge, the first bridge across the Willamette River in Portland (and predecessor of the current Morrison Bridge), opens. 1888 – Portland Zoo established. 1890 Portland Hotel in business. Population: 46,385. 1891 The first Madison Street Bridge (predecessor of the Hawthorne Bridge) opens Albina and East Portland become part of city. Multnomah Athletic Club founded
1892 – Portland Art Museum established. 1893 Portland annexes Sellwood Nov. 1: A streetcar plunges into the Willamette River from the Madison Street Bridge, the worst streetcar accident in the city's history 1895 – City Hall built. 1896 – Union Station opens. 1898 – Oregon Historical Society established. 1900 Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society begins publication.Oregon Historical Quarterly Population: 90,426.
20th century
1900s–1940s 1901 – Columbia University and Hill Military Academy established. 1903 – Olmsted Portland park plan created. 1905 – June 1: Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition opens. 1906 – Trinity Episcopal Cathedral consecrated. 1907 Portland Rose Festival begins. Portland Mill Strike of 1907 begins in March by lumber mill workers organized by the Industrial Workers of the World. The strike inspired unionization campaigns of bakers and sewer workers in Portland but had been called off by the end of April without winning its demands. 1908 – Reed College founded.
1909 Audubon Society founded Museum Art School founded. Washington Park created. 1910 Hawthorne Bridge opens. Population: 207,214. 1912 – Steel Bridge and Globe Theatre open. 1913 – Broadway Bridge and Central Library building open. 1915 – Linnton and St. Johns become part of city. 1916 City Club of Portland established. Flatiron Building constructed. 1917 Interstate Bridge opens. Rose Test Garden established. Portland Public Auditorium opens. 1918- Portland is quarantined for a month, because of the Spanish Flu epidemic. 1919 – Louis' Oyster Bar in business. 1920 – Population: 258,288. 1920s – Pacific International Livestock Exposition facility built. 1921 Blue Mouse Theatre in business. St. Johns Water Tower built, at 7020 N. Oswego Ave. 1922 Hoyt Arboretum founded. KGW radio begins broadcasting. 1924 Portland Junior Symphony established. Founding of The Grotto (National Sanctuary of our Sorrowful Mother) 1925 – Sellwood Bridge opens. 1926 Second (and current) Burnside Bridge opens. Ross Island Bridge opens. Hollywood Theatre and Temple Beth Israel built. 1927 – Terminal Sales Building constructed. 1928 – Portland Publix Theater and Geller's Theatre open. 1930 – Swan Island Airport built. 1932 – Portland Art Museum building opens. 1936 - Portland International Airport opened. 1938 – Lewis & Clark College active. 1944 – Oregon Museum of Science and Industry established. 1945 – Urban League branch and Portland Symphonic Choir founded. 1946 – Vanport Extension Center (college) and Portland Children's Museum established. 1948 May 30: Flood destroys the community of Vanport. Forest Park established.
1950s–1990s 1950 – Last city streetcar lines (of the pre-MAX and Portland Streetcar era) cease operation. 1951 – The Portland Hotel closes and is torn down. 1952 – KPTV, a UHF station initially, inaugurates television broadcasting in Portland (and Oregon). 1953 – KOIN-TV, city's first VHF television station, begins broadcasting. 1955 – Portland State College established. 1956 Rose City Transit established, taking over mass transit service in Portland. KGW begins its television broadcasting. National College of Naturopathic Medicine established. 1957 – Metropolitan Service District (regional governmental agency) established. 1958 Portland Development Commission formed. Last interurban streetcar lines (until MAX), to Oregon City and Bellrose, cease operating. Portland Zoo Railway begins operating. Third (and current) Morrison Bridge opens. 1959 Oregon Centennial Exposition and International Trade Fair held. Sister city relationship established with Sapporo, Japan. Portland Zoo (now Oregon Zoo) moves to its current site in Washington Park. 1960 Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Lloyd Center open. Population: 372,676; metro 881,961. 1961 – Portland Community College established. 1962 March 15: KATU television begins broadcasting. April 14: Packy is born at the Portland Zoo, the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. October 12: Windstorm, widely known as the Columbus Day Storm. Cinema 21 in business. 1964 – Christmas flood of 1964 1965 – Pittock Mansion (house museum) opens. 1967 – Portland Japanese Garden opens. 1968 – KJIB and KBOO radio begin broadcasting. 1969 – Tri-Met (Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon) established, replacing Rose City Transit. 1970 People's Food Co-op founded. Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA founded. 1971 Powell's Books in business. Northwest Film Study Center established. World Forestry Center opens. 1972 April 15: 1972 Portland–Vancouver tornado. First National Bank Tower built. Food Front Cooperative Grocery organized. 1973 January 2: Neil Goldschmidt becomes mayor. November 15: Fremont Bridge opens. 1974 Oregon Health & Science University established. Willamette Week newspaper begins publication. 1975 – Blue Sky Gallery founded. 1977 – Portland Transit Mall and Adventist Medical Center building open. 1978 – Waterfront Park opens. 1979 – Save the Refugees Fund (now Mercy Corps) headquartered in city. 1980 – Frank Ivancie becomes mayor. 1982 Oregon Food Bank active. The Portland Building is constructed. Wieden & Kennedy in business. 1983 U.S. Bancorp Tower built. Sister city relationship established with Guadalajara, Mexico. 1984 Pioneer Courthouse Square opens. KOIN Center built. KKCW radio begins broadcasting. 1985 – Bud Clark becomes mayor. 1986 – MAX Light Rail begins operating. 1987 Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial opens. Sister city relationships established with Ashkelon, Israel; and Ulsan, South Korea. 1988 Oregon Brewers Festival and Waterfront Blues Festival begin. Sister city relationships established with Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Khabarovsk, USSR; and Suzhou, China. 1989 – Oregon Ballet Theatre formed. 1990 Bicycle Transportation Alliance organized. Population: city 437,319; metro 1,523,741. 1991 – Sister city relationship established with Mutare, Zimbabwe. 1992 – First Portland Farmers Market 1993 – Vera Katz becomes mayor. 1994 – Reading Frenzy and Higgins Restaurant in business. 1995 – Rose Garden Arena (now Moda Center) opens. 1996 January–February: Willamette Valley Flood of 1996. City website online (approximate date). Earl Blumenauer becomes Oregon's 3rd congressional district representative. Portland Institute for Contemporary Art founded. 1998 The 60-year-old Rodgers variety store chain closes its last three stores. Street Roots begins publication. 1999 Stumptown Coffee in business. Urban Greenspaces Institute founded. 2000 Portland Classical Chinese Garden opens. The Portland Mercury newspaper begins publication. Red and Black Cafe founded. Hip Mama relocates from Oakland, California to Portland. Dignity Village founded
21st century 2001 Portland Streetcar begins operating. Portland International Airport terminal built. Portland Tribune newspaper begins publication. Eastbank Esplanade dedicated. Portland Indymedia active (approximate date). 2002 Flag of Portland, Oregon design adopted. Willamette Industries taken over by Weyerhaeuser. Pear homeless youth nonprofit founded. 2003 Time-Based Art Festival begins. Voodoo Doughnut and Park Kitchen in business. Sister city relationship established with Bologna, Italy. 2004 – Rose Garden arena bankruptcy. 2005 Tom Potter becomes mayor. Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Paintings established. 2006 Portland Aerial Tram begins operating. The Meier & Frank chain is succeeded by Macy's. 2007 WatershedPDX founded. Ace Hotel in business. 2008 December: Snowstorm brings Portland's heaviest snowfall in 40 years. Bunk Sandwiches in business. 2009 Sam Adams becomes mayor. July: 2009 Pacific Northwest heat wave. BrainSilo founded. 2010 – Population: city 583,776; metro 2,226,009. 2011 October 6: Occupy Portland begins. Street Books begins operating. Fictional Portlandia (TV series) begins national broadcast. 2012 Suzanne Bonamici becomes Oregon's 1st congressional district representative. Portland befriends the city of Utrecht, Netherlands. September 22: Oregon Rail Heritage Center museum opens. 2013 – Charlie Hales becomes mayor. 2015 September 12: Tilikum Crossing, Portland's first new Willamette River bridge since 1973, opens to the public. December: Rain storm. 2016 February 29: New Sellwood Bridge opens, replacing 1925 bridge. July 19: Biketown bicycle-sharing program is established. 2017 – Ted Wheeler becomes mayor. 2020 Beginning in March: During the week on March 16, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States across Oregon, 3 counties in Portland area issued directives for residents to shelter-in-place from March 23 until at least April 7. May 29: George Floyd protests in Portland begins. September–December: Red House eviction defense 2021 - June–July: 2021 Western North America heat wave 2025 January 1: The government of Portland is changed from a city commission form to a mayor–council type, and the Portland City Council is expanded to 12 members from five. January 1: Keith Wilson becomes mayor.
See also History of Portland, Oregon List of mayors of Portland, Oregon National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Oregon
References
Bibliography
Published in the 19th century
Published in the 20th century
1900s–1960s
v.2, v.3 Sayer, James J. "Our City Councils. II. Portland—the Commission Plan." National Municipal Review 13 (1924): 502-7.
Maddux, Percy. City on the Willamette: The Story of Portland, Oregon. Portland: Binford & Mort, 1952.
1959 ed. 1962 ed.
1970s–1990s Paul G. Meriam. "Urban Elite in the Far West, Portland, Oregon, 1870–1890." Arizona and the West 18 (1976): 41-52. Gould, Charles F. "Portland Italians, 1880–1920." Oregon Historical Quarterly 77 (1976): 239-60.
Paul G. Meriam. "The ‘Other Portland’: A Statistical Note on the Foreign-born, 1860–1910." Oregon Historical Quarterly 80 (1979): 258-68. Toll, William. The Making of an Ethnic Middle Class: Portland Jewry over Four Generations. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1982.