Portland is the largest city in the state of Oregon, and county seat of Multnomah County. It straddles the Willamette River south of its confluence with the Columbia River. Portland is the second largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Only Seattle is larger.
Most of Portland lies in Multnomah County, though scattered adjacent parcels fall within Washington and Clackamas counties. Including all suburbs and metro areas, the population is estimated at around 2 million people.
Portland is known as "The City of Roses" or "Rose City", nicknames originated during the 1905 Lewis and Clark centennial exposition. Its climate is ideal for growing roses, and the city has many rose gardens. Other nicknames for the city of Portland include "Stumptown", "Bridgetown" (due to its numerous bridges), "Puddletown" (due to the weather), and "River City" (due to its proximity to the Willamette and Columbia Rivers). Modern colloquialisms for the city include "PDX" (after the city's airport code), "P-town", and "Rip City" (from an exclamation by Portland Trail Blazers radio announcer Bill Schonely when the team scored by an exceptionally good play).
As of the census of 2000, there are 529,121 people residing in the city, organized into 223,737 households and 118,356 families. The population density is 1,521/km2 (3,939.2/mi2). There are 237,307 housing units at an average density of 682.1/km2 (1,766.7/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 77.91% White, 6.64% African American, 1.06% Native American, 6.33% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 4.15% from two or more races. 6.81% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Out of 223,737 households, 24.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% are non-families. 34.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.3 and the average family size is 3.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,146, and the median income for a family is $50,271. Males have a reported median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 reported for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Oregon has a 9% income tax which tends to suppress accurate reporting. Figures delineating the income levels based on race are not available at this time.
Portland is becoming increasingly diverse. Recent trends have more young people moving into the city as older, more established white families with children move to the suburbs. Although the majority of the city's population is still white, 60% of people moving to Oregon are non-white.
However, though the population of the city is increasing, the total population of children is diminishing, which has put pressure on the public school system to close schools. A recent New York Times story noted that Portland is now educating fewer children than it did in 1925, and the city will have to close the equivalent of three to four elementary schools each year for the next decade.
Portland's public school system has remained rather segregated. Three of its high schools (Cleveland, Lincoln and Wilson) are over 80% white, while three other high schools (Jefferson, Madison,and Benson Polytechnic ) are all at least over 70% non-white. The remaining four schools are more ethnically balanced.
The imbalance can be explained through Portland's demographic history. Prior to the Second World War, Portland had very few residents of non-European ethnicity. In 1940, Portland's African-American population was approximately 2,000 and largely consisted of railroad employees and their families. During the war-time Liberty Ship construction boom, the need for workers drew many blacks to the city.
Due to institutionalized racism in the real-estate community, this new influx of blacks was guided to specific neighborhoods, such as the Albina district and Vanport. The post-war destruction of Vanport eliminated the only integrated neighborhood, and the ghettoization of blacks into the NE quadrant of the city continued.
Portland started as a spot known as "The Clearing", which was on the banks of the Willamette River about halfway between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton saw great commercial potential for this land; his only problem was that he lacked the funds required to file a land claim. So, he struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy: for 25, Overton would share his claim to the 640-acre (2.6 km2) site.
Bored with clearing trees and building roads, Overton sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove. When it came time to name their new town, Pettygrove and Lovejoy each wanted to name it after his home town. They settled the argument with a coin toss. Pettygrove won, and named it after Portland, Maine; had Lovejoy won, he intended to name it after Boston, Massachusetts.
Portland existed in the shadow of Oregon City, the territorial capital 12 miles (19 km) upstream on the falls of the Willamette. However, Portland was located at the Willamette's head of navigation, giving it a key advantage over its older peer. It also triumphed over early rivals like Milwaukie and Sellwood. By 1850 Portland had approximately 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, called the Weekly Oregonian.
Portland was the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when direct railroad access between the deepwater harbor in Seattle and points east by way of Stampede Pass were built. Goods could then be transported from the northwest coast to inland cities without needing to navigate the dangerous bar at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Like other west coast ports, Portland was home to frequent acts of shanghaiing. Tunnels under city blocks stretching for blocks from the Willamette River, although built for legitimate business reasons, became known as shanghai tunnels because of their purported use in such kidnappings. Portland was unique because trap doors (known as "deadfalls") were used to drop the unsuspecting victims into the tunnels where they were held in cells until the ship was ready to set sail. From 1850 to 1941, Portland was known as the "Unheavenly City" due to this shocking practice. A variety of tours of these tunnels are now given.
Source:
Portland-USA.com
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