Portland

Riverport in northwest Oregon, USA; on the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River, 173 km/108 mi from the Pacific; population (2000) 529,100. It is the state's largest city, and a processing and distribution centre for timber, aluminium, grain, and livestock. Industries include food-processing, fishing, and the manufacture of wool, paper, lumber machinery, and electronic equipment.

History Portland was settled in 1829 on an early American Indian site, and laid out in 1844. The city grew rapidly as a commercial and regional centre because of its position on the Oregon Trail.

Portland was named after Portland, Maine. The Hudson's Bay Company, set up in Vancouver in 1824 under John McLoughlin, was important in opening up the area. Growth was stimulated by the development of Alaska, the Gold Rush, the arrival of the North Pacific Railroad, and trade with Japan and the Pacific basin.

Location Situated in the fertile Willamette Valley, Portland lies astride the river and has extensive harbourage. The centre is located on the west bank, and its districts are connected by several fine bridges. Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, and other peaks of the Cascade Range are visible from the city.

Features Portland's older buildings are preserved in the Yamhill and Skidmore Historic Districts, notably Old Church (1882), City Hall (1895), and the Pittock Mansion. The John McLoughlin House (1846) is in the McLoughlin Historic District, with Victorian houses and churches. The history of the Oregon Trail is displayed in the End of the Trail Interpretative Center. Institutions of higher education include Lewis and Clerk College (1867), the University of Portland (1901), Reed College (1909), and Portland State University (1946). The Rose Festival, held annually in mid-June, is based in Washington Park Rose Garden and Japanese Garden. Forest Park ((5,000 acres/2,025 hectares) is the largest urban wilderness in the USA.

Portland's Chinatown was once the second-largest Chinese community in the USA, but racist attacks in the 1880s, fuelled by unemployment, resulted in its decline.

Portland

Port and largest city in Maine, USA, on Casco Bay, southeast of Sebago Lake, 240 km/150 mi northeast of Boston; population (2000) 64,200. It is a commercial and distribution centre, shipping oil and lumber. Industries include fishing, publishing, and the manufacture of pulp and clay products, and shoes. Ferry links serve the Casco Bay resort islands, and Nova Scotia.

Portland was first settled 1632, when it was known by the American Indian name of Machigonne. Shipbuilding and the coming of the Canada Trunk Line railroad stimulated its early growth. It was the capital of Maine from 1820 to 1831.

Little is left of the original architecture as the settlement was virtually destroyed by American Indians and the French in the late-19th century, by the British in 1775, and by a great fire in 1866.

Museums include the home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, born in Portland in 1807, the Sweat Memorial Art Museum, Portland Society of Natural History, and Maine Historical Society. Westbrook College, the University of Southern Maine, and the Portland School of Art are all 19th-century foundations.

In 1994 the port handled 12,923,090 t of cargo (45th largest tonnage in the USA).