Portland Oregon Attractions
Covered Bridges
Cedar Crossing Bridge
When Multnomah County officials wanted a covered bridge, they
built one to replace an earlier uncovered bridge. It is not
supported by a wooden truss, but by a laminated stringer.
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Gardens
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
SE 28 Avenue, (one block north of Woodstock),
Portland, OR 97202, phone: 503-771-8386,
email:
pkweb@ci.portland.or.us
Located on seven acres in a beautiful woodland setting, the pathways of Crystal
Springs Rhododendron Garden wind invitingly through more than 2,500
rhododendrons, azaleas, and companion plants. Beginning in early spring and
continuing into summer, they provide a magnificent display of color, giving
visitors the opportunity to view many varieties rarely seen in the Pacific
Northwest. During the fall, many companion trees add dramatic coloring.
Spring-fed Crystal Springs Lake surrounds much of the garden, attracting many
species of birds and waterfowl.
Elk Rock Gardens
The Bishop's Close, 11800 SW Military Lane at State Route 43, Portland, OR
97219-8436 (503)636-5613 or (800)452-2562.
Hoyt
Arboretum
Bureau of Parks, 4000 SW Fairview Blvd., Portland, OR 97221 (503)823-3655.
Explore a world of trees at Hoyt
Arboretum. Perched on the ridge overlooking the Oregon Zoo, this 175-acre
arboretum displays more than 900 species of trees and shrubs, including one of
the nation's largest conifer collections. Ten miles of gentle trails wind
through this living exhibit past hundreds of plants from distant places.
International Rose Test Garden
400 SW Kingston, Portland, OR 97201 (503)796-5193 or (503)248-4302.
Japanese Garden
Washington Park, 611 SW Kingston and Washington Park
Drive, Portland, OR 97201 (503)223-4070.
Portland's internationally recognized Japanese Garden beckons visitors from home
and abroad to enter its unique confines. Little more than thirty years old, it
represents a melding of Japanese traditional garden forms with American hurry.
When measured against its inspirational precursors in Japan, many of which are
hundreds of years old, the Portland garden has come to a maturity with blinding
swiftness. What the visitor sees today is the result of the efforts by hundreds
of dedicated persons who have given years of time and care and foresight to
match the vision that a group of Portland civic and political leaders had as the
1950s turned into the 1960s.
Ladd's Circle, Squares and Rose Gardens
SE Ladd & Harrison, Portland, OR 97214.
Leach Botanical Garden
6704 SE 122nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97236 (503)761-9503.
Leach Botanical Garden is sometimes referred to as Portland's
best kept secret. It is an undiscovered treasure with an
incredibly unique geologic past and quaint personal history.
For such a small parcel of property it boasts much diversity.
Since the land was placed in the stewardship of the City of
Portland and Leach Garden Friends, the property has expanded
from the original 4.5 acres to a little over 15 acres. The
landscape of the Garden represents not only the desires and
interests of John and Lilla Leach, but also has a dynamic
representation of expansion, diversity, and ongoing change
being nurtured by loving volunteers. The plant collections are
mostly what you find in any natural area in the Pacific
Northwest - mainly a coniferous forest with varying
underbrush. However, there are also many different types of
shrubs and trees native to Asia and the southeastern part of
the United States, a special interest of Lilla's. Visitors are
encouraged to wander their way through more than a mile of
trails in this exquisite collection of botanical plants and
trees.
The
Berry Botanic Garden
11505 SW Summerville Avenue, Portland, OR 97219-8309
(503)636-4112
Our garden began as the personal collection of a remarkable
plants woman, Rae
Selling Berry (1881-1976). We maintain and expand this extraordinary landscape
in the service of education, conservation and horticulture. Plants from around
the world mingle with those of the Pacific Northwest. Stroll the native plant
trail and learn about gardening for wildlife. The largest public rock garden on
the West coast is a beautiful place to view flowers of the mountains. See
uncommon trees, primulas, rhododendrons and more.
The Garden of Awakening Orchids (Lan Su Yuan, The
Classical Chinese Garden)
NW 3rd and Everett, Portland, OR (503)228-8131.
The Grotto
National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, NE 85th and Sandy
Boulevard, P.O. Box 20008, Portland, OR 97294-0008
(503)254-7371.
The National Sanctuary of Our
Sorrowful Mother, a beautiful 62 acre Catholic Shrine and
botanical garden, is located in Portland, Oregon. The
Grotto (as it is commonly called) is a non-profit Oregon
corporation, supported solely by the proceeds of its gift shop
and by donations. It is administered by the Friars of the
Order of Servants of Mary.
Peninsula Park and Rose Gardens
N Albina & Portland Boulevard, Portland, OR 97217.
The rose garden is one of Portland's most beautiful formal
rose gardens, with 8,900 plantings on a two-acre site. Upon
entering the park from Ainsworth and Albina Streets, visitors
are greeted by magnificent plantings of 65 rose varieties
which border the steps leading to the sunken rose garden, the
only one in Oregon. The rose garden was the showplace of its
time, with 300,000 visitors in the first year alone. The
official Portland rose, named Mme. Caroline Testout, is
maintained in the garden. Once planted by the thousands along
the streets of Portland, this rose earned Portland the name
'City of Roses.'
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Museums
American Advertising Museum
211 NW Fifth Ave. and Davis St., Portland, Oregon 97209, phone: 503-226-0000
Bybee House & Howell Territorial Park
Sauvie Island, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-222-1741
Children's Museum
44015 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221, phone: (503) 223-6500
Kidd Toy Museum
1327 SE Grand Ave, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-233-7807
Lilah Callen Holden Elephant Museum at the Oregon Zoo
4001 SW Canyon Rd, Portland, Oregon, phone:
503-226-1561
Museum Company, The
700 SW 5th Ave, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-223-0069
Northwest Rail Museum
Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-244-4449
OMSI
-- Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, Oregon, phone:
503-797-4000
Founded in 1944 and one of the nation's top ten science museums, the
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a world-class tourist attraction and
educational resource that puts the
"WOW!" in science for the kid in each of us. Five
exhibit halls and eight
science labs offer 219,000 square feet of brain-powered fun through hundreds
of interactive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations. OMSI's multi-attraction
complex features a big screen OMNIMAX®
Theater, the Northwest's largest
planetarium, and the
USS Blueback, the last fast-attack, diesel-powered submarine built by the
U.S. Navy and after serving for 31 years, the last of its kind to be
decommissioned. In addition to enjoying one of the featured exhibits at
temporary display at OMSI, you can touch a tornado, uncover a fossil, surf the
internet, enter the world of virtual
Oregon Jewish Museum
310 NW Davis St., Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-226-5224
The Oregon Jewish Museum was founded in 1989 by a volunteer group,
committed to providing Oregon with a museum dedicated to Jewish art and history,
During the five first years, our focus was to build a membership, create a
strong Board of Directors and bring traveling exhibits of Jewish content to this
area.
Oregon Maritime Center & Museum
113 SW Front, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-224-7724
Oregon Sports Hall Of Fame Museum
900 SW 5th Ave, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-227-7466
Pittock Mansion
3229 NW Pittock Drive,
Portland, OR 97210, phone: 503-823-3624, email:
pkweb@ci.portland.or.us
Once the private home of Henry Louis Pittock,
founder of The Oregonian, this 22-room house was built in 1914. The
mansion sits 1,000 feet above sea level and commands a view of five mountains in
the Cascade Range. It is an outstanding architectural achievement, combining
fine plasterwork, cut and polished marbles, cast bronze, and superbly crafted
hardwoods and paneling. The house is completely furnished with antique furniture
and objets d'art appropriate to its 17th, 18th, and 19th century French and
English designs.
Portland Children's Museum
3037 SW Second Ave., Portland, Oregon, phone:
503-823-2227
U F O Museum
1637 SW Alder St, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-227-2975
Washington
County Historical Society & Museum
17677 NW Springville Rd, Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-645-5353
World Forestry Center
Museum
4033 SW Canyon Rd., Portland, Oregon, phone: 503-228-1367
Our 20,000 square foot museum is located in Portland's beautiful
Washington Park. Built in dramatic Cascadian style architecture, you'll marvel
at the intricate hand carvings and grand entry outside, and delight in all new
exhibits inside. The museum reopened on June 30, 2005 after a $7 million,
6-month renovation. All new hands-on, interactive exhibits are family friendly
and designed to engage visitors to learn about the sustainability of forests and
trees of the Pacific Northwest and around the world.
The World Forestry Center owns and operates two working forests donated to us by
landowners who wanted to ensure their properties would be protected from
development and managed according to the principles of sustainable forestry.
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State
Parks
Government Island State Recreation Area
Access to Government Island (in the
Columbia River northeast of Portland) is by boat only. There
are two docks and a floating tie-up on the north side of the
island. With 15 miles of shoreline and a free primitive
campground, the park is popular with anglers. The interior of
the island is still used as a cattle ranch and also contains
protected natural areas. Entry to the interior is prohibited.
Lewis
and Clark State Recreation Site
Located at the western gateway of the
Columbia River Gorge, Lewis & Clark State Park appropriately
honors its legendary namesakes who camped and explored here in
November, 1805. The park is situated near the mouth of the
Sandy River where it spills into the mighty Columbia River and
at one of the entrances to the Historic Columbia River
Highway. A flat, grassy, tree-dotted park invites blankets and
sun-lovers to come spend a leisurely day.
Tryon
Creek State Natural Area
Located only minutes from downtown
Portland is Oregon's only state park within a major
metropolitan area. Everyday, visitors come to hike or stroll
Tryon Creek State Park's nature trails through the verdant
ravine between Boones Ferry Road and Terwilliger Boulevard in
southwest Portland. Cyclists of all ages bike along the paved
trail on the park's eastern edge, stopping along the way to
admire a trillium.
Willamette Stone State Heritage Site
Every bit of Oregon (and the United
States, for that matter), is divided into a grid. At several
places across the nation, the government established a land
survey starting point (called a meridian) and drew the grid
lines from there. What is the Willamette Stone? It's the
starting point for all the land surveying west of the Cascade
Mountains in both Oregon and Washington. It's the "zero point"
for the Willamette Meridian.
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