Music

An Incomplete Timeline of Portland’s Musical History

From the post-World War II jazz boom to when Courtney met Kurt, these were the moments that shaped Stumptown’s sound.

05/05/2021 By Conner Reed

Real Estate

How the "Great Renumbering" Tamed the Chaos of Portland Streets

In the 1930s, the city's new address system brought sense, order, and jobs.

03/31/2021 By Margaret Seiler

Fashion History

A Stitch in Time

A look at three centuries of Portland's fashion scene and its impact on the world.

03/22/2021 By Eden Dawn Illustrations by Sarah Donofrio

Music

A Timeline of Vaporwave’s Vektroid-Fueled Intersection with Portland

At the center of vaporwave’s rise is local music producer and multidisciplinary artist Ramona Xavier, a.k.a. Vektroid.

03/18/2021 By Suzette Smith

Celebrate Women’s History Month at the Oregon Historical Society

Nevertheless, They Persisted: Women’s Voting Rights and the 19th Amendment is now open at the Oregon Historical Society.

03/03/2021

Footnotes

LISTEN: Police Violence, Civil Rights, and Black and Latinx Movements

In this interview from July 2020, Oregon State professor Joseph Orosco talks about how Black and Latinx/Chicanx movements of the past intersect in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

01/29/2021 By Gabriel Granillo

Extremism

A Sociologist’s Take on the Capitol Siege

We check in with hate-crime expert Randy Blazak on how the events of January 6 fit in with other recent history.

01/17/2021 By Margaret Seiler

True Crime

The Zodiac Crimes and ‘Zynchronicity’

In the codes and on the calendar, here is just some of the Zynchronicity around Richard Gaikowski, a suspect in the Zodiac killings.

12/16/2020 By Jordan Michelman

Feature

What If You Solved the Zodiac Killer Mystery and No One Believed You?

Tom Voigt thinks he knows who was behind the crime of the century.

12/16/2020 By Jordan Michelman

History

First Theft, Then Recovery, and Now Restoration for a Historic Oregon Quilt

Fifteen women of color worked together to stitch the quilt, which is almost 50 years old.

12/04/2020 By Ainslee Dicken

Feature

The Rise and Fall of Kah-Nee-Ta

The once-darling vacation spot is practically a ghost town. What happened?

10/10/2020 By Juhea Kim

Podcasts

New History Podcast Investigates a Famous Murder in Montana

Portland writer Zach Dundas helped produce Death in the West.

10/06/2020 By Margaret Seiler

Basketball

When Portland's WNBA Team Lit Up the Rose Garden

Kansas connections (and fast food) fueled the short-lived Portland Fire.

10/06/2020 By Jarrett Van Meter

Oregon, Whose Oregon?

Oregon’s 1920s-Era State Song Is Nakedly Racist

After nearly a century, is this the year “Oregon, My Oregon” will finally get a rewrite?

10/05/2020 By Gabriel Granillo and Julia Silverman

Electric Avenue

This Map of Local Neon Signs Is a Walk Through of Old Portland History

Kate Widdows is helping show off our city's "exceptional collection of neon."

09/23/2020 By Sam Pape

Podcasts

The Spotted Owl, the Timber Economy, and the Epic Conflict that Defined Our Forests

Timber Wars host Aaron Scott talks about the new OPB pod, science writing, and the ongoing battle over Pacific Northwest forests.

09/22/2020 By Gabriel Granillo

History

125 Years Ago, Hundreds of Climbers Undertook a Mass Ascent of Mount Hood

And on the summit, they founded the Mazamas alpine club.

06/25/2019 By Rebecca Jacobson

Free Wheeling: History

Think Portland Is Obsessed with Bikes Today? Meet the Wheelpeople of 1890s Stumptown.

The dream of the 1890s is alive in modern bike culture.

05/28/2019 By Rebecca Jacobson

History

This Sand Is Our Sand: Why Oregon's Beaches Belong to Everyone

Oregonians believe our 300 miles of coastline are free and open to everyone. Only hardball politics made that true.

07/10/2017 By Brent Walth

History

40 Years Ago, Pelé Played His Last Game—Ever—in Portland

In 1977, the Brazilian soccer star bowed out in the Rose City.

07/10/2017 By Marty Patail