Navigate: Introduction CHARTS The Battle of the Lattes Portland and Seattle: A Selective History ESSAYS Vanity Blemishes Rose City's Charm; Ambition Tarnishes Emerald What's in a Song? Torn Between Two Cities: An I-5 Love Story If Seattle is a Scorpio, Portland Is a... You Say Monorail; I say Oregon Trail

Portland and Seattle: A Selective History BY CHRISTINA MELANDER PORTLAND SEATTLE 1843 Portland comes cheap: Asa Lovejoy and William Overton purchase the 640 acres of land that will become the Rose City for $.25; the name Portland wins over Boston in a coin toss two years later 1863 Henry Weinhard builds the first brewery in Portland       1912 To discourage drunkenness, Simon Benson donates 20 "bubblers" (drinking fountains) to the city; saloon sales plummet 40 percent.       1954 Native son Linus Pauling wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry; he wins his second Nobel Prize for peace eight years later 1960 The nation's largest shopping mall--Lloyd Center--opens 1963 Portland band the Kingsmen record "Louie, Louie"; presumed obscene, the song is banned by many radio stations--but later becomes the Animal House anthem   1973 Kobos opens as Portland's first specialty coffee company. The Trail Blazers incorporate; they win their only NBA championship four years later 1979 Set in Portland, Diff'rent Strokes sitcom spinoff Hello Larry features a divorced guy with a radio talk-show; it fails after one year 1984 Bud Clark exposes himself to art     1991 A former alt-country musician named Art Alexakis moves to Portland from San Francisco, bleaches his hair and forms Everclear within days 1993 2,000 chickens die when a tractor-trailer rig hits a guard rail on the Morrison Bridge   1998 Portland-bred film director Gus Van Sant and singer-songwriter Elliott Smith find fame and receive Oscar nominations for their work on Good Will Hunting   1852 A non-Indian settlement moves from Alki Point to present-day downtown Seattle, named for the Suquamish chief best known for his famous environmental quotes 1864 11 "Mercer Girls" are recruited as brides under the guise of employment; their story inspires the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and TV show Here Come the Brides 1890 A cougar is shot on Pike Street after killing a chicken 1942 The original Seattle rocker, Jimi Hendrix, is born 1952 Panty raids at University of Washington spark riots on Greek Row 26 years before Animal House is released 1953 UW poet Theodore Roethke wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Waking       1967 NBA expansion begets Seattle Supersonics; the team wins its only NBA championship in 1979 1971 Howard Schultz opens the first Starbucks in Pike Place         1982 The first Green River murder victim is found; bodies turn up for four years 1987 Nirvana begins playing parties at Evergreen State College in Olympia 1990 A San Diego gas-station attendant named Eddie Vedder joins former members of Green River; they gig in Seattle as Mookie Blaylock before becoming Pearl Jam 1993 Set in Seattle, Cheers sitcom spinoff Frasier features a divorced guy with a radio talk-show; it becomes an anchor of NBC's Must-See TV 1998 MTV's Real World moves to Seattle LAUREN RUBIN CONTRIBUTED TO THIS TIMELINE. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published October 28, 1998