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This month, we asked readers to play along with our “So You Think You Know Portland” trivia contest. Hundreds of readers—240, to be exact—submitted answers to the 25 history questions crafted by Rose City Book Pub trivia doyenne Elise Schumock. Four of them got every question right.
The email addresses of the four who answered all of the questions correctly were then placed in a blind draw (a paper bag, which I then riffled through without looking). The selection process is documented in this video.
The two erudite (and lucky) winners receive, respectively: a $50 gift card to Rose City Book Pub, and a copy of 50 Covers for 50 Years, our book of selected Willamette Week covers commemorating a half century of stories told in our pages that shaped Portland.
More importantly to your peace of mind, we will now reveal the answers to all 25 questions. Thanks for reading, and thanks for playing!
What year did pinball become legal again in Portland? 1976.
What kind of business was at the corner of Northwest 10th Avenue and West Burnside Street before Walter Powell opened a bookstore? Nash car dealership.
Where were members of Portland’s Japanese American community interned starting in May 1942? Pacific International Livestock and Exposition Center (now known as the Expo Center).
Why was a 20,000-square-foot log cabin in Northwest Portland that burned down in 1964 originally built? The Forestry Building was built for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.
What is the oldest fountain in Portland? Skidmore Fountain, 1888. Henry Weinhard offered to pump beer through it for the dedication, but the city declined his offer.
What Portland native won a Nobel Peace Prize and a Nobel Prize in Chemistry? Linus Pauling.
What could you ride at Meier & Frank’s Santaland until 2005? A monorail.
The Hollywood Library features a mural of the neighborhood as depicted in whose books? Beverly Cleary.
What Rose Festival event, started by children in 1917 in response to limited festival offerings during World War I, is hosted by the Hollywood District? The Junior Rose Festival Parade.
What furniture and appliance salesman said, “Free is a very good price”? Tom Peterson.
At which high school was Mr. Holland’s Opus filmed? Grant High School.
Which three businesses has the neon “Portland, Oregon” sign on Northwest Couch Street advertised? Made in Oregon, White Stag Sportswear and White Satin Sugar.
When Trail Blazers play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely first shouted “Rip City!” in 1971, creating the nickname for the team’s hometown of Portland, what did he originally mean by the term? Nothing. Those are just words that came out of Schonely’s mouth.
Portland’s International Rose Test Garden was originally established to protect roses during which war? WWI.
What object was the grand marshal of the Rose Festival Starlight Parade in 2015? Portland International Airport’s carpet.
What philanthropist whose husband manufactured canning jars founded a home for orphans and single mothers that became a center that now helps developmentally disabled adults? Albertina Kerr.
Where did the penguins stay upon their arrival in 1957 when their enclosure wasn’t ready at what would eventually become the Oregon Zoo? Peninsula Park’s pool.
What is the oldest bridge that crosses the Willamette River? Burlington Northern Railway Bridge 5.1 (1908). The oldest passenger bridge is the Hawthorne Bridge (1910).
Where was the Portland airport before PDX was built? Swan Island.
Which two streets in the Alphabet District are named for the guys who flipped a coin to decide the name of Portland? Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove. The penny they flipped is on display at the Oregon Historical Society.
What was Portland’s first topless bar? Mary’s Club.
Vanport, which was destroyed by a flood in 1948 and never rebuilt, was originally developed to provide housing for workers of which wartime employer? Kaiser Shipyards.
Why do so many older houses in Portland have the same black-and-white tile address numbers? They were installed by the WPA during the Great Depression, after the city standardized the street names and numbering system (also known as the Great Renumbering).
What Portlander was the first African American woman elected to the Oregon Senate? Avel Gordly.
What was originally built on Coe Circle where the Joan of Arc statue is located? The real estate sales office for the Laurelhurst Company that developed the neighborhood.
