Portland, the City of Roses

Coming early? Staying late? Just taking a break?

It's only a short (7-mile) drive to downtown Portland (there's a direct bus line, also), where you'll find numerous restaurants, museums and bookstores. Portland has small city blocks, a downtown Fareless Square where all buses, trolleys and light rail cars are free) and a very lively nightlife. Visit the Pearl District, Old Town/Chinatown, the trendy shops on NW 23rd--there's plenty to do.

Portland has more bookstores per capita than any other US city except Washington, D.C. (We've listed several shops below.) And Portland's also known as "Munich on the Willamette", having more breweries than any other city in the world. Our microbrews are world-famous--as are the Oregon wineries in the nearby Yamhill and Willamette valleys.

Some General Interest Links

• Portland Oregon Visitors Association. Good source of visitor information.
• TRI-MET Portland's bus system (the #5 Interstate bus connects the convention hotel with downtown Portland)
• Portland International Airport
• The Portland Streetcar, connecting downtown Portland with some of the trendier shopping districts.
• Travel Oregon Online. Sponsored by the Oregon Tourism Bureau.
• SW Washington Visitor & Convention Bureau. Washington is just across the river from our cenvention hotel.

• Mt. Hood & the Timberline Lodge. Year-round snow and skiing, and a breathtaking view, just 60 miles east of downtown Portland. at this historic landmark lodge.
• Multnomah Falls. One of the tallest waterfalls in North America is just minutes east of Portland, in the heart of the Columbia Gorge.
• Forest Park (the nation's largest urban wilderness, nearly 5,000 acres all within Portland city limits)

• The Japanese Garden
• Portland Classical Chinese Garden
• The International Rose Test Garden (at Washington Park). The oldest official, continuously operated public rose test garden in the United States. (Has a nice gift shop, also.)
• Leach Botanical Garden (Setting of Mary Freeman's Bleeding Heart)
• Hoyt Arboreteum. High in the hills of Washington Park, its collection of trees contains more than 800 species.
• Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. More than 2,500 rhodies, azaleas and companion plants.
• Berry Botanic Garden, in SW Portland.

• The American Advertising Museum
• OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry)
• Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
• Portland Art Museum
• Portland Children's Museum 2nd Generation (CM2)
• World Forestry Center

• The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
• Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Right next to Pearson Field. First settled in the early 1800s.
• Oregon Historical Society
• Pearson Air Museum. Just across the river in Vancouver, it's the oldest, continuously active airfield in the West. The first transpolar flight landed here.
• Pittock Mansion

• Oregon Zoo

• Oregonian Dining Guide. The restaurant section of the local newspaper's werb site.
• Typhoon. Quite simply the best Thai food in town, possibly the entire Pacific Northwest.
• Genoa. Seven Courses, one price. (About $70 a person, and well worth it.) Called by some critics the best restaurant in Portland.
• Mother's Bistro. Down home cooking, better than mother could ever make it.
• Sweetwater's Jam House. Caribbean and Creole food.
• Ruth's Chris Steak House. Part of a national chain, but it's still probably the best steak in town.
• McCormick & Schmick's, a Portland-based chain of restaurants, has several locations in town. Probably the most picturesque is the Harborside which overlooks the Willamette River on downtown Portland's Riverfront Marina district. The adjoining Pilsner room is a brewpub run by Hood River's Full Sail Brewery.
• Todai Seafood Buffet. "The Mother of All Seafood Buffets." All you can eat seafood and sushi, with a huge selection of both. In downtown's Pioneer Place shopping center.
• Bluehour. The hottest place in town. (Good luck trying to get in!)
• Cafe Azul. Mexican that is not burritos, enchiladas and nachos. Seriously good gourmet Mexican food in the Pearl District.
• Esparza's. Want Tex-Mex prepared with ostrich, boar, buffalo…maybe even calf brains? Try Esparza's. (They also serve more mundane dishes.)
• La Catalana. Authentic Spanish food, in an always-crowded retaurant.
• Caprial's Bistro. Well-known for her PBS cooking show, here's where she practices her craft.
• Higgin's. Northwest cuisine.
• Wildwood. Northwest cuisine.
• Cadillac Cafe. Yummy breakfasts.

Portland has more breweries than any other city in the world, and its beer is world-reknowned. If-until now-your experience has been only with factory brews like Budweiser or Coors, you're in for a treat! Many of the local brewpubs are also excellent places to eat dinner, are family-friendly and several are smoke-free. (Oregon is also well-known for the wineries in the valleys south of Portland, and we've included some information about these under Willamette Valley.)

If any two states have the same alcohol control laws it must be a coincidence. Here’s the deal for Oregon: hard liquor is sold in state stores which are individually franchised; beer and wine are sold just about anywhere - convenience stores, supermarkets, and wine shops.

Of course, with Portland being in the Pacific Northwest, coffee (and tea) are also important parts of our culture. There are several locations to find your favorite hot beverage.

• The McMenamin Brothers. Mike and Brian McMenamin have numerous taverns and brewpubs, theaters, restaurants and B&Bs scattered all over Oregon and Washington. Their closest outlet is McMenamins on the Columbia, just across the river in Vancouver.
• Widmer Brothers. Kurt and Rob Widmer's Hefeweisen is the top selling draft beer in the state (yes, even over Budweiser). (They even have a pub at the Portland Airport.)
• Bridgeport Brewing. Award-winning English-style beers.
• Portland Brewing. Best known for its McTarnahan's Amber Ale, but my favorite is their Black Watch Cream Porter,
• Hair of the Dog has been called "One of 10 best breweries in the world" by Michael Jackson (the beer expert, not the singer) despite their brewery being one of the smallest you'll ever see. Try it while you're here in Portland…you may not find it anywhere else!
• BJ's Pizza, Grill and Brewery is within walking distance of the hotel, and brews some excellent beer.
• Horse Brass Pub an English tavern (breakfast and English soccer telecasts every Saturday) with 48 taps serving the best beer they can find from up and down the coast. Next door is Belmont Station, a store specializing in bottled beer and English specialty foods.
• Oregon Brewer's Guild, a trade group founded by the independent brewers in Oregon. Much information about the Oregon brewing scene can be found on their web site.
• Northwest Brew Page, a directory of brewpubs and breweries in the Pacific Northwest.

• Clear Creek Distillery. One of the top producers of fruit brandies in the US is right here in the center of Portland. Tours and tasting by appointment only.

• Oregon Ballet Theater.
• Oregon Symphony. This nationally prominent orchestra will be performing with Pink Martini during LCC weekend.
• Portland Center for the Performing Arts. A complex of auditoriums and theaters in downtown Portland.
• Regal Cinemas. Pretty much the only show in town, this national chain controls nearly all of the first-run theaters in Oregon and SW Washington.
• Portland Center Stage will be putting on a production called Dirty Blonde, starting the Tuesday after LCC 12.
• Unfortunately, the Portland Opera, Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Chamber Music Northwest will not be performing anytime around Left Coast Crime 12.

• Murder by the Book. Portland's premier mystery bookshop.
• Wrigley-Cross Books. Quality used and specialty new books-they have an excellent selection of mysteries and science-fiction books.
• Powell's Books. A landmark in Portland, their downtown "City of Books" is the largest bookstore in North America. Whatever you're looking for, they probably have it (but you may never find your way out). They also sell a large volume of books through their web site, and their claim is that every book they have in one of their stores is listed on the web site.
• Multnomah Country Library Although it's not a book store, this chain of libraries covers the city-and the main branch downtown has a large shop, featuring book-related items. (Come see where author Jean Auel did her research for her best-selling Clan of the Cave bear.)
• In Other Words. Women's books and resources.
• Annie Bloom's Books, SW Portland.
• Looking Glass Books. One of Portland's treasurers, located in downtown Portland. (Web site isn't currently working, as of 12/12/01.)
• Portland Area Used Booksellers. A directory of used booksellers in the Portland area.
• New book sellers list, from the Pacific Northwest Bookseller's web site.

• 23rd Avenue/NW Portland shops. Portland's version of Greenwhich Village.
• Portland's Saturday Market, the largest continually operating open-air crafts market in the country.
• Lloyd Center, a large shopping center in the core of Portland.
• The Pearl District. Formerly an industrial area filled with warehouses, now the city's hottest neighborhood, filled with loft apartments, trendy shops and great restaurants.
• Pioneer Place. Upscale shops in a vertical shopping center in downtown Portland.
• The Real Mother Goose. Art glass, jewelry, ceramics, fine woodworking and furniture by inspired American artists.
• Twist. Glassware, high-end designer jewelry, dishes, furniture.
• The Joinery. Hand-crafted furniture.
• Daisy Kingdom. Known mostly for their mail-order patterns and fabrics, this Portland-based company has a shop in the Pearl District.
• Mill End Store. The fabric store equivalent of Powell's Books- the SE Portland is huge! (There's an outlet in Beaverton.)
• Fabric Depot. Also huge.
• Kathleens of Dublin. Celtic jewelry and glassware.
• Columbia Sportswear. Their jackets and sportsware are found in stores all over the country, but they're a home-grown company located right here in Portland, with several outlet stores in the local area.
• Patagonia. Their largest store is located in the Pearl District, right here in Portand.
• Made in Oregon. The place to get that authentic Oregon gift.
• Norm Thompson. "Escape from the ordinary." This mail-order firm is located in Portland, with several outlets here.
• Django's. A single used-record store that has grown into a chain stretching from Chicago to San Diego…and a major internet presence.

• TV Stations: KATU (ABC), KGW (NBC), KOIN (CBS), KOPB (PBS), KPDX (Fox), KPTV (UPN), KWBP (the WB).

• Yahoo's list of Portland-area radio stations.

• Oregonian, Portland's daily newspaper.
• The Columbian, Vancouver (WA)'s daily newspaper.
• Willamette Week, Portland's weekly "alternative" newspaper.

• The Grotto.
• Oregon Golf, a detailed directory of the local golf courses.

• Yamhill Wines. A guide to the wineries in Yamhill County, SW of Portland. One third of the state's wineries are located there, and it's one of the top pinot noir regions in the world.
• Wines NW. Another excellent source of information on the Pacific Northwest wineries, shops and wine county dining and lodging.
• Oregon Wine Press. A trade magazine of the Oregon wineries.
• Oregon State University. Linus Pauling's alma mater, and the home of the Beavers.
• University of Oregon. Home of the Ducks…and where Ken Kesey was teaching before his recent passing.
• The Oregon Garden. A new botanical project located south of Portland, near Salem.

• The Oregon Coast Visitors Association. A guide to the entire coast.
• Astoria. The oldest American settlement west of the Rockies.
• Cannon Beach. An artist colony overlooking the ocean. Great shops, good food and a long beach filled with kite-flyers.
• Tillamook Air Museum. Ever been in a building large enough to hold multiple blimps? Now imagine that building filled with aircraft of all types (yes, including blimps). That's the Tillamook Air Museum, on the Oregon Coast just south of the town of Tillmook, a 90-minute drive from Portland.
• Lincoln City. Pleasant town that's also a growing writer's colony.
• Oregon Dunes. Over 30,000 acres of dunes stretching nearly 50 miles along the central Oregon Coast.
• Bandon-by-the-Sea, an artist colony tucked in the SW corner of the state. (Also the home of cranberry bogs and the Bandon Cheese factory.)

• Columbia River Gorge
• Mt. St. Helens
• Mt. Hood Railway. Take a scenic tour on this vintage railroad from Hood River in the Columbia Gorge up to Mt. Hood.
• Maryhill Museum. 100 miles east of Portland, in the Columbia Gorge, sits the huge masion built by Seattle railroad magnate Sam Hill. It's now filled with art, including an extensive Rodin collection. Nearby is the full-size replica of Stonehenge that he had built to honor World War I casualties.

• The High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon. An excellent place to enjoy and learn about the history, the culture and the nature of the Oregon that's east of the Cascades.
• The Museum at Warm Springs. Museum of Indian culture and artifacts located on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, near Madras in central Oregon on US 26 (the highway that goes over Mount Hood).
• Crater Lake is Oregon's only nation park. Located in the old crater of an imploded volcano in Southern Oregon, it's the deepest lake in North America.
• Oregon Caves. Also in Southern Oregon, this is a very large natural marble cave.
• Seattle Convention and Visitor's. If you're interested in making a side trip up North.