The Willamette River and downtown Portland
There's no place like Portland, Oregon, with it's eco-culture and über-bike-friendly streets. Portland is so Portland some tourists liken a visit with leaving the country. And local pride is on display everywhere. Keep an eye out for "Keep Portland Weird" stickers and "The People's Republic of Portland" T-shirts. Downtown, once ranked the among the world's most dangerous ports, is family friendly, clean and vibrant well past business hours. There's plenty to do in Portland after the sun goes down.
Crystal Ballroom
See live music and "dance on air" at the Crystal Ballroom. This historic venue's floating dance floor, one of the last of it's kind, is suspended on 500 rockers and ball bearings to put an extra spring in the step. It was designed for early 20th century ballroom dancing. Get a good crowd boogieing in the Crystal and the floor bounces the dancers. The room has a storied history, beginning with its opening as Ringler's Dance Academy back when dancing was still illegal in Portland. It's opened and closed several times through the decades. Everyone from Ike and Tina Turner to the Grateful Dead have played on the Crystal's stage, and local legend says Little Richard once fired a young Jimi Hendrix there mid-show. Funky artwork throughout the building pays tribute to its history.
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W. Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97209
503-225-0047
mcmenamins.com
Voodoo Doughnut
They say the magic is in the hole at Portland's favorite late night sweet spot. Voodoo Doughnuts' original SW 3rd Avenue location in the Old Town section of Portland serves up sugary goodness 24 hours a day. These specialty doughnut makers have created a boutique of the bizarre now known as "Portland style" doughnuts. Toppings include Fruit Loops cereal, bacon and candy. The shop's signature doughnut, and namesake, is a cream-filled doughnut man frosted with chocolate and stuck with pretzel stick voodoo pins. Not for the faint of blood sugar.
Voodoo Doughnut
22 SW 3rd Ave.
Portland, OR 97204
503-241-4704
voodoodoughnut.com
Le Bistro Montage
The Montage, famous for its home-style mac-n-cheese and Cajun menu, is not the place to go for quiet night of dining or cozy table for two. Think communal dining at long tables, dim lighting and servers shouting back and forth to line cooks in the open kitchen. Specialties include stiff drinks, frog legs, oyster shooters and, of course, the mac-n-cheese. Leftovers are always artfully wrapped as tinfoil creatures to go. The Montage is open until 4 a.m. weekend nights. The wait for a table can be long during the 2 a.m. post-bar rush, but the experience is always worth it.
Le Bistro Montage
301 SE Morrison St.
Portland, OR 97214
503-234-1324
montageportland.com
PGE Park
Catch a baseball or soccer game downtown at PGE Park. The old-style ball park, circa 1926, has loads of character. It's undergone numerous remodels since its opening, most recently a $38.5 million face-lift in 2001. PGE is home to the Triple-A Portland Beavers and the United Soccer League's Portland Timbers. The stadium's signature feature is an old-time scoreboard in left field that stands about seven stories tall. This manually operated throwback takes four people to run. PGE also keeps a staff of about 25 feral cats in the park for rodent control. The wild cats, rarely seen by visitors, are fed by park staff at the Feral Cat Station.
PGE Park
1844 Southwest Morrison St.
Portland, OR 97205
503-553-5400
pgepark.com
