2010: 583,776, #29 in U.S., #1 in Oregon

1950: 373,628, #29 in U.S.

2010 Metropolitan Area: 2,226,009, #23 in U.S.

1950 Metropolitan Area: 704,829, #20 in U.S.

Setting

Portland was founded in 1843 on the Willamette River near where it enters the Columbia River. Today, McCall Waterfront Park is along the river, and there are river cruises on the Willamette and Columbia. Portland State University is just south of downtown.

Buildings

Tallest building: Wells Fargo Center, 546 feet (1972)

List of tallest buildings

Stores

Downtown Portland has Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue stores. The Macy's in the former Meier and Frank department store building closed in 2017.

Trains

Amtrak's Coast Starlight goes north to Seattle and south to Los Angeles. The Cascades trains provide additional service north to Seattle and south to Eugene. The Empire Builder goes east to Minneapolis and Chicago. All trains use Union Station (1896).

Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system with four lines. It began operation in 1986 and is mostly aboveground. MAX serves Portland International Airport. The smaller Portland Streetcar (2001) covers about four miles in the area near downtown. The Westside Express Service (2009) is a commuter line between the suburbs of Beaverton and Wilsonville. It does not serve downtown Portland.