Category 

Routes start

00 625 NW Everett St. #111

45.525356, -122.677204 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

MarkovCo Gallery

Stage 1

44 Houses 117 and 37 along NW Trinity Pl.

45.523777, -122.691402 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Fence between the houses
Letters in the circle on the gate
WC
47 931 NW 23rd Ave.

45.529456, -122.698687 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Sculpture in front of the cafe
Number of pigs and piglets
8
52 2135 NW Flanders St.

45.525713, -122.695211 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Mosaic near the entrance
Number of flowers
6
54 1005 W Burnside St.  

45.523601, -122.681982 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Column at the entrance to Powell’s store at the intersection of 11th Ave. and Couch St.
Copy the title of the fourth book from the top
Война и Мир

Historical background

Walter Powell opened Powell’s City of Books store in 1971. He was the first to apply revolutionary approaches in customer service. The store was opened 365 days a year and staffed by knowledgeable and dedicated book lovers. The founder also made an innovative decision to comingle new, used, hardcover and paperback, cheap and expensive publications of the same bookshelves. This innovation was very successful and Powell’s City of Books has grown into the largest independent bookstore of used and new books in the world. It can be easy to get lost in the City of Books: nine rooms, three floors and 3,500 sections. In fact, the building area is comparable to The White House full of more than 1,000,000 book volumes. Approximately 6,000 people walk in every day. Half of them buy something, others just hang around and drink coffee. About 80,000 book lovers browse the City’s shelves every day online.
57 209 NW 23rd Ave.  

45.524409, -122.698499 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Iron ring on the curb near the parking meter
Copy the phrase on the tag
Keep Portland Weird

Historical background

The sidewalks of Portland are peppered with metal rings. They are the remnants of the early 1900's when horses provided the primary mode of transportation. In 1905 there were only 218 cars registered in the entire state of Oregon. In 1907 Portland City Council passed an ordinance requiring that new curbs in front of houses have "ring bolts" installed every 25 feet so that delivery vehicles could be securely tied down to protect pedestrians and other wagons using the street. By the late 1920's, the automobile had almost completely replaced the horse and wagon and the tethering rings became obsolete. Moreover some locals complained about missteps because of them. So most of the rings were removed from curbs and sidewalks for safety purposes by the late 1970's. In 2005 Portland resident Scott Wayne Indiana tied his first plastic toy horse to a ring located in the Pearl District. It was his attempt to draw attention to the rings and to celebrate Portland's history. His personal art project soon found its fans and other Portland residents began adding their own tiny horses to the herd. You can find Instagram photos of hundreds of "parked" toy horses, other animals and couple of dinosaurs using #PortlandHorseProject hashtag. "Keep Portland Weird" is the city’s moto and it really is, isn’t it?
62 529 NW 13th Ave.

45.526829, -122.684407 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Sticker on the front door
Beware of what?
dog with camera
72 708 NW 20th Ave.

45.527979, -122.69233 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Inner courtyard
Number of palms with "hairy" trunks
4
73 Intersection of SW Stark St. and SW 13th Ave.

45.522774, -122.68402 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Information board near the art object with bicycles
Creator listed last on the board
Zoobomb
75 1719 NW Glisan St.

45.526502, -122.688795 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Building entrance (please stay on the sidewalk)
Who holds the iron wreath?
rabbit/bunny/hare
76 Tanner Springs Park

45.531136, -122.681923 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Number of information boards with Daniel Lownsdale’s portrait in the park
3
10 800 NW 6th Ave.  

45.528633, -122.676768 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Public garden in front of the Union Station
Signature of an official

Historical background Checkpoint picture 10

Go to train! Brief and clear. Since its construction (and the terminal was built for three years, from 1893 till 1896), passengers have been entering and exiting it almost continuously. Neither reconstruction, nor the transition of the building from owner to another stoped the operation of the portal to the "City of Roses". Union Station (and in the past Grand Central Station, no more, no less) is a 150-foot tower built in the traditions of Romanesque architecture. Apart from the huge two-story waiting room there was a smoking room, a barber shop, toilet rooms, an immigration processing room, a dining room, a lunchroom, a baggage room, a mail office, a telegraph office, a ticket office, a news room, and a baggage checking room on the ground floor. Today it is a passenger terminal serving three Amtrak lines connecting Portland with Vancouver, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Stage 2

43 729 E Burnside St.

45.523022, -122.658062 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Black oval signboards parallel to E Burnside St.
Copy the phrase on the back of one of the signboards
Modo loves you!
45 123 NE 3rd Ave.

45.523822, -122.662836 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

National Register of Historic Places plaque
Number of letters “Y” (“y”)
5
48 51 NE Holladay St.

45.530448, -122.665679 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Roof of the building
Whose sculpture is located on the roof?
owl
51 Intersection of SE Ash St. and SE 13th Ave.

45.521857, -122.652327 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Graffiti on one of the walls facing onto the parking. "Customer Parking" sign to the left of the graffiti
Last four digits of the phone number
1948
53 609 1/2 SE Taylor St.

45.515423, -122.659442 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Alley between buildings. Graffiti on one of the walls
Object in the right hand of the woman in a top hat
skull
55 Intersection of Eastbank Esplanade and SE Salmon St.

45.514388, -122.668029 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Hawthorne Bridge information board
Final destination of the trolleybus in the photo
East Moreland / Eastmoreland
58 615 SE Alder St.  

45.518015, -122.659349 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Any of the doors facing Alder St. Stained glass with half of a flower in it
Number of petals
9

Historical background

Orient Lodge is an industrial design building constructed in 1908, designed by the little-known Portland architect Francis J. Berndt. It is remarkable that its exterior is almost identical to Voysey House by Charles Voysey that was built 6 years earlier in London. Initially the building was used by the I.O.O.F (Independent Order of Odd Fellows — a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of the Odd Fellowship). In the 1960's it was acquired by Portland Police Athletic Association (PPAA) — its members used it for gatherings and also organized their own bar on the upper floor. The PPAA sold building in 2013 and now it is a contributing resource in the East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District. New owners remodeled the whole building. Special Historic Resource Review was made to ensure new exterior elements are compatible with the building and district to keep architectural integrity. New Loyal Legion pub located inside building proudly serves 99 local Oregon beers.
59 Willamette River Greenway Trail (west Willamette riverfront between Broadway Bridge and Steel Bridge)

45.527186, -122.671328 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Plaque closer to Steel Bridge
Last name of the advocate for poor and homeless
Crooks
65 81 SE Yamhill St.

45.515903, -122.665052 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Outside window sills facing Yamhill St.
Number of pots with plants
7/8/9
69 1300 SE Morrison St.

45.517128, -122.652327 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Corner of the building closest to the rhino graffiti. Lettering in the semicircle on the concrete slab near the corner
Number of letters
14
77 1037 SE Ash St.  

45.521631, -122.654731 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Meter on the wall facing SE 11th Ave.
First four digits of serial number
3101

Historical background

The Bots are art objects created by the local artist Gary Hirsch. The idea for the Bots came from a sketch Gary published in 2000. The caption inspired to "go through your entire day visualizing that you have a personal giant robot that protects, defends, and gives you outrageous compliments". A lot of readers got excited about this idea, and Gary started painting Bots on the back of dominos so anyone could take his own Bot wherever the protégé goes. Artist created more than 50,000 of Bots figures leaving them on the streets for random stranger to pick, donating them to children's hospitals, painting big ones in graffitis. Viewers are asked to interact with Bots by taking a selfie and sharing it online with #botpdx and #botjoy hashtags. The Bots creator hopes these photos will show a snapshot of the developing community. Hirsch says, "The purpose behind this project is to really help connect community — to have people think about some questions that are really simple but they still may not answer often in their own day-to-day lives".
20 0315 SW Montgomery St. #310  

45.510347, -122.673908 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Little River Cafe
Signature of an official

Historical background

The oldest of the operating bridges in the United States with a vertical lift was built in 1910 on the place of the burned wooden one. Originally painted black, it became yellow ochre in 1964, and the city repainted it in the familiar green in 1989. Over 35,000 cars, 800 buses (and about 20,000 passengers inside), and 10,000 cyclists cross the bridge every day. It is lifted 200 times per month, letting ships pass. The bridge towers rise above the base by 164 feet, and the total length of the bridge is almost 460 yards.

Stage 3

41 1037 SW Broadway  

45.516816, -122.68151 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Bollards with mythological and folklore characters along the sidewalk adjacent to Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall along SW Main St. Row closest to the building
Sixth character counting from SW Broadway
Sidha Korya

Historical background Checkpoint picture 41

On March 8, 1928 — as is usual in March — it was not warm outside. It was cold. That did not bother the three thousand-strong crowd of cinema fans. The line was waiting patiently for hours to get to the opening of the cinema seating 3,036. It was built in 1927 in the architectural tradition of the French Renaissance by Chicago architects. The building miraculously survived in the 1970's, when the stream of those who wanted to watch the cinema was very thin, the earnings came down and it was very much wanted to be demolished, but the process was stopped in time thanks to a historic landmark designation in 1972. However, many of the items inside, including the organ, were sold at an auction. Portland Theater, Portland Paramount or, as it is called by the locals now, Schnitz, was renamed Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in 1984, when the Schnitzer family donated $1 million to complete the reconstruction. The theater has hosted concerts by so well-known musicians as Frank Sinatra, Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Marley, and Madonna. Today it is the home of the Oregon Philharmonic, a meeting place for music lovers.
42 Corner of SW Washington St. and SW 11th Ave. near parking garage

45.521522, -122.682352 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Fire hydrant
State mentioned on the hydrant
Utah
46 Pettygrove Park

45.510791, -122.678726 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

State-shaped plaque. Sixth line from the bottom
All cities mentioned
Boston, Portland
49 Poet's Beach (west Willamette riverfront near Marquam Bridge)  

45.506982, -122.671446 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Stones along the trail to the beach. The fourth stone to the right of the stone with word "family" in the English and Chinook languages
Author of the quote
Patrick

Historical background

Poet’s Beach — one the newest places to enjoy the city — was opened in 2017. Before that there was the river, the bridge, a bit of shade, but no entrance to the water. Thanks to an agreement with the city authorities, the area was cleaned up, the sand was brought and voilà — now we have a nice bathing spot in the middle of the town. Someone may think that it might be still unsafe to swim within the city boundaries, but no worries. The "Big Pipe" project, launched in 2011, rescued the river from water pollution. Now the water is clean and save and there are lifeguards watching for your back. See you in summer!
56 212 SW Stark St.

45.520049, -122.673892 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Sticker with an illustration by Matte Stephens near the entrance
Phrase on the stag sign
Made in Oregon
61 Section of SW Yamhill St. between SW 5th St. and SW 6th Ave.

45.518519, -122.678018 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Pool with otters. Sign on the fence in front of them
Sum of digits from the third line
21
63 203 NW 3rd Ave.

45.524675, -122.673565 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Mosaic floor at the entrance
How many tiles does the letter "S" consist of?
15
64 Section of SW 5th Ave. between SW Hall St. and SW College St.  

45.509935, -122.682568 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Graffiti on the wall showing books. A library sticker on the book by a writer under the last name of Lewin
Second line from the top
251

Historical background

Tons of books, big, small, all kinds of and all very interesting. There is a large graffiti made of books’ spines. Students and professors, researchers and authors friends cried, laughed, fought, made peace, studied or enjoyed a minute here. Where else would you find giant books, if not at a university? And all of them are at your disposal at PSU library.
67 Mill Ends Park  

45.516181, -122.673249 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Crosswalk at the intersection of SW Taylor St. and Pacific Hwy. W. Information board in the park
Number of letters “R” (“r”)
10

Historical background

Mill Ends park was founded in 1948 by the Oregon Journal columnist Dick Hagan. The park was named after his column "Mill Ends" (leftover irregular pieces of wood at lumber mills). The founder claimed that he captured the leprechaun here, which meant that he had earned a wish and Dick wished to have a park. This park is known to be the only leprechaun colony west of Ireland. In different years the park had a swimming pool, a ferris wheel and a statue of a flying saucer. In 2006 the whole park was moved 80 feet from its original location because of road construction, in the end of work he was returned back. In 2011 a protester was arrested in the park during "Occupy Portland" demonstrations. In 2013 the tree was stolen from park, but soon it was returned and placed near the replacement tree. Unfortunately Dick Hagan forgot to specify park size for his wish to leprechaun. In 1971 Mill Ends was officially recognized to be the smallest park in the World by Guinness Book of Records.
68 1705 SW 11th Ave, corner of SW Mill St. and 11th Ave.  

45.513561, -122.686831 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Art object near the entrance. Cobblestone with a question mark
Word before the question mark
Europe

Historical background

Cobbletale is a piece of landscape artwork made of 4,000 old cobblestones, located in the PSU West Hall courtyard. During preparations for West Hall construction those stones were unearthed from their old place along old streetcar route on Southwest 11th street. Portland streetcar was extremely popular in the beginning of 20th century, before closure on 1958 automobile bum. Ironically Cobbletale installation was created in 1992 — 10 years before modern Portland streetcar was reborn. Jerry Mayer hand-cleaned over 6,000 cobblestones with a hammer and a scrub brush to make perfect match. The rest of 2,000 unused cobblestones were returned to the city's storage. Several stones have sandblast-engraved names of places that allude whole path of the basalt journey from inside Mt. St. Helens to its cooling and eventual quarry site near the Columbia River — and finally, to the streets of Portland.
74 22 SW 3rd Ave.

45.522616, -122.673141 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Pink sign to the left of the corner entrance
Name of the donut in the third row of the second column
Old dirty bastard

Routes finish

99 625 NW Everett St. #111

45.525375, -122.677315 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

MarkovCo Gallery
Finish