Portal:Oregon
The Oregon Portal
Oregon has one of the most diverse landscapes of any state in the U.S. It is well known for its tall, dense forests; its accessible and scenic Pacific coastline; and its rugged, glaciated Cascade volcanoes. Other areas include semiarid scrublands, prairies, and deserts that cover approximately half the state in eastern and north-central Oregon. Oregon's population in 2010 was about 3.8 million, a 12% increase over 2000. Oregon's population is largely concentrated in the Willamette Valley, which stretches from Eugene through Salem and Corvallis to Portland, Oregon's largest city. The origin of the name Oregon is unknown. One account, advanced by George R. Stewart in a 1944 article in American Speech, was endorsed as the "most plausible explanation" in the book Oregon Geographic Names. According to Stewart, the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 1700s, on which the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin) River was spelled "Ouaricon-sint", broken on two lines with the -sint below, so that there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named "Ouaricon".
Selected pictureThe Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse in downtown Eugene was completed in 2006 and named for former U.S. Senator Wayne Morse. Selected biography
Asa Lovejoy (1808–1882) was an American pioneer in Oregon, and one of the founders of the city of Portland. An attorney from Boston, Massachusetts, he served in the Provisional Government of Oregon as a legislator, was elected as mayor of Oregon City, and was a general during the Cayuse War that followed the Whitman massacre of 1847. During the government of the Oregon Territory Lovejoy was a member of both chambers of the Oregon Territorial Legislature, serving as the first Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1849. He was also a delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857. Lovejoy died in Portland and is buried at at Lone Fir Cemetery. Lovejoy Street and Lovejoy Fountain Park in downtown Portland are named in his honor; the Simpsons character Reverend Timothy Lovejoy is named after the street.
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The Clinton Street Theater is a theater located in southeast Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is believed to be one of the oldest continually operating cinemas in the United States. The theater was built in 1914 and opened as The Clinton in 1915. The venue became known as the 26th Avenue Theatre in 1945 and the Encore in 1969, before reverting to a resemblance of its original name in 1976. The Clinton often screens grindhouse, cult and experimental films, and has become known for hosting regular screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (since 1978, marking one of the film's longest-running showings) and Repo! The Genetic Opera. The venue also hosts the annual Filmed by Bike festival, the Faux Film Festival and the Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.
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