There are many connections between the American

animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of the sitcom that is animated instead of live action and is generally made or created for adult audiences in most cases. ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'', and ''Family Guy'' are four of ...

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' and the city of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, the hometown of series creator

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

. Many characters on the show have names similar to streets in Portland; Burnside, Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy, Quimby, and Terwilliger inspired Mr. Burns,

Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...

, Kearney Zzyzwicz,

Reverend Lovejoy Reverend Timothy "Tim" Lovejoy, Jr. is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Rev. Lovejoy is the minister at The First Ch ...

, and

Mayor Quimby Mayor Joseph Fitzgerald O'Malley Fitzpatrick O'Donnell The Edge "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed Diamond Joe, is a recurring character from the animated sitcom television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in ...

, and Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr. (better known as

Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...

), respectively. In early 2021, Groening signed a portrait of Homer Simpson for a fundraising auction for Lincoln High School, his alma mater.

Ned Flanders Crossing Ned Flanders Crossing is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge spanning Interstate 405 to connect Portland, Oregon's Northwest District and Pearl District, in the United States. In 2019, the project's estimated cost was $6 million. It opened in ...

(2021), a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

spanning Interstate 405 to connect the Northwest District and

Pearl District The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...

, is named after Ned Flanders. In 2021, an anonymous artist installed a "Merge Simpson" depicting

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short " Good Night ...

near an on-ramp to Interstate 405 in

northwest Portland Northwest Portland is one of the sextants of Portland, Oregon, United States. Northwest Portland includes the Pearl District, most of Old Town Chinatown, the Northwest District, and various residential and industrial neighborhoods. A range of ...

. The sign was displayed below a column of shrubbery resembling Simpson's

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

. City officials removed the sign because of driving safety concerns.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons and Portland, Oregon, The Portland, Oregon The Simpsons

See also

References

External links