The city of
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, is ideal for growing
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
s outdoors due to its location within the
marine west coast
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
region, its warm, dry summers and rainy but mild winters, and its heavy clay soils.
Portland has been known as the City of Roses, or Rose City, since the late 19th or early 20th century, after ''
Madame Caroline Testout'', a large pink variety of
hybrid tea rose
Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous Garden roses#Hybrid perpetual, hybrid perpetuals with ...
bred in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, was introduced to the city. Thousands of rose bushes were planted, eventually lining of Portland's streets in preparation for the
Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide World's fair, exposition h ...
in 1905.
The
Rose City Park neighborhood in northeast Portland was formed in 1907, the same year of the first annual
Portland Rose Festival. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, nursery owners in Portland began planning a large rose garden to protect European rose varieties from the war. The garden was established in
Washington Park as the
International Rose Test Garden in 1917. Today, the Portland Rose Festival takes place each June with a carnival, parades, and navy ships docked along the
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 19 ...
to promote the city. The International Rose Test Garden is currently one of the oldest public rose test gardens in the United States, covering with over 8,000 rose plants, and more than 550 different varieties. In 2003, Portland adopted the "
City of Roses" as its official nickname.
History
In 1888,
Georgiana Burton Pittock, the wife of Oregon newspaper publisher and business tycoon
Henry Pittock, invited friends and neighbors to display their roses in a tent set up in her garden in the area now known as
Pittock Block. In 1889, lawyer and civic leader
Frederick Van Voorhies Holman helped found the Portland Rose Society. The rose cultivar ''Mme. Caroline Testout'', a
hybrid tea rose
Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous Garden roses#Hybrid perpetual, hybrid perpetuals with ...
variety named after a French dressmaker, was introduced by French rosarian
Joseph Pernet-Ducher in 1890. The
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
gained popularity, and by 1905 Portland had of rose-bordered streets, with about half-a-million rose bushes planted, attracting visitors to the
Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide World's fair, exposition h ...
.
In 1915, rose hobbyist and ''
Oregon Journal
''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portla ...
'' editor Jesse Currey convinced city officials to establish a rose test garden to protect
hybrid roses grown in Europe during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Portland's Park Bureau approved the idea in 1917, allowing rose enthusiasts in England to send roses to Portland for preservation. City landscape architect
Florence Holmes Gerke began designing the
International Rose Test Garden and accompanying amphitheatre in 1921. The garden was dedicated in June 1924 with Currey as the first curator. He served until his death in 1927. A stone bench in the garden honors Currey's work as founder.
City of Roses
The official and most common nickname for Portland is the "
City of Roses", or "
Rose City". According to Charles Paul Keyser, Portland Parks Superintendent from 1917 to 1950, the first known reference to Portland as "The City of Roses" was made by visitors at an
Episcopal Church convention in 1888.
The city's first annual rose show was held the following year, and by 1904, the Portland Rose Society began sponsoring fiestas to accompany the shows. The nickname grew in popularity after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, when
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
Harry Lane suggested that the city needed a "festival of roses".
The first
Portland Rose Festival was held two years later and remains the city's major annual festival a century later. The Portland Rose Society, which offers educational programs on "rose culture" and advocates the use of roses in the landscape, remains in operation today.
In Portland, the nickname is often attributed to Leo Samuel, who founded the Oregon Life Insurance Company in 1906 (known today as
Standard Insurance Company). Samuel grew roses outside his home and placed a pair of shears outside his garden, so people could snip a rose from his garden to take for themselves. On June 18, 2003, the city council unanimously approved a resolution adopting "the City of Roses" as the city's official nickname.
Gardens

Many
rose garden
A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...
s are found throughout Portland, the most prominent of which is the International Rose Test Garden.
Peninsula Park became the city's first public rose garden in 1909 when it was purchased for $60,000 ($ in
) with funds raised in a 1908 bond measure.
Designed by Emanuel L. Mische, the garden contains 8,900 plantings featuring 65 rose varieties. ''Mme. Caroline Testout'', the official rose of Portland, was grown at Peninsula Park. In 1913, the park was chosen as the location for an annual rose show, where it remained until
Washington Park was selected as the location of the International Rose Test Garden in 1917.
The park remains a popular Portland tourist destination, with more than 9,500 rose bushes representing over 600 varieties.
The
Ladd's Addition neighborhood has four diamond-shaped rose gardens originally designed by
William Sargent Ladd in the 1890s. Emanuel Mische designed landscaped areas in the park in 1909. Mische planted roses in the diamond gardens giving it a "stained glass effect". The park was acquired by
Portland Parks & Recreation in 1981 and currently features 3,000 roses representing sixty varieties that were popular in the early 20th century.
Other rose gardens surrounding the Portland metropolitan area include
Esther Short Park in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...
, Avery Park Rose Garden in
Corvallis, Owen Rose Garden in
Eugene, and Heirloom Roses in
St. Paul.
[
]
Events
The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June. Events, including multiple parades, a carnival, fleet week, and the crowning of a queen,[ are organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. Coinciding with the festival is the Annual Spring Rose Show, considered to be one of the largest and longest-running in the nation. The Portland's Best Rose event, sponsored by the Portland Rose Society, began in 1996. The competition includes 100 judges ranking varieties in a blind contest.] One day prior to the competition, the public is invited to vote for the People's Choice award recipient.[
]
Local namesakes
Rose City Park is a neighborhood and park in northeast Portland. The neighborhood formed in 1907, the year of the first Portland Rose Festival. The headquarters of the rose festival are at the Visitors Information Center, also known as the Rose Building. The building was designed by architect John Yeon in 1948 and served as a chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
office and visitor center
A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists.
Types
A visitor center may be a Civic c ...
, city offices, and a restaurant, as well as the rose festival's headquarters. Located along Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 19 ...
, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2010 and features a rose garden and neon rose sign. Other namesakes include murals depicting roses painted on sides of buildings in Portland, and the private company Rose City Transit, which provided most mass transit service in Portland from 1956 to 1969.
Roses have long been associated with sports in Portland. The Moda Center
Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is used for basketball, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena has a capa ...
, known as the Rose Garden for many years, is an indoor sports arena in the Rose Quarter, a sports and entertainment center in the Lloyd District neighborhood. The venue was one of the last National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) facilities to have its naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
sold. In addition, three professional sports teams were named the Portland Rosebuds during the first half of the 20th century; they were two professional men's ice hockey teams that played home games at the Portland Ice Arena and one Negro league
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
baseball team in the West Coast Baseball Association that was also known as the "Portland Roses". The first hockey team played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in Western Canada and the Western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...
from 1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
–1918. During the 1915–1916 season the Rosebuds became the first American team to participate in the Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
.[ The second hockey team played in the ]Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
's fifth and final season ( 1925–1926).[ Other teams have incorporated the "Rose City" nickname into their brand. The Rose City Rollers, an all-female ]roller derby
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...
league within the Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...
, was established in 2004 and supports four local teams and two traveling teams. The Rollers support a junior league known as the Rosebuds. Two women's professional football teams have been named the Rose City Wildcats, the first formed for the 2001 season of the Women's American Football League and the second for the 2011 season of the Women's Spring Football League
The United States Women's Football League (USWFL) is a full-contact women's American football minor league that opened with exhibition play in 2010 and subsequently played its first regular season in 2011. The league was known as the "Women's Sp ...
. A women's soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team named the Portland Thorns FC
Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...
was formed in 2012 by the Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...
and have played in the National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...
since 2013.
Music
Portland born recording artist Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984), sometimes professionally known with the stylized name of esperanza spalding, is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Aw ...
has a song called "City of Roses" on her album '' Radio Music Society''.
See also
* Cherry blossoms in Portland, Oregon
* Portland Japanese Garden, another garden within Washington Park
* Rose trial grounds
* Royal Rosarians
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Good Article
1888 establishments in Oregon
19th century in Portland, Oregon
Biota of Oregon
Culture of Portland, Oregon
Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...