STORY | AMANDA STUTTP
ortlAnd is A city best known
for its eccentricities – it has a reputation
as a hipster haven, and is a magnet for
corporate creatives and craft beer lovers
alike. The cityscape’s architecture draws
the eye, yet defies categorization.
Mapped right in the middle of San
Francisco and Seattle on a historic trading route on the
Pacific coast, Portland was notoriously named in 1845 out
of a coin toss between two business partners who disagreed
over what to call the land they filed to claim on the west bank
of Oregon’s Willamette River.
The two partners were from Portland, Maine and Boston,
Massachusetts, and both wanted what was known at the
time as “The Clearing” named for their respective hometowns.
If the toss had gone the other way, Portland would have been
called Boston.
Getting there is a choice between a 45-minute direct flight
from YVR, or a five-hour, 500-kilometre drive down the Oregon
coast, where, along the way, you may take some of the most
epic Instagram photos you will ever post.
Part of downtown Portland is evolving into a notable inter-
national destination with a “layered luxury” component for
curious travellers looking for cultural and culinary stimulation.
On the edge of the city’s Pearl District, on South Alder Way,
a recent restoration breathed new life into two of the city’s
most central and historic landmarks, the Cornelius Hotel and
the Woodlark Building – both listed on the National Register
of Historic Places – and joined them together to reclaim
Cornelius’ original moniker – the House of Welcome.LEFT: THE WOODLARK HOTEL'S
MAIN LOBBY REMINISCES ART
DECO DESIGN
RIGHT: THE HISTORIC CORNELIUS
AND WOODLARK BUILDINGS,
FUSED TOGETHER TO CREATE A
REFRESHED HOTEL CONCEPT(^) > IMAGES BY WOODLARK HOTEL