Roses in Portland, Oregon facts for kids
The city of Portland, Oregon, is a great place to grow roses outdoors. This is because of its special climate, with warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The soil there is also perfect for roses. Portland has been called the City of Roses or Rose City since 1888. This nickname started after a beautiful pink rose from France, called Madame Caroline Testout, was brought to the city. Many thousands of rose bushes were planted. They eventually lined about 200 miles (320 km) of Portland's streets. This was done to get ready for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905.
The Rose City Park neighborhood was created in 1907. This was the same year the first Portland Rose Festival took place. During World War I, rose growers in Portland decided to create a large rose garden. Their goal was to protect European rose types from the war. This garden became the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park in 1917. Today, the Portland Rose Festival happens every June. It includes a carnival, parades, and navy ships visiting the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The International Rose Test Garden is one of the oldest public rose test gardens in the United States. It covers about 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) and has over 8,000 rose plants. There are more than 550 different kinds of roses there. In 2003, Portland officially adopted "City of Roses" as its nickname.
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Portland's Rose History
In 1888, Georgiana Burton Pittock invited her friends and neighbors to show their roses. They displayed them in a tent in her garden. This area is now known as Pittock Block. In 1889, a lawyer named Frederick Van Voorhies Holman helped start the Portland Rose Society. The Mme. Caroline Testout rose, named after a French dressmaker, became very popular. By 1905, Portland had about 20 miles (32 km) of streets lined with roses. Around half a million rose bushes were planted. This attracted many visitors to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.
In 1915, a rose lover named Jesse Currey had an idea. He was an editor for Oregon Journal. He convinced city leaders to create a rose test garden. This garden would help protect hybrid roses grown in Europe during World War I. Portland's Park Bureau approved the plan in 1917. This allowed rose fans in England to send their roses to Portland for safekeeping. City landscape architect Florence Holmes Gerke began designing the International Rose Test Garden in 1921. The garden officially opened in June 1924. Jesse Currey was its first curator until he passed away in 1927. A stone bench in the garden honors his important work.
Why Portland is the City of Roses
The most common nickname for Portland is the "City of Roses" or "Rose City". The first time Portland was called "The City of Roses" was in 1888. Visitors at an Episcopal Church meeting used the name. The city's first yearly rose show happened the next year. By 1904, the Portland Rose Society started holding parties with the shows.
The nickname became even more popular after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. At that time, mayor Harry Lane said the city needed a "festival of roses." The first Portland Rose Festival was held two years later. It is still the city's main yearly festival today. The Portland Rose Society still teaches people about growing roses. They also encourage planting roses in the city.
Many people in Portland also link the nickname to Leo Samuel. He started the Oregon Life Insurance Company in 1906. Samuel grew roses outside his home. He even placed a pair of scissors outside his garden. This way, people could cut a rose for themselves to take home. On June 18, 2003, the city council officially approved "the City of Roses" as Portland's nickname.
Famous Rose Gardens
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Portland has many rose gardens. The most well-known is the International Rose Test Garden.
Peninsula Park became the city's first public rose garden in 1909. It was bought for $60,000 using money from a 1908 bond. Emanuel L. Mische designed the 2-acre (0.8 ha) garden. It has 8,900 rose plants with 65 different kinds. The Mme. Caroline Testout rose, Portland's official rose, was grown there. In 1913, Peninsula Park was chosen for an annual rose show. It remained the show's location until the International Rose Test Garden opened in 1917. Today, Peninsula Park is still a popular place to visit. It has over 9,500 rose bushes and more than 600 varieties.
The Ladd's Addition neighborhood has four diamond-shaped rose gardens. William Sargent Ladd first designed them in the 1890s. Emanuel Mische also designed parts of the park in 1909. He planted roses in the diamond gardens to create a "stained glass effect." Portland Parks & Recreation took over the park in 1981. It now has 3,000 roses, representing sixty types popular in the early 1900s.
Rose-Themed Events
The Portland Rose Festival is a yearly event held in June. It includes many parades, a carnival, and a "fleet week" where navy ships visit. A queen is also crowned during the festival. Volunteers from the Portland Rose Festival Association organize these events. Their goal is to promote the Portland area.
The Annual Spring Rose Show happens at the same time as the festival. It is one of the largest and longest-running rose shows in the country. The Portland's Best Rose event started in 1996. It is sponsored by the Portland Rose Society. In this competition, 100 judges rank different rose types without knowing their names. The day before the competition, the public can vote for their favorite rose. This is called the People's Choice award.
Places and Teams Named After Roses
Rose City Park is a neighborhood and park in northeast Portland. The neighborhood was formed in 1907, the same year as the first Portland Rose Festival. The main office for the rose festival is at the Visitors Information Center. This building is also known as the Rose Building. It was designed by architect John Yeon in 1948. The building has been a chamber of commerce office, a visitor center, city offices, and a restaurant. It also features a rose garden and a neon rose sign. Other rose-related names in Portland include murals of roses on buildings. There was also a company called Rose City Transit. It provided most of Portland's public transportation from 1956 to 1969.
Roses have also been linked to sports in Portland for a long time. The Moda Center is an indoor sports arena. For many years, it was known as the Rose Garden. It is part of the Rose Quarter, a sports and entertainment area. This arena is home to the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team.
Three professional sports teams were named the Portland Rosebuds in the early 1900s. Two were men's ice hockey teams. They played at the Portland Ice Arena. One was a Negro league baseball team. This team was also called the "Portland Roses." The first hockey team played from 1914 to 1918. In the 1915–1916 season, the Rosebuds became the first American team to play in the Stanley Cup finals. The second hockey team played in 1925–1926.
Other teams have used the "Rose City" nickname. The Rose City Rollers is an all-female roller derby league. It started in 2004 and has four local teams and two traveling teams. The Rollers also have a junior league called the Rosebuds. Two women's professional football teams were named the Rose City Wildcats. The first was in 2001, and the second in 2011. A women's soccer team called the Portland Thorns FC was formed in 2012. They have played in the National Women's Soccer League since 2013.
Music About Portland Roses
Esperanza Spalding, a musician born in Portland, has a song called "City of Roses." It is on her album Radio Music Society.
