Best Landmark

[July 23rd, 2008]

Hollywood Theatre

[The Arboretum] 4122 NE Sandy Blvd.

The Hollywood District’s namesake is more than pretty architecture—it’s pure Portlandian cinema, home to Film Action Oregon and host to indie darlings and revival films alike. Cinephiles dapper (the MPAA-sanctioned Oscar Night America) and deranged (the H.P. Lovecraft Film Fest) call this, considered one of the best-kept movie houses in America, home.

Runner-up: Joan of Arc statue

Peninsula Park

[Baristaville] 700 N Rosa Parks Way.

Before it had the International Rose Test Garden, the City of Roses had Peninsula Park. The gem of the modest North Portland space is the rose garden, where Portland’s official rose was first cultivated and where countless visitors come to gaze in awe at the explosions of color and get a noseful of the fragrance that put Portland on the map.

Runner-up: Wonder Ballroom

Portlandia

[Central City] 1120 SW 5th Ave.

Portlandia is one hot copper mama. The trident-wielding matriarch, so big she had to be floated up the river on a barge, has welcomed city employees and guests into the Portland Building’s 5th Avenue entrance for nearly 23 years.

Runner-up: PGE Park

Powell’s City of Books

[El Dorado] 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651 Oh, sweet city of books! From the iconic red-and-white sign on the corner of West Burnside Street and 10th Avenue to the pillar of books (purportedly housing the remains of a loyal customer) marking the Couch Street entrance, this monumental warehouse is every inch a Portland landmark.

Runner-up: Jamison Square

Doug Fir Lounge

[The Inseam] 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663.

Although the completion of the art-bedecked Rocket building up the street last year offers some stiff competition, the Doug Fir remains the most prominent head-turner on lower East Burnside. Squatting like a Yankee UFO just west of the Sandy Asterisk, it seems to have been dropped from some other dimension—the ur-Portland, art-directed by David Lynch, where all the men are bearded and the women wear vintage poly-blend skirts.

Runner-up: Brooklyn Park

Council Crest

[Neglected Southwest] Southwest Council Crest Drive.

Council Crest is Portland’s tippy-top. And thank goodness it’s publicly owned, so Portlanders can go stargaze, walk the pooch or have a picnic at the city’s highest lookout (1,073 feet). On a clear day, you can see five mountains—St. Helens, Hood, Adams, Jefferson and Rainier—from Council Crest’s grassy knoll.

Runner-up: The Portland Aerial Tram

Peninsula Park

[The New Frontier] 700 N Rosa Parks Way.See above.

Runner-up: McMenamins Kennedy School

Mount Tabor

[The Outer Limits] Southeast 60th Avenue and Salmon Street.

The Fourth of July found us sitting on the grass above Reservoir 6, watching the waterfront fireworks through a haze of beer and barbecue. “Goddamn,” we thought as we gazed over the tree-lined streets of Southeast toward Big Pink and the Skyline television towers, “this is the life.”

Runner-up: Powell Butte

Paul Bunyan

[The Peninsula] North Interstate and Denver avenues.

Installed in 1959 for the Oregon Centennial Exposition, the Paul Bunyan statue stands 57 feet from head to hilt across the street from George’s Dancin’ Bare. Recent rumors suggested a Southern millionaire wanted to buy him. Fear not—Paul’s no prostitute, and Kenton’s favorite landmark will remain at home in logging country.

Runner-up: St. Johns Bridge

Mount Tabor

[The People’s Republic] Southeast 60th Avenue and Salmon Street.See above.

Runner-up: The Bagdad Theater

Reed College

[Sellwoodstockland] 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., 771-1112.

Myths about Reed abound. We can’t be certain, for instance, that they have a secret underground primate lab working exclusively with snow monkeys, or that an intact MG convertible was buried in the concrete foundation of the college library. But one thing’s for certain: Reed boasts the only nuclear reactor in the world operated primarily by undergraduates. Watch out, Portland.

Runner-up: Oaks Bottom

Rocky Butte

[Siberia] Northeast Rocky Butte Road.

It is pretty easy to argue that Mount Hood is a Portland landmark. It’s as prominent a part of the city’s skyline as Big Pink. Where can you see it best? Rocky Butte. Throw in amazing views of Mount St. Helens and much of Portland and you don’t need any more reasons to trek to the top.

Runner-up: The Grotto