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In Los Angeles, tourists can hop aboard a red bus and pay entertainment news outlet TMZ to show them where the stars live. Here in Portland, we don’t have too many bona fide celebrities walking the streets, unless you count all public figures, like the entirety of the Portland Trail Blazers and the 12 members of the City Council. Sadly, I’ve had to get my thrills spotting failed mayoral candidates and local weathercasters. (Yes, I also keep an eye out for our solid crop of indie rock stars, like Carrie Brownstein, Colin Meloy, Patterson Hood and Isaac Brock.)
What we do have are a shit-ton of trees.
Many of them are beloved, some come with urban legends, and none of them can put on dark sunglasses and hustle off before being photographed. We called Dave Hedberg, author of the book From Stumptown to Tree Town, to walk us through some of the most historically significant trees in our urban canopy, plus ones we think are just cute or funny. Following is a list of Portland’s celebrity trees, helpfully divided into debatable at best A-list, B-list and C-list categories.
All aboard.
A-LIST
The tree: The Corbett Oak, Portland Heritage Tree #179
Location: Corner of Southwest Lane Street and Corbett Avenue
The story: Oregon white oaks are the oldest trees in the area—upwards of 300 years old—and were actively stewarded by Indigenous people for generations before Portland became a city, mainly tribes who spoke Chinookan, Hedberg says. In the early 1990s, a group of neighborhood activists chained themselves to this oak to prevent developers from chopping it down. It made headline news for months and helped inspire the founding of Portland’s heritage tree program.
Human celebrity equivalent: Actress Angelina Jolie, also famous for her activism.
The tree: The PacWest Center Pine
Location: 1211 SW 5th Ave.
The story: On the 25th-floor terrace of PacWest Center stands an evergreen tree that provides a fun distraction while stuck in downtown traffic. The pine was planted back in 1984 when PacWest Center was built and now stands about 40 feet tall. Hedberg has used photos of it in documentaries and says he’s scoping it out for the Oregon Heritage Tree Program, which he chairs. “It’s one of the most iconic trees. It’s going for some kind of height record.”
Human celebrity equivalent: LeBron James, also born in 1984 and known for being tall.
The tree: The copper beech at Portland State University’s Millar Library, Portland Heritage Tree #54
Location: 1875 SW Park Ave.
The story: As is common in the celebrity world, this copper beech tree has been the subject of false rumors. Hedberg has heard PSU students claim on campus tours that the school built Millar Library in a curved shape to accommodate the 1890s beech because the students protested, demanding it be saved. Not so, Hedberg says, and he’s got receipts: He interviewed architect George Crandall and viewed his original drawings; the library was always curved, per Crandall’s wishes. Sorry, students!
Human celebrity equivalent: The bookishReese Witherspoon, founder of Reese’s Book Club.
B-LIST
The tree: The Giants, three sequoias in Eastmoreland
Location: Southeast 37th Avenue and Martins Street
The story: These three redwoods were slated to be taken down in 2015 to make way for new homes. Cue a full-on neighborhood response, complete with “Save the Giants” T-shirts, a media frenzy, and a guy named “Lorax Dave” living in one of the sequoias for three days. Ultimately, Eastmoreland neighbors fundraised enough to buy the lot back from Everett Custom Homes—including a hefty donation from Matt Stone, one of the creators of South Park—and turned it into a park.
Human celebrity equivalent: Kenny McCormick of South Park, in homage to Stone.
The tree: The Wishing Tree
Location: 2954 NE 7th Ave.
The story: Passersby are welcome to write down their hopes and dreams and tie them to a branch of this privately owned horse chestnut tree. The homeowner has been running this whimsical neighborhood art project since 2013 and supplies paper, ties and pens. Recent wishes spotted on the tree include: “I wish for a happy, healthy baby girl” and “I wish for Portland to regain the vibrancy it had before the pandemic.”
Human celebrity equivalent: Yoko Ono, who started her Wish Tree series in 1996.
The tree: The Dosch Yellow Bellflower Apple Tree, Portland Heritage Tree #290
Location: 4700 SW Campbell Court
The story: Planted on a then-orchard in 1850, this apple tree on a cul-de-sac in Hillsdale’s now-Dosch Estates is the oldest one in the Pacific Northwest. (The “Old Apple Tree” in Fort Vancouver, Wash., died in 2020, R.I.P.) The developer behind Dosch Estates built a roundabout to contain the apple tree away from the houses—“the rare tale of a developer being very tree friendly,” Hedberg says. It still bears fruit in the fall.
Human celebrity equivalent: Apple Martin, daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, or Christina Applegate, for obvious reasons.
C-LIST
The tree: Dwarf Alberta spruce at Mill Ends Park
Location: Southwest Naito Parkway at Taylor Street
The story: Our wee little park on the waterfront is no longer the world’s smallest park, dethroned by a 372-square-incher in Nagaizumi Town, Japan. (There’s always someone smaller and newer stealing the spotlight—a common celeb pitfall.) This C-lister has also been a repeated crime victim, with vandals stealing its center tree at least twice since 2019. Portland Parks & Recreation replaced it with this dwarf Alberta spruce in 2024. Long may she reign.
Human celebrity equivalent: Ariana Grande, also known for being petite and commanding a lot of attention.
