Plus: 'Elf' socks for blood donors.
 
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Today’s Forecast

49º | Showers | 84% chance of rain | Sunrise 7:50 a.m. | Sunset 4:40 p.m.
 

Vertically inclined

Bridge City’s bridge history: the 12 structures that span the Willamette River
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A fire in 1902 damaged the wooden Madison Street Bridge, prompting Portland to build a steel bridge in its place. | Photo by Raymonst
Portland is a bottomless trove of fun facts you can bring to a family gathering. The Hawthrone Bridge is another conversation starter — or topic to diffuse a heated conversation, depending on the situation — that you can add to your dinner table arsenal. Lead with this: “Did you know Portland is home to the oldest operating vertical lift bridge in the United States?”

The Hawthorne Bridge was designed by renowned Kansas City engineering firm Waddell & Harrington and its steel superstructure was made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. It replaced the wooden Madison Street Bridge, opening to pedestrians, horses, vehicles, and street cars in late 1910 as just the third major vertical lift bridge in the country. Like many landmarks around Portland, the bridge takes its name from 19th-century physician James C. Hawthorne.

Today, the Hawthorne still largely relies on its original operating system, plus electrical power and controls installed in 1975. Those were updated in 1999 during a project that also widened the bridge’s sidewalks and strengthened the deck.

hawthorne bridge portland pdx

Construction workers posing on the Hawthorne Bridge, which cost $511,216 to build, on Dec. 31, 1910.

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Photo via Portland City Archives

Quick facts about the modern Hawthorne Bridge:
  • It’s Oregon’s busiest bicycle and transit bridge with 30,000 vehicles + 8,000 bicycles crossing every day
  • Two 450-ton concrete counterweights allow the main span to be raised 110 ft vertically in less than a minute for passing ships
  • Its steel grate deck was installed in 1945, ending years of high-maintenance wood planking
  • The cabin mounted on top of the lift span operates as a “command center” for Multnomah County’s four movable bridges
  • Its main span opens as many as 200 times per month
  • In 1989, the Willamette Light Brigade helped Portland General Electric outline the bridge’s arches, towers, and railing with 8,000 lights to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first transmission of electricity to Portland
More bridge history
 
Events
Monday, Nov. 13
  • Washington Park Volunteer Day | Monday, Nov. 13 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | Meet near the shuttle stop on Southwest Rose Garden Way, Portland | Free | Help remove weeds, plants, and topsoil from the garden beds next to the International Rose Test Garden parking lot and tennis courts.
  • The Basques: Mystery People of the American West | Monday, Nov. 13 | 7 p.m. | Blackberry Hall at McMenamins Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey St., Troutdale | $5 | Award-winning historian and author Richard Etulain will share his experience of growing up on a Basque sheep ranch in eastern Washington during this special History Pub event.
  • Takács Quartet | Monday, Nov. 13-Tuesday, Nov. 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave., Portland | $32-$59 | Listen to new and classic pieces performed by what The New York Times calls “one of the world’s greatest string quartets.”
Tuesday, Nov. 14
  • Jays, Crows, and Ravens | Tuesday, Nov. 14 | 6-7 p.m. | Online | $20-$30 | Naturalist John Rakestraw will teach you about Oregon’s collection of corvids and you’ll leave knowing their histories, how to identify them, and where to look (may we suggest downtown Portland?).
  • “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” | Tuesday, Nov. 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., Portland | $35-$65 | Dancers, a DJ, a violinist, and legendary hip-hop artist MC Kurtis Blow will share a re-imagined version of the classic holiday story celebrating love, community, and Tchaikovsky’s music.
Wednesday, Nov. 15
Events calendar here
Click here to have your event featured.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
 
Tech

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News Notes
Environment
  • Quiet Clean PDX wants a city-wide ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which are estimated to emit the same amount of pollutants in an hour as driving a Toyota Camry from Portland to San Diego. Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s office expects Portland City Council to vote on a ban next year. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)
Sports
  • On the heels of midfielder Crystal Dunn’s announced departure from the Portland Thorns, goalkeeping coach Nadine Angerer says she’s also leaving the team. Angerer spent 10 seasons with the Thorns, two of which she played as goalkeeper, after helping the German national team win the 2007 World Cup. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)
Eat
  • What came first — the restaurant or the food cart? For Fried Egg I’m in Love, the food cart came first on North Mississippi Avenue, but it will hatch into a full-fledged restaurant in January. The current location will close Dec. 31, and reopen down the street at the Fremont intersection.
Coming Soon
  • Portland International Airport aims to open its first common-use lounge by Thanksgiving 2024. The 10,700-sqft Escape Lounge in Concourse D will offer family space, high-speed Wi-Fi, a digital library, shower rooms, and a Hoptimists bar. Certain credit card holders can get in for free, or anyone can buy a pass. (Thrifty Traveler)
Pets
  • Dogs up and down the Willamette Valley have been falling sick with an atypical respiratory disease and officials aren’t sure what’s causing it. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has recorded 100+ known cases of the illness since Aug. 9, with cases ranging from chronic tracheobronchitis to acute pneumonia. (KOIN)
Civic
  • Portland Parks and Recreation says there’s a nearly $600 million backlog of deferred maintenance and needed repairs across city parks infrastructure. KGW made an interactive map of every asset PP&R has identified as needing attention — from pathway renovations to swingset replacements — complete with each item’s estimated cost. (KGW)
Finance
  • This card is offering a rare $300 welcome bonus (and bonuses like that don’t come around that often). That’s why thousands are lining up for it. Learn more and apply.*
 
Cause

‘My finger has a heartbeat’

Spread holiday cheer by donating blood this November
elf socks red cross blood donation.png
Just remember: cotton balls are not for eating. | Photo by American Red Cross
Staying calm through a blood draw might not have been Buddy the Elf’s forte, but he got through it by thinking about sugar plums. If you want to spread some holiday cheer like Buddy, consider donating blood in honor of the movie’s 20th anniversary.

If you donate during November, the American Red Cross will give you a pair of “Elf” + Red Cross socks that will warm your feet and your heart.

Here are some upcoming blood drives in Portland:
  • Tuesday, Nov. 14 | 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | The Grotto, 8840 NE Skidmore St.
  • Saturday, Nov. 18 | 9 a.m.-2 p.m. | Kingpins PDX, 3550 SE 92nd Ave.
  • Friday, Nov. 24 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Smile Station, 8210 SE 13th Ave.
  • Monday, Nov. 27 | 1:30-7:30 p.m. | Blood Donation Center, 3131 N. Vancouver Ave.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 28 | 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | Fred Meyer, 3500 SE 22nd Ave.
  • Thursday, Nov. 30 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Pearl West, 1455 NW Irving St.
The Buy

The Buy 11.13.23 (Affiliate + Six & Main)
This best-selling women’s pea coat you can wear with anything. We’re liking colors camel and khaki.
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The Wrap
 
Cambrie Juarez headshot

Today’s edition by:
Cambrie
From the editor
If the news about a mysterious canine respiratory illness has you on edge, you’re not alone. My two dogs were blissfully unaware of the situation, sleeping near my feet as I wrote about it (one of the perks of working mostly from home). Oregon’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory recommends these steps to ward off viruses: good diet, exercise, and proper vaccination.
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