Portland Historic Walking Tour: Uncover City's Unique Past
4.7
182 Ratings
Portland
Uncover the unique and colorful past of Portland on a historic walking tour. Explore the city's buildings, parks, and stories that shaped its history. Join us for an engaging and personalized experience!
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Director Park - All tours start at DIRECTOR PARK. We’ll meet you in the southeast corner of this urban hardscape park, near the intersection of SW Taylor and SW Park Ave. Our meeting spot is across the street from entrance to the Regal Fox Tower.

Parking is available on the streets nearby or in lots in the adjacent building. The MAX light rail comes just a block away, at the Pioneer Square stop.

What's Included
  • Certified Guide
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities (always appreciated)
Additional Information

Tours start at 10:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.

Meeting point is DIRECTOR PARK.

Our tours through downtown Portland, Oregon are lively, well-structured and vibrant, providing the Best of the City! Portland is a quirky place, but each building, park and brick holds a story. We have compiled the finest elements of our city, and indeed, its most intricate and controversial aspects as well. As the world evolves, so does the narrative of our city.

Portland’s rich history can be narrated via its architecture and street patterns, with parks gaining prominence in the city center. The history is anything but dull, filled with secret deals, untimely deaths, avarice, and eventually, the arrival of the hippies!

How did Portland evolve into the foremost city on the West Coast to have a fine art museum? How did the initial cultural standing of the city shape its mid-20th century, and why has it become such a hotbed for racial justice demonstrations? We’ll delve into what defined, defines, and will define the essence of the city.

For a personalize experience and to ensure safety, we limit groups to a maximum of 15 individuals.

Location
Director Park
Southwest Park Avenue
DIRECTOR PARK, 815 SW Park Ave, diagonally across Yamhill Street from Nordstrom and across from the Elephants Deli. We'll meet you near the paved fountain on the north end of the park, the NE corner of the park.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(182 Ratings)
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Michael
Apr 27, 2024
Terrific tour - Shannon was a great tour guide. Her knowledge and history of the city was extensive. We’ve done a few walking tours in different cities and she was one of the best. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_m
Apr 8, 2024
Our guide, Nancy, was... - Our guide, Nancy, was GREAT! Very knowledgable and personable. We have already recommended the tour to other folks.
Review provided by Viator
Angela_r
Apr 8, 2024
This is the tour you want when you want to hear the less heard about history of Downton Portland - Despite the intermittent rain and a chilly day, Nancy our tour guide, made the tour so interesting that we barely noticed the weather. I booked our group of 6 adults as a way to share more of our city with visiting family. We've lived here for 14 years and thought that a tour would also given us an opportunity to learn more too. Nancy grew up here and has the deep (and sometimes scandalous) scoop of history, and her lived experiences here provided the kind of engagement that you want in a guide. We're still talking about how much we enjoyed this tour and look forward to working with her again for other tours too! Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Voyager568550
Mar 14, 2024
Great tour, great tour guide - The tour was great! High energy and so informative! It was a full 2 hours and we came away with great history and an understanding of the city. Otniel was friendly and well versed in the art and history of downtown.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jed_p
Jan 28, 2024
Great tour - Nancy was great! I will definitely be back! Dealt with the ice and cold and made it a great time! Thank you for such a great day!
Review provided by Viator
Harold_a
Dec 21, 2023
Great tour - Great tour leader - she was very enthusiastic and informative - great value for the cost of the tour
Review provided by Viator
X4786feramonas
Dec 1, 2023
Super interesting tour! Highly recommended! - It was a great tour! I was alone with Sarah. In addition to the sights in Portland, she also told me a lot about the current situation in the USA. I can only recommend the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eileen_h
Nov 20, 2023
Fun to be had in Portland! - Our guide was simply fantastic! We knew nothing about the portion of Portland she introduced us to. So many memorable moments on the tour! And she cleared up some real misunderstandings we'd had about Portland: showing us the blocks where demonstrations are held shifted my understanding especially. I'd thought all of Portland was demonstrating! Her emphasis on how parking lots are central to Portland's identity was creative and thoughtful. I can't say enough about our guide. We learned a great deal.
Review provided by Viator
Michael_p
Nov 10, 2023
Great first day thing to do - Our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and personable. We learned a lot about the city of Portland and got the lay of the land.
Review provided by Viator
Missy_m
Apr 22, 2024
Personally Portland - Learned a lot of personal history of Portland and Guide. Conversations about sites and general history helped me create a list of things to go see after the tour.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 12 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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