Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge

Portland has many nicknames—the City of Roses or Rose City, Stumptown, Rip City, and, of course, Bridge City. It is the home of the oldest vertical lift bridge in the country, the Hawthorne Bridge—also the oldest bridge in the city.

Spanning the Willamette River and connecting Madison Street from the East and West side of the city, this historic bridge opened to horses, carriages, street cars, and pedestrians moving across its wooden planks. Over the century, cars have replaced horses and the steel grating has replaced the wooden planks, but the bridge remains a thoroughfare of the city. Tens of thousands of people cross it every day listening to the unique sound the steel grating makes as you drive across it.

Not only is it an important connector in the city, it is also a beautiful backdrop. Whenever there is an event at the South Waterfront—Blues Festival, Pride Festival, Rose Festival—the Hawthorne Bridge stands there, lending its elegant structure and signature green hue to the already stunning setting on the banks of the Willamette.

As the oldest of the city's 12 bridges, the Hawthorne Bridge has seen a great deal of Portland’s history. As it continues to get upgrades and modifications, it will most certainly be at the heart of Bridge City’s next century.