96 Portland, OR Trivia Questions (Ranked from Easiest to Hardest)

Updated Date:
August 29, 2025
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Portland, Oregon is the largest city in the state and the 26th most populous city in the United States. It is known for its diverse culture, thriving arts scene, and scenic beauty, with easy access to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River and the Cascade Mountains. Portland is also known for its progressive and environmentally conscious culture, with many bike lanes, an extensive public transportation system, and a focus on sustainability. The city is home to many parks, gardens, and green spaces, including the renowned International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden.

Portland is also known for its food scene, with a wide variety of cuisines and a strong emphasis on locally-sourced, sustainable ingredients. The city is home to many food carts, farmers' markets, and microbreweries, and is often referred to as "Beervana" for its large number of craft breweries. Portland is also home to a thriving music scene, with many venues and festivals showcasing both local and national acts.

Portland is also home to many historic sites, including the historic Chinatown and the Pittock Mansion, a French Renaissance-style chateau that offers a glimpse into the city's history and the life of its early settlers. The city also has a strong literary tradition, with many independent bookstores and a thriving community of writers and poets. Portland is known for its relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, making it a popular destination for travelers looking for a unique and authentic experience.

96 Portland Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2025)

1. A Portland, Oregon bar mixes the bright-green "Drink, Me, You Will" cocktail, which has basil leaves on the side of the glass to mimic the ears of what Jedi master?

Answer: Yoda


2. In 1976, Guinness World Records named the 452-square-inch landmark Mill Ends Park as the world’s smallest park, which is located in what U.S. West Coast city that’s also home to the NBA’s Trail Blazers?

Answer: Portland


3. Matt Groening grew up in Portland and named the Simpsons' God-fearing neighborino Ned after a street in the Northeast part of the city. What’s Ned’s last name?

Answer: Flanders


4. While Verkada’s security cameras have person-detection capabilities powered by AI, not every state allows for these features. Texas, Illinois, and which city in Oregon have regulations that prohibit the use of security cameras with face detection, gender appearance, and person of interest notifications?

Answer: Portland


5. 800 NW Sixth Avenue is the address of what building that serves as an intermediate stop on the Cascades and Coast Starlight routes?

Answer: Union Station


6. According to its creator Matt Groening, what character on “The Simpsons” is named after Burnside Street and Montgomery Street in Portland, Oregon?

Answer: Mr. Burns


7. Prior to renaming the arena the Moda Center as part of a sponsorship deal, the home of the Portland Trail Blazers was known by what name?

Answer: Rose Garden Arena


8. Awarded a medallion in 1999 from the American Society of Landscape Architects, what is the name of the city park in downtown Portland that was previously known as Forecourt Fountain or Auditorium Forecourt and is known primarily for its concrete water fountain? The park is named after the head of the Portland Development Commission from 1958-72.

Answer: Keller Fountain Park


9. Canyon Rd in Portland, OR is home to what public urban park that includes a zoo, a forestry museum, and a children’s museum, among other activities? With its name, you might think it is located in a state directly to the north.

Answer: Washington Park


10. Portland singer-songwriter M. Ward makes up the "Him" part of the band She & Him, while the "She" is what oh-so-kooky "New Girl" star?

Answer: Zooey Deschanel


11. The two men who settled in Portland, Oregon both wanted to name it after their hometowns. Unable to reach a compromise, they flipped a coin to decide who would get the honor. Francis Pettygrove won the toss and named the city after his Portland. Which state was Pettygrove from?

Answer: Maine


12. What feature of Portland International Airport is so popular that Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard released a sneaker featuring its iconic design in 2015?

Answer: Carpet


13. There's an expression in English often referring to hangovers that originally comes from a Scottish belief that placing a few follicles from a canine on a rabid bite can be a treatment. What is this expression which shares its name with a brewery in Portland?

Answer: Hair of the Dog


14. The main ballroom of what Portland building famously features a "floating" dance floor that absorbs shocks from physical activity and was long-considered the only one of these floorings remaining on the West Coast?

Answer: Crystal Ballroom


15. It's the name of a volcanic cinder cone, a city park, and a neighborhood in Southeast Portland. The name references a mountain in Israel. What is this two-word name?

Answer: Mount Tabor


16. An outreach program started by Megan Diana McGeorge (who must have been in the mood for a melody) rescues what type of musical instrument and places them on the streets of Portland for anyone to play. Eventually, those instruments make their way to schools or community centers.

Answer: Piano


17. The International Test Garden in Portland, Oregon's Washington Park boasts over 10,000 bushes and 650 varieties of what familiar garden resident?

Answer: Roses


18. By pioneering his trademark back-first "Fosbury Flop," Dick Fosbury became perhaps the most influential athlete of all time in what track and field event?

Answer: High Jump


19. In sculptor Keith Jellum's "Transcendence," a Portland building appears to be penetrated by a bronze version of what kind of fish that comes in Coho and Chinook varieties?

Answer: Salmon


20. Built in 1914 for a publisher and his wife, what “P” mansion is a Renaissance style chateau in Portland’s West Hills?

Answer: Pittock Mansion


21. The Portland Trail Blazers were almost the "Pioneers," but that got nixed since it was already the team name of what apt nearby liberal arts school?

Answer: Lewis & Clark College


22. The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, an outdoor Catholic shrine in Madison South, Portland, OR, is popularly known by what “G” name? The word is used to refer to a cave used by humans.

Answer: The Grotto


23. The Crystal Springs Garden, located between Reed College and Eastmoreland Golf Course in Portland, OR, has a collection of what “R” flowers, colorful members of the family Ericaceae?

Answer: Rhododendron


24. What “T” Creek and State Natural Area exists entirely in Portland, OR, and is the only Oregon state park in a metropolitan area?

Answer: Tryon Creek State Natural Area


25. Cornell Road is where you’ll find Portland’s branch of what “A” wildlife conservancy organization, often associated with its namesake’s drawings of birds?

Answer: Portland Audubon


26. The indie band lover in your life would love an assortment of band tees from Modest Mouse, Blind Pilot, Blitzen Trapper, and Elliott Smith, some of the esteemed acts from what second-most-populous Pacific Northwest city?

Answer: Portland


27. Paul Allen, an American billionaire who passed away in 2018, was the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), Seattle Seahawks (NFL), and a part owner of the Seattle Sounders (MLS). Before entering the world of sports ownership, Allen was best known for co-founding what company?

Answer: Microsoft


28. Portland native Esperanza Spalding is a jazz virtuoso of the upright and electric versions of what stringed instrument also played by Flea and Stanley Clarke?

Answer: Bass


29. Beatrice Morrow Cannady was a civil rights advocate born in 1889 and became a longtime editor of "The Advocate" which was the largest African American newspaper in Portland, Oregon. She was also the first Black female to practice law in Oregon, and was a founding member of the city's chapter of what 1909-founded organization?

Answer: NAACP


30. Portland athlete Ashton Eaton was the second person to break the 9,000 point barrier in what Olympic sport that includes shot put, pole vault, a 100-meter race, and, like, several other things?

Answer: Decathlon


31. The city of Portland was named based upon the result of what activity of chance often used to resolve disputes?

Answer: Coin Toss


32. What arboretum in Portland is a public park that is part of the Washington Park system, located atop a ridge in the Tualatin Mountains?

Answer: Hoyt Arboretum


33. True story: Anastasia, Averey, Jessica, Johnny, Joi, Jordan, Marlon, and Nia were the cast for the Portland-based 28th season of what MTV series?

Answer: The Real World


34. Botswana, Malawi, and Swaziland (Eswatini) all became independent nations in the 1960s after previously being colonies of what European nation?

Answer: United Kingdom


35. Likenesses of Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins splash in puddles in a Portland sculpture garden dedicated to what beloved children's lit author?

Answer: Beverly Cleary


36. Cobie Smulders played private eye Dex Parios in a Portland-set crime drama that shares what name with a prominent Rose City coffee roaster?

Answer: Stumptown


37. Unsurprisingly, when the first Nike retail store opened in 1990 it was in the nearby city of Portland. This store was located at the corner of Southwest Sixth Avenue and what fishy street name?

Answer: Salmon Street


38. Located 75 miles northwest of Portland, what Oregon city is the setting for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring 1990 film "Kindergarten Cop"?

Answer: Astoria


39. What Portland building was deemed a "symbol of condo craze" when it opened in the mid 2000s with 31 elliptical-shaped floors and 303 total units?

Answer: John Ross Tower


40. In what year did the Portland Streetcar System begin operations?

Answer: 2001


41. There's an Erik Satie-themed bathroom in a Portland coffeehouse punnily named for what Russian composer of "Scheherazade?"

Answer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov


42. What is the generic-sounding name of the grass-lawn area that slopes down the southern end of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland and serves as an informal amphitheater for concerts?

Answer: The Bowl


43. Opened in 1922, what is the name of Portland's oldest Chinese restaurant?

Answer: Republic Cafe


44. Who was the mid-20th century crime boss that operated out of Portland and had audio recordings that led to the indictment of a Portland mayor?

Answer: Jim Elkins


45. In what decade did the city of Portland's population cross the half-million mark for the first time?

Answer: 1990s


46. Serving in the state assembly for more than 20 years, who was the first Black woman elected to Oregon's state legislature? Earlier in her career, she had worked at Portland Community College as a counselor.

Answer: Margaret Carter


47. What is the name of Portland, Oregon's Major League Soccer team, whose mascot is a grizzled lumberjack named Jim?

Answer: Portland Timbers


48. Portland sits on what largest river in the Pacific Northwest of North America? It rises in the Rocky Mountains of BC, Canada, and it shares its name with the third largest major film studio in the world.

Answer: Columbia River


49. With a population of less than 1,000 residents, what is the name of the small Portland neighborhood made up of detached houses, rowhouses, apartment complexes, and houseboats in the north and northeast sections of Portland? The neighborhood shares its name with a nearby slough and nearly shares its name with an immensely popular 2020 Netflix program.

Answer: Bridgeton


50. A major tributary of the Columbia River, what “W” River lies 187 miles across northwestern Oregon? This major landmark of the Portland area got its name from a village of the Clackamas Native Americans.

Answer: Willamette River


51. What small amusement park, located south of downtown Portland, shares its name with the plural of an acorn bearing tree?

Answer: Oaks Amusement Park


52. The opposite of minuscule Mill Ends Park, what not-so-creatively named park is Portland's largest?

Answer: Forest Park


53. Portland, Oregon holds a strange record likely to go without contest. In 2000, researchers in the city earned the title for creating what first-of-its-kind bioluminescent animal? Although they inserted jellyfish glow genes into a whole barrel of them, only one came out with the unique ability.

Answer: Monkey


54. A bridge on Bridge Ave in Portland, OR, that connects Cathedral Park to Linnton, is named after what Biblical saint? The saint is believed to be the youngest of the Apostles, and was the brother of St. James.

Answer: Saint Johns Bridge


55. What steel suspension bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, between Cathedral Park and Linnton? It is named after a saint who was the youngest apostle, and the brother of the apostle James.

Answer: St. Johns Bridge


56. The Old Portland Underground, a series of passages underneath Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, is known to Portland, OR locals as tunnels named after what “S” Chinese city?

Answer: Shanghai Tunnels


57. What “P” Butte in Portland is an extinct cinder cone that is part of the Boring Lava Field? Its name is the same as the last name of the secretary of state who served under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005.

Answer: Powell Butte


58. Located at Portland's Pier 307, PT658 is a 78-foot-long historical vessel that was used during World War II by which branch of the U.S. Armed Forces?

Answer: Navy


59. Originally constructed to house the operations of the former Oregon Journal, what 12-story terra-cotta building stands on Broadway across from Yamhill Street? Hint: We're looking for TWO words here.

Answer: Jackson Tower


60. What "Hole" frontwoman met her husband, Kurt Cobain, at the Satyricon nightclub in Portland, OR?

Answer: Courtney Love


61. Although many respond to the unofficial motto "Keep Portland Weird", the actual city motto as of 1995 is "the city that" does what?

Answer: Works


62. Portland can only expand to a certain size because of Oregon's UGB laws. That stands for Urban Growth...what?

Answer: Boundary


63. The Blue Sky Gallery, located on 8th Avenue in Portland, Oregon, is an art gallery specifically dedicated to presenting what visual medium?

Answer: Photography


64. Don’t want a three-tiered cake to celebrate your nuptials? No problem! Which baked good can you get at the “Voodoo” wedding chapel on 3rd Avenue?

Answer: Doughnuts


65. Portland's two founders tossed a coin to decide whose home city to name the fledgling site after. Francis Pettygrove of Portland, Maine won the toss, but which New England capital would have been used as the name if Asa Lovejoy had won?

Answer: Boston


66. What’s the name of the Northwest League baseball team that plays at Ron Tonkin Field and has barley (in honor of beer brewing) as a mascot?

Answer: Hillsboro Hops


67. Portland’s been home to a Western Hockey League team since 1970. Managed and coached by Mike Johnston and playing at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum or Moda Center, what’s the team’s name?

Answer: Winterhawks


68. Thanks to a Mediterranean climate that makes it easy to grow them, Portland is known as “The City Of” which type of lovey-dovey perennial flower?

Answer: Roses


69. His last name might make you think he’s from the other coast, but which American NFL player-turned-coach got his start playing football at Lincoln High School when he was just a youngin’?

Answer: Ron East


70. Which part of the city, also called the Fifth Quadrant, is home to the Cathedral Park neighborhood and the Portland International Raceway?

Answer: North Portland


71. In which northeast Portland neighborhood will you find a cafe named after a character in the “The Princess Bride” and Fernhill Park? (Hint: Its name starts with A and comes from the Spanish term for "a street lined with trees.")

Answer: Alameda


72. Portland's Tilikum Crossing Bridge, which opened in 2015, gets its name from the word "people" in what indigenous language? This language's namesake people also give their name to a species of salmon.

Answer: Chinook


73. Where in Portland can you visit the International Rose Test Garden and the Portland Japanese Garden?

Answer: Washington Park


74. Portland's historic Bagdad Theatre was the site of the gala premiere of what Best Picture winner, itself set in the state of Oregon, in 1975?

Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest


75. The name of what Portland-based team in the National Women's Soccer League pays homage to its "City of Roses" nickname?

Answer: Portland Thorns FC


76. Talk about confusing! Although it shares a name with a city thirty miles north of the state, what Washington town of 200,000 is actually a suburb of Portland, Oregon?

Answer: Vancouver


77. The Strolling Pond Garden, the Flat Garden, and the Sand and Stone Garden are three of the eight official garden spaces in what Portland landmark that has been operating since 1967?

Answer: Portland Japanese Garden


78. Now his foundation awards the preeminent global cooking awards. But what man claimed that his earliest food memory came from the 1905 World’s Fair in Portland Oregon? “I was taken to the exposition two or three times. The thing that remained in my mind above all others—I think it marked my life—was watching Triscuits and shredded wheat biscuits being made. Isn't that crazy? At two years old that memory was made. It intrigued the hell out of me.”

Answer: James Beard


79. Portland native Linus Pauling is renowned for being one of two people (the other being Marie Curie) to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields. Pauling's first was a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with chemical bonds; his second Nobel was in what field?

Answer: Peace


80. Portland-born double Olympic champion Ryan Crouser is the only man in the last 30 years to record a score over 23 meters in what sport?

Answer: Shot put


81. What famous donut shop in Portland, Oregon once served NyQuil- and Pepto Bismol-coated doughnuts before the FDA shut down the medicinal pastry operation?

Answer: Voodoo Doughnuts


82. The first sneakers that Nike explicitly made for basketball usage were named after the NBA team based in what U.S. city?

Answer: Portland


83. When Carolyn Davidson attempted to convey motion in a design for Phil Knight, which ultimately became the famous Swoosh, she was a student at what school?

Answer: Portland State University


84. Although Portland (and Oregon more broadly) is often associated with Nike, in fact, Adidas also has its North American headquarters located in Portland. In which neighborhood will you find this HQ?

Answer: Overlook


85. Bearing the names of two 19th-century businessmen (one of whom also gives his name to the most populous city in a different state), which building in Portland is the tallest in Oregon?

Answer: Wells Fargo Center


86. What Portland-born cartoonist is known for illustrating his own weekly comic strip series “Life In Hell” from 1977 until 2012 and regularly created animated shorts for the FOX variety show “The Tracey Ullman Show”?

Answer: Matt Groening


87. W+K is one of the world's largest independent ad agencies and is headquartered in Portland. This makes sense as the company's flagship client has been Nike, including the first "Just Do It." campaign from the 1980s. What does either the W or the K stand for?

Answer: Wieden & Kennedy


88. Portland is well-known for its many bridges. The oldest bridge over the Willamette River is the St. Johns Railway Bridge which has carried trains since 1908. What is the next-oldest bridge over the Willamette? This Parker truss with a vertical-lift span is on the National Register of Historic Places and is listed as a city historic landmark.

Answer: Hawthorne Bridge


89. What is the name of the overnight, long-distance relay held annually in Oregon in August that is considered the largest running and walking relay in the world? The course runs approximately 200 miles and more than 10,000 participants as they start and end at important geographical landmarks.

Answer: Hood to Coast Relay


90. The Trail Blazers had the longest streak of consecutive sold-out home games within the "Big 4" American sports leagues until what East Coast MLB team surpassed them in 2013?

Answer: Boston Red Sox


91. What is the name of the city park in Portland that is also the northernmost point in the city? The park forms the tip of a peninsula where the Willamette and Columbia rivers intersect and is named after a New Englander who promoted interest in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest during the 1800s.

Answer: Kelley Point Park


92. What Portland neighborhood has approximately 3,000 residents and shares a name with a US state capital? Interstate 5 and N Skidmore St. both serve as boundaries for the neighborhood.

Answer: Boise


93. What is the name of the 24-inch ring of plants in Portland that is the location of a former unused lamppost and was deemed the world's smallest city park in 1971?

Answer: Mill Ends Park


94. How many total episodes of Portlandia aired over the show's eight seasons?

Answer: 77


95. Who is the Portland-raised actress and producer that is arguably most well-known for her seven-season run on Mad Men as well as roles in various feature films such as voice acting as Gabby Gabby in "Toy Story 4"?

Answer: Christina Hendricks


96. “From a Basement on the Hill” was the last album recorded by what influential Portland singer-songwriter, who died before its 2004 release?

Answer: Elliott Smith

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