Portland Speedway

Portland Speedway, also known as Union Avenue Speedway, opened in the summer of 1936 and enjoyed a 66-year run as the leading oval track in Portland. Originally built as a dirt track on a farmer's field in the far north of the city, the track was known for track roadsters based on Ford's Model T, sprint cars, and stock cars. As returning servicemen discovered a love for racing, the track exploded in popularity after World War II. The track was paved in 1946 and flourished as a center for racing; it even included a drive-in movie theater. Many notable racers, such as Len Sutton, Rolla Vollstedt, Greg Biffle, and Mike Bliss, either started their careers at or visited Portland Speedway. But the real story of Portland Speedway is told in the hundreds of people who made a living or simply enjoyed the racing life while competing at the Pacific Northwest's finest track.

In the months following Pearl Harbor, an area of swampy land north of Portland, Oregon, was transformed into shipyard housing, and within six months, Vanport became the fifth-largest city in Oregon. But in 1948, the Columbia River levees burst, and the entire town was washed away. When the waters receded, only the streets of the town remained. Throughout the 1950s, these streets were known for clandestine racing. In the spring of 1961, the Portland Rose Festival Association and Cascade Sports Car Club decided to hold a sports car race on the old blacktop. The Rose Cup races established the viability of West Delta Park as a road racing circuit. Over time, the track was improved and extended by the local racing community, and its name soon changed to Portland International Raceway (PIR). What followed was the development of the only major road racing circuit located inside the borders of a major American city. Trans-Am, IMSA, CART, Champ Car, ALMS, and, of course, NASCAR have all raced at PIR, and the Rose Cup is going strong into its sixth decade.

Prior to World War I, auto racing featured expensive machines and teams financed by auto factories. The teams toured the country, and most of the races were held in large cities, so the vast majority of Americans never saw a race. All this changed after World War I, though, and in the 1920s and 1930s there were approximately 1,000 dirt tracks in the United States and Canada. The dirt tracks offered small-time racing--little prize money and minimal publicity--but people loved it. This pictorial history documents dirt track racing, with what are today called sprint cars, around the United States from 1919 to 1941. Information on dirt track racing in Canada during this time is also provided. Regionally divided chapters detail the drivers, tracks, and specific races of each area of the country. Some of the drivers went on to win fame and fortune while others faded into obscurity. Tracks included well known facilities as well as out-of-the-way sites few people had ever heard of. The cars ranged from state of the art machines to the more common home built specials based on Model T or Model A Ford parts. Taken together, the drivers, tracks, and races of this era were instrumental in making auto racing the popular sport it is today.

Collects over one thousand trivia questions and facts about NASCAR.

You probably had a childhood idol—that one special person who meant the world to you. It might have been a family member, a teacher or a coach. It’s also quite possible you were first drawn to a professional athlete you saw on television or read about in a magazine or newspaper. Many of us once dreamed of becoming a pro athlete just like our first childhood hero. But, do the athletes we idolize have someone they considered to be extra special when they were kids? In Sports Idols’ Idols, nearly 150 past and present athletes—including dozens of Hall of Famers—share stories about their very first childhood heroes. They discuss what it was like the first time they met their idols. Many experienced euphoria. However, a few were crushed when their encounters did not go as anticipated. In this oral history, some of the most well-known sports figures from yesterday and today tell you about their idols and about special moments in their lives and careers. Go ahead! Reach for the stars! In Sports Idols’ Idols, sports fans of all ages will learn about the heroes of their heroes.

Portland's theatre history is marked by early enthusiasm and exceptionally vigorous growth. With the Pacific Northwest's often rainy weather, people sought refuge in movie entertainment, and the city eventually grew to have more theatre seats per capita than similar-sized cities in the United States. Beginning with short cinema segments at vaudeville houses downtown, Portland movie theatres came into their own swiftly and ambitiously. By 1915, there were over 70 individual theatres showing films both downtown and in neighborhoods throughout the city. By the 1920s, larger theatres were being built, including substantial neighborhood palaces such as the Bagdad, Hollywood, and Oriental. Meanwhile, downtown provided the Broadway, Portland, and Orpheum, to name a few. This volume contains an overview of Portland's theatre history through rare and newly discovered historical photographs of those memorable places of entertainment.

This intimate pocket-sized guide to the City of Roses features quirky eccentricities known only to locals, such as weather machine in Pioneer Courthouse Square, the International Rose Test Garden, and the only three-door elevator west of the Mississippi. Also included are details about a bookstore that occupies an entire city block, bus routes, and sites for science fiction aficionados.