Portland ranks as the 29th largest city in the United States with a population of over 580,000.
In 1806, Lewis and Clark discovered the land that would later become the city of Portland.
Asa Lovejoy, a native of Massachusetts, and Francis Pettygrove, a native of Maine, founded the city in 1851. Lovejoy wanted to name this city after his beloved Boston, but Pettygrove wanted to name it after his hometown of Portland. A coin toss settled the dispute, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Portland lies in the Marine west coast climate region, marked by warm, dry summers and rainy but temperate winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and for more than a century, Portland has been known as "The City of Roses"[10][11] with many rose gardens—most prominently the International Rose Test Garden.