In Portland’s earlier years, streetcar lines connected Portland with every neighborhood and suburb in the metro area. In fact, in the early twentieth century, Portland had one of the largest streetcar networks in America. The layout of the city’s downtown streets and neighborhoods on both sides of the river were shaped by the width of streetcar tracks, turns, and stops. The city was literally designed around the trolleys that connected everyone in the area. Portland’s first streetcar line began in 1872, with horse- or mule-drawn cars that ran along First Avenue in downtown. Eventually, the difficulty of caring for the animals helped pave the way for steam-powered engine cars, cable cars and electric-powered cars. With the rise of the family car, streetcars faded from use and most lines and streetcars were relegated to history books and museums. That’s a common enough story throughout the country – but the thing that makes Portland’s different is that our streetcars are coming back, track by track.

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