Talk:Broadway (Portland, Oregon)

Sources roundup

The article is nominated for prod, and I looked for sources months ago when we debated its notability, but I felt I had to give it one more attempt. All I have been able to find online is an OE article about 3rd Avenue upgrading to become Great Light Way to compete against Broadway. No doubt the source material for that article would have some tidbits to help this one.

There are no shortage of notable places located on the street for which we have articles (Benson Hotel, Broadway Bridge, Imperial Hotel, United States Customhouse, Portland State University, Broadway Hotel, Portland Streetcar, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Broadway Building, 1000 Broadway, Peal District, Heathman Hotel, Pioneer Courthouse Square, The Oregonian, Jackson Tower, etc.). Maybe the article can be saved on some pithy appeal to notability by association? Alas, content about the street seems to be fading to history. —EncMstr (talk) 03:43, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

I prodded it. It's been deprodded. Not sure I'll take it to AfD yet, but as it stands there's not much to go on as far as WP:GNG. Sure could use some sources. But something akin to WP:NOTINHERITED might apply to the fact it's the site of notable buildings? They have to be built somewhere. I don't think that automatically makes the street itself notable. So is the problem about sources a FUTON bias thing? Valfontis (talk) 04:17, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

FUTON indeed. I deprodded it because the cited city document spells out a series of reasons to consider the street notable. Confirming additional sources for those may take time and digging, but such sources seem quite likely to exist. I note that a couple of Portland history websites provide promising avenues for research, for anyone able to take up the task. If the quotes at Cafeunknown.com[1] are accurate, the local papers made a succinct case for the notability of the 1925 lighting:

"From the standpoint of illumination per square foot, the Broadway association announces, Broadway will be the best lighted street in the world." (Sunday Oregonian, November 22, 1925.) "Gay with iridescent brilliance of the Milky Way, the main boulevard of the City of Roses will burst Tuesday evening into a dazzling orgy of electric rays that will rival the most famous glittering thoroughfares in the world." (The Portland News, November 24, 1925.)

And PDXHistory.com has an excellent page about Broadway, which perhaps ought to be listed as an external link here. --Arxiloxos (talk) 06:23, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

"Brightest Street in the World" reference

This references http://www.portlandonline.com/index.cfm?a=243372&c=49742, a broken link. I think there's another copy at https://www.slideshare.net/katzpdx/letter-to-council-090702a

Note that the "brightest street in the world" has also been applied to Chicago, Illinois (https://www.google.com/books/edition/City_Manager_Magazine/qFsJAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chicago+%22Brightest+street+in+the+world%22&pg=RA11-PA46, from 1926) MgFrobozz (talk) 00:19, 18 December 2023 (UTC)