Big trees overhead and a nostalgic surprise underfoot
Portland International Airport just reopened its main terminal this week after a huge renovation. The most eye-catching features to the uninitiated are a host of massive trees and an artful canopy made from Douglas fir sourced from the Pacific Northwest’s Yakama Nation, Coquille Indian Tribe, Skokomish Indian Tribe, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
But a cult underfoot favorite is making its return alongside passengers: the carpet.
“You’ve copied the 1988 PDX carpet onto earrings, sneakers, coasters, and even the Blazers’ jerseys,” the airport said in a statement announcing the return of fandom-inspiring floor furnishing. “The design has become as iconic as the White Stag Sign and ‘Keep Portland Weird’ bumper stickers.”
Portland’s Oregonian newspaper reported last year that the renovation was expected to cost just north of $2 billion. The Federal Aviation Administration says that PDX was the 33rd-busiest airport in the country last year, enplaning 8.1 million passengers, and a big chunk of them were looking for one thing in particular.
“That’s why, when we redesigned the main terminal, we decided we needed to bring the iconic carpet back, healing the wounds we inflicted on Portland’s civic pride during the Great PDX Carpet Replacement Tragedy of 2015,” the airport said in its statement.
When the airport removed its then-three-decade-old carpet that year, Portland Monthly reported that the Carpet Mill Outlet chopped up remnants into keepsake squares and floor mats and drew a horde of nostalgic souvenir seekers.
“The cars were lined up all the way down the street,” store manager Kevin Harrison told the magazine.
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