The Story of “Keep Portland Weird!”
You see it all over PDX. It’s our unofficial city motto and a point of pride for many. To a good number of Portlanders Keep Portland Weird! is a statement of rebellion; a way to separate our city’s culture from others and to reject conventionalism. It is an expression that says we are not another American city of wide streets and narrow minds.
Portland sort ripped-off the phrase from Austin, Texas. The Austin Independent Business Alliance began using the slogan Keep Austin Weird to promote small businesses, which is pretty much how it was first used in Portland too. Like Austin, Portland soon adopted the motto to distinguish ourselves and our culture from other cities. It is used to express feelings of individuality, creativity, alternative lifestyles, left-of-center politics, an artistic nature, environmentalism, and eccentricity. Being less bound to traditional values, it comes as no surprise that Portland has been cited as the least religious city in the country. There is no disputing that Austin has its own wonderful weirdness. After all, Austin is where the Church of Sub Genius was born. Although Portland is home to the 24 Hour Church of Elvis, which is pretty damn weird too!
Those observing something other than conventional sexual lifestyles appreciate Portland in a big way also. It has been said that Portland has more strip clubs than anywhere else in the country. It has been said that it is easier to find a retail weed store than a liqour store in Portland. Stumptown is home to numerous semi-underground sex clubs and was rated number one on Cosmopolitan Magazine’s list of Kinkiest Cities in America in 2015. Portland has achieved similar ratings from many other sources as well.
Terry Currier, owner of Music Millennium, is credited with appropriating the Keep Portland Weird! slogan from Austin, evidently with similar intent; to promote local commerce. One can find conflicting accounts of who “owns” Keep Portland Weird! but the prevalent view is that it is in the public domain. Music Millennium apparently applied for a federal trademark but was rejected, although they may have a logo trademark for bumper stickers and merchandise, in spite of the fact that its use on T-shirts and merch is ubiquitous.
Regardless of whether the phrase is a variation of another, Keep Portland Weird! has come to symbolize part of what makes Portland a unique place to live and it captures the joyful spirit of unconventional behavior that is so Portland-esque. It is a rallying cry for those who color outside the lines and Portland is proud wear the label.