Created for me at Powell's city of Books, this was my second Portland map, also with that peculiar directional shift which I will paraphrase from my Crosswalk article (return to main mapsproject page to read all of it...)  Also, you just have to love maps with exclamations (Forest Park - Wow!) and Rad Girls on Bikes.

" [This] person’s explanation involved something about the direction the river runs, and how it would be really nice if it ran East to West, so they just like to pretend it does. [This map] was drawn on a conventional, store-bought map, yet the author/interpreter has tilted it to the side so that West could be on top, in a mirror reversal of the first map. (Both had the river running E-W, but the first had East on top, and the second, West on top) This is why the printed words “downtown Portland” are shifted a quarter clockwise and the original printed ‘North’ arrow points to the right now.

In comparison to older maps of ancient cities with organic, winding roads that follow natural landmarks, the ‘Portland orientation’ seems to gain some inspiration from the river, not JUST the standard man made grid imposed upon it. Even in my city of Chicago there are remnants of main thoroughfares which outdate the rigid, carefully numbered grid system. These throwbacks are the reason why there are “crooked” streets that veer, for example, northwest/southeast. Contrary to urban myth, they weren’t created to torture us with six-way intersections and the “hard left vs. soft left” dichotomy that still confuses newcomers. Anomaly streets like my neighborhood’s Milwaukee Avenue follow glacial patterns: elements of nature that became footpaths of Potowatami Indians far before Chicago imposed its grid. However, as we moved from walking to horses to cars, our increase in speed led to less natural, more carefully calculated routes, affecting the way we experience space in many ways. Street layout changed, maps changed, even the standard height of street signs, starting at 10 feet, would eventually rise to 70 feet tall. A personal map will return to the concept of the original footpaths, showing shortcuts and alleyways that only personal experience dictates.

See me trying to explain portland in a map 2 years later HERE