Burnside
Centennial
Dinner
It’s the 100th anniversary of the Burnside Bridge
Portland’s most iconic bridge opened in May of 1926, at the peak of prohibition. For a century, it has carried streetcars, freight, protest marches, parades, daily commutes, and quiet midnight crossings. Today it remains one of the few bridges that stitches together east and west Portland at the city’s geographic and symbolic center.
A hundred years ago, Portlanders marked its opening by gathering on it.
This year, we are doing the same.
Crowd at Burnside Bridge dedication ceremony, May 28, 1926. Image from the Oregon Historical Society, copyright held by The Oregon Journal.
Where Portland Shows Up Together
In the summer of 2020, the Burnside Bridge became more than infrastructure. It became a platform for civic engagement. During the George Floyd protests in Portland, thousands of Portlanders filled its span shoulder to shoulder, demanding racial justice and a different future for the city.
That is what bridges are for. Not just crossing water — crossing divides.
This centennial dinner builds on that legacy. We are reclaiming the bridge as civic ground again, inviting people from across Portland to sit at one long table and imagine what comes next.
Black Lives Matter march June 2, 2020. Photo used with permission by Andrew Wallner.
A Big Idea at the foot of Big Pink
One long, continuous table stretches across the span. Neighbors, business owners, artists, public servants, longtime Portlanders, and newcomers sit side by side. We break bread. We raise a glass to the people who quietly keep this city going, to the ones who show up, to the optimists and dreamers, to each other.
For a few hours, the bridge becomes what it has always had the potential to be: common ground. A shared sunset, a shared meal, a shared reminder that this city works best when we choose to meet in the middle.
Save the Date
Saturday
September 12, 2026
Timed with Portland Staycation Weekend, we're reclaiming a small corner of the city for an evening — no cars, just good food, good company, and a walk back to your hotel through a quieter downtown than you've ever known. Or stay with us all weekend and take in everything the city has planned.
We have everything we need in Portland
The last few years have tested Portland. We have felt uncertainty, loss, frustration, and change that came fast. And still, everything we need is here.
Our Oregon bounty. Our growers, makers, brewers, bakers. Our small but mighty spirit. This is a city where acquaintances become collaborators, where one introduction turns into five, where someone says “what if?” and someone else says “I know someone who can help.”
The Burnside Bridge has carried us through a century of reinvention. The Burnside Centennial Dinner is a chance to pause on that span and feel the strength that already exists — to experience Portland not as headlines or problems to solve, but as a hopeful place where we move forward together.
Get Involved
If you believe Portland is worth showing up for, this is your moment.
A civic event at this scale takes sponsors willing to invest in shared ground, partners ready to lend their craft and credibility, and volunteers who want to help bring this from idea to reality.
We’re building this the Portland way — through collaboration, generosity, and people who decide to tag themselves in.. If you’re ready to contribute time, resources, or creative energy, send us a note. We’d be glad to bring you into the fold and build this together.