Portland is often considered a hipster mecca, and long
before there was Portlandia, there
was the Portland Airport Carpet. In the 1980’s, the Portland airport, known as
PDX was renovated. One major installment during this renovation was new carpet.
A local architecture and design firm was hired to design the carpet pattern,
and what they came up with is what is now known as the iconic PDX carpet. Fast
forward about 20 years later, and it was time to start replacing the not yet
famous carpet that was beginning to fray. As new carpet began replacing the
original carpet, Portlanders took notice and started taking photos of
themselves with the carpet. A social media trend went viral as people started
posting pictures of their feet on the carpet whenever they were at the airport
leaving town.
Soon, the Portland
Airport Carpet started showing up on shoes, local beer labels, and tee-shirts.
Then came the online stores dedicated solely to products with the Portland airport carpet pattern.
And next thing you know, every hipster in town was wearing anything and
everything PDX carpet. Most people, not from Portland have trouble
understanding what is so appealing about the pattern itself, and even the
locals don’t even quite know. As one Portlander described it, “There’s nothing
actually amazing about the carpet pattern itself, but with all the hype
surrounding it it’s impossible to deny it’s relevance.”
The new carpet has slowly started to replace the old carpet
and Portlanders are not pleased. Part of what makes the carpet so iconic is
that soon enough it will be gone forever and there will be nothing left but the
photo evidence, much like a childhood pet. Will the new carpet draw as much
attention as the old one, or will the hipster Portland scene forever feel
betrayed by their beloved airport?
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