Portland in the 1960s

In 1968, Newsweek reported an imminent threat of twenty thousand hippies descending on Portland, Oregon. Although the numbers were exaggerated, Portland did boast a vibrant 1960s culture of disenchanted and disenfranchised individuals seeking social and political revolution. Barefoot and bell-bottomed, they hung out in Portland’s bohemian underground and devised a better world. What began in coffee shop conversations found its voice in the Willamette Bridge newspaper, KBOO radio station and the Portland State University student strike, resulting in social, artistic and political change in the Rose City. Through these stories from the counterculture, author Polina Olsen brings to life the beat-snapping Caffe Espresso, the incense and black light posters of the Psychedelic Supermarket and the spontaneous concerts and communal soups in Lair Park.

Author Biography

Portland resident Polina Olsen is a freelance writer and author of several books on local history. Joe Uris is a semi-retired Associate Professor at Portland State University. He was active in anti-war movements during the 1960s and was Student Body President of Portland State from 1966 to 1967. He has written for Willamette Week and the Oregonian, and hosts a talk show with Abe Proctor on KBOO.