MAA MathFest 2014 will be held August 6-9, 2014, in
Portland, Oregon, bringing together more than 1,500 mathematicians. Known for
its riverfront scenery, culinary delights, and cool vibe, the city also has a
lively art and architecture scene. And you can find lots of examples of
embedded mathematics, from the parabolic arcs of the city's fountains to the
geometric intensity of its bridges.
In a city of many bridges, the Hawthorne Bridge stands
out. A steel structure, it was completed in 1910 and is the oldest vertical lift
bridge in operation in the United States.
The bridge carries more than 30,000 vehicles and untold
numbers of pedestrians and cyclists every day across the Willamette River.
Fountains
and cascades abound throughout the city, spraying water in parabolic arcs or
letting it tumble down angular blocks or stairs (for more on the geometry of fountain sprays see "The Geometric Spectacle of Water Fountains" and "Fountain Parabolas").
One of the more striking is the Ira
Keller Fountain, which occupies a city block at SW Clay and Market. Water scrambles down an array of stone blocks in what looks like a Euclidean
abstraction of a wilderness waterfall.
Another noteworthy fountain, dubbed unofficially "The Car
Wash," spews water in untidy parabolic arcs. It's located at SW 5th and
Ankeny.
Sculptor Clement Meadmore
(1929-2005) was known for his massive square prisms, twisted into powerful
but graceful configurations (see "Bending
a Square Prism").
A particularly intriguing example, titled "Split Ring,"
stands in front of the Portland Art Museum on SW Park Avenue.
You can also admire the graceful curves of rose blooms in
Portland’s Washington
Park International Rose Test Garden at 400 SW Kingston.
A visit to the classical Lan Su Chinese Garden at 239 NW Everett offers
not only a teahouse but also gardens
and walkways featuring stones arranged into intricate, symmetrical
patterns.
Architectural details throughout the city highlight a
variety of geometric forms—giving a strong sense of diversity in pattern and
shape.
Below, intricate tilings and reflective light fixtures brighten up the
entryway to a building in downtown Portland.
Portland is worth exploring for the many examples of public
art that dot its streets and public buildings. You’ll find a guide for a public
art walking tour at http://racc.org/sites/default/files/ArtWalk_2014.pdf.
Or consult the Public Art
PDX app for your smartphone for information about the sculptures and other
artworks that you might encounter as you wander the streets.
Portland also has 196 public staircases. Some of the more
interesting examples are highlighted in the guidebook The
Portland Stairs Book by Laura O. Foster.
Happy trails!
Photos by I. Peterson
