It looks like a silver bubble floating over the South Waterfront — and for Portland kids, riding it is a rite of passage. The Portland Aerial Tram climbs 500 feet in four minutes from the river to OHSU’s Marquam Hill campus, carrying commuters and wide-eyed families in glass cabins built for the view.
On clear days the panorama is absurd: downtown’s bridges below, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens posing on the horizon, and eagles occasionally gliding past at eye level. At the top, the hospital’s skybridge and public plaza make a fine picnic perch.
It’s public transit, priced like it — a cheap ticket to the best observation deck in the city. Go on a weekday morning and you’ll ride with doctors; go at sunset and you’ll ride with photographers.
