PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland is a quirky place. Portlanders' (and probably Oregonians on the whole) love for the old, iconic and arguably garish carpet at Portland International Airport (PDX) is among some of its more wholesome quirks. For those faithful shoefie takers (you know, the ol' picture of your shoes on the carpet that you post on social media), the Port of Portland has some good news for you: the carpet will be there to greet you in its new terminal opening in 2024.
A little carpet history for those of you who may be confused. Yes, the green carpet with the decidedly '80s graphic feel is an intentional move by PDX. The carpet was installed in 1988 and designed by a local architectural firm. The lore goes that the carpet sat there until 2015 and when PDX held a press conference talking about replacing the vintage carpet, they were met with a surprising amount of interest.
Now, of course, we know the carpet isn’t just under our feet as we wait to board but on chocolate bars, dog bandanas, socks, shoes and shirts. You can even purchase your own square of it.
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In the new terminal, it will be in the pre-security area and will remain in all the concourses as it is now. However, PDX cites accessibility as a reason for most of the new terminal’s floors being a gray terrazzo to allow smoother rolling for wheelchairs, assistive devices and roller bags.
PDX did share a little secret. The old carpet still exists in a room called the "secret listening room" at the Tender Loving Empire store in Concourse E, near Gate E5. It's not a secret anymore but at least you can get your shoefie in.
Destiny Johnson is a digital reporter at KGW. She hosts a nerd news show on YouTube called Nerd News with Destiny and she'd be delighted to see you there. She's also (too) vocal on Twitter @hello_destiny.
