Why I Love Portland: PDX’s Beautiful New Main Terminal Is Finally Open!

If you’ve flown in or out of Portland International Airport in the last couple of years, you’ve watched something pretty remarkable happen: our airport has been quietly (and not-so-quietly) transforming into one of the most talked-about terminals in the country. This June, the final phase of the $2 billion main terminal project wrapped up, and having walked through it myself, I can tell you — it’s worth the hype. It’s also, in true Portland fashion, a love letter to this place: built with Northwest wood, filled with local shops, and covered in art from local and Indigenous artists.

For anyone thinking about moving to Portland, PDX is often the very first Portland experience you have. And now that first impression is a really good one. Here’s why I’m so proud of what they built.

A Nine-Acre Forest Canopy Overhead

The showstopper is the roof — nine acres of undulating mass timber, dotted with 49 skylights that flood the terminal with natural light. It’s made from 3.5 million board feet of Douglas fir, sourced from forests within about 300 miles of Portland, right here in Oregon and Washington. Thirty percent of that wood can be traced back to the exact forest it came from, and 16% came from tribal lands, contributed by four Oregon and Washington tribes. Walking underneath it genuinely feels like strolling through a forest canopy rather than standing in an airport, which is exactly the point.

An Actual Indoor Forest

They didn’t stop at a wooden roof — the terminal is home to 72 living trees and more than 5,000 additional plants, creating a genuinely green, park-like space to wait for a flight. Combined with the natural light pouring in from above, it’s one of the few airports where you might actually want to linger.

The Iconic Carpet Is Back

Okay, this is the one that made Portlanders genuinely emotional: the famous teal-and-mauve PDX carpet — the one with its own fan club and retired pieces sold as wallets and yoga mats — has returned. A thousand square feet of it now welcomes travelers in the new terminal, and it’s exactly the kind of quirky, sentimental detail that makes Portland, Portland. Originally sourced and designed by my dear friend Claudia Gentzkow-Ralph.

100% Local Shops and Restaurants

Every single concession in the new terminal is a local or regional brand — there isn’t a generic chain in sight. You’ll find Powell’s Books, Columbia Sportswear, Lardo, Screen Door, Good Coffee, Loyal Legion (pouring 96 Oregon beers on tap), Freeland Spirits, Steven Smith Teamaker, Mikiko Mochi Donuts, and Sheridan Fruit, among about twenty local names opening throughout the terminal. It’s a genuinely great way for visitors — and future neighbors — to get a taste of Portland before they’ve even left the airport.

Art From Local and Indigenous Artists

The new terminal doubles as a gallery. Large-scale sculptures by Indigenous artists, ceramic and glass mosaics from Dyani White Hawk and Kate Newby, and community murals featuring contributions from more than 150 local artists are woven throughout the space, alongside a dedicated pre-security art gallery.

Built for Everyone

Beyond the design, there’s real thoughtfulness in how the terminal works: an accessibility hub, interactive wayfinding maps, sensory rooms for travelers who need a quieter moment, and a new play area in Concourse E for kids to burn off energy before a flight. The whole terminal was also built to cut energy use per square foot by about 50%, even while doubling the airport’s passenger capacity.

Why This Matters Beyond the Airport

ZGF Architects and the Port of Portland have called this the largest public infrastructure project in Oregon’s history — and they built the whole thing while keeping the airport fully operational the entire time. That’s a very Portland kind of ambition: do something world-class, do it sustainably, do it with local hands and local wood, and don’t stop the show while you’re doing it.

As a Realtor who gets to show people this city every day, I love that the first thing so many future Portlanders now see is this terminal — forest light, local coffee, Indigenous art, and that beloved carpet under their feet. It’s a genuinely great front door for a genuinely great city.

Welcome to Portland. I think you’re going to love it here.

Photo note: For high-resolution images of the new terminal, the Port of Portland’s official media gallery and PDX NEXT media page both have downloadable photos available for use. I’d recommend pulling a few from there (or swapping in your own airport photos) to drop into the placeholders above before publishing.