Dr. Martin Cooper, one of the inventors of the first cell phone

NEW YORK (AP) — A cell phone was first used exactly 40 years ago.

On April 3, 1973, the first handheld portable phone was demonstrated
for reporters by Motorola executive Martin Cooper (pictured) on a New
York City street corner.

Cooper contacted Joel S. Engel, of Bell Labs, using a Motorola device
that looked like "a small, domesticated version of military walkie-talkies,"
according to an Associated Press report at the time.

The device weighed just under three pounds. The iPhone 5 weighs just
under 4 ounces. 

 
The Motorola DynaTAC and a current Samsung Galaxy S3.

NE Broadway at 11th avenue

 
Hotel Multnomah, 319 SW Pine 

Portland’s Multnomah Hotel opened in 1912 and was the Northwest’s largest and
most modern at the time until 1961. It hosted nine U.S. Presidents, Queen Marie
of Romania in 1926, Charles Lindberg in 1927 and Elvis Presley when he was in
Portland in 1957. John F. Kennedy spoke from the balcony during a campaign
stop in 1960. In 1928, KXL Radio opened new studios in the Multnomah.

Western Hotels operated the Multnomah from 1931 until 1963 when it closed. It
was restored to prominence and is now known as Embassy Suites.