PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A holiday staple returned to
Portland on Wednesday: Rudolph is back!
The red nose of the iconic “White Stag” sign on the west
end of the Burnside Bridge is always illuminated the day
before Thanksgiving.
The Rose City tradition started back in 1959 as a gift when
“Elizabeth Blair Hirsch suggested it and her husband Harold
S. Hirsch made it happen, adorning the sign for his sportswear
company White Stag,” the city said.
In the 1940s, the sign used to be an ad for "white satin sugar."
It didn’t have the deer logo. Then, the building housed the
"white stag" sportswear company (below).
The sign was named a historic landmark in the 70s. In the 90s
the letter was changed to say "Made in Oregon, Old Town" as
we know it today.
The University of Oregon started leasing space in
the building in 2006 and bought the block in 2015.
