The iconic carpet is back. Here’s where to find it.

When locals talk about PDX, they’ll inevitably bring up the airport’s Insta-famous carpet. Sure, other airports have carpeting, but only PDX’s has become a symbol for the region, fueled by a truly unprecedented grassroots fandom. 

That’s why in the all-things-local main terminal, the iconic carpet style has made a return, very much by popular demand. Here’s how the carpet became such a thing — and where you can take those classic shoe selfies on your next trip.

The carpet’s fame organically grew in the early days of Instagram, where taking a shoe selfie became a ritual whenever you flew through PDX. 

In 2013, when the retro 1980s-era carpet style was getting worn down, the Port of Portland announced a new design would replace the beloved one. That’s when the real saga began. 

Public mourning for the old carpet became a trend online. It prompted an outcry that surprised even airport employees, as a Port of Portland spokesperson explained to Portland Monthly magazine in 2019:  “Until we talked about changing it, people only ever complained about the carpet.” When the carpet was finally pulled up in 2015, the public response to the change was so vocal online that it became an international news story covered everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to the London-based Guardian. 

One of the most Portland moments came in the summer of 2015, when a roll of the old carpet with big googly eyes was named the grand marshal of the Starlight Parade. “In any other city in this country, it would likely be considered weird to name a carpet as grand marshal of a major parade, but this is Portland, Oregon, and we do weird very well here,” the parade’s chairman said at the time. 

Since then, we’ve got to admit: plenty of us missed the old carpet. That’s why, when the Port of Portland and ZGF Architects designed the new main terminal, everyone agreed it was the perfect moment to bring it back.

You’ll find carpet throughout PDX’s concourses. But not all of that carpet is the iconic carpet. For that 1980s-era carpet design, you’ll need to seek out one of a few designated zones pre- and post-security.

You’ll primarily spot carpeted areas in lower-traffic and seating areas in the main terminal’s ticket hall and mezzanine level, as well as in Concourse E. 

Tip: try the PDX map! Yep, “where’s the carpet?” is such a common request that the airport map has a filter called The Carpet, pinpointing the exact locations.

In a word, accessibility. Carpet is cozy, but in higher-traffic areas, it can be more challenging — and tiring — for wheelchair users, folks with mobility devices and anyone rushing to their gate with a wheeled suitcase.

That’s why in the new terminal, carpet is most often used in lounging areas, while terrazzo and wooden flooring appears where people move quickly. (But even the uncarpeted flooring has deep local roots. The terrazzo is the work of local artisans and the wood is sustainably sourced Oregon white oak.)

You’ll still find the newer, 2015 pattern throughout many concourses. We’re not going to replace the 2015 carpet in all the concourses until it reaches the end of its useful life. Reducing waste: another iconic Portland value.

When the airport’s main terminal opened in 1956, the original floor was brown terrazzo. Later, the terrazzo was covered by a blue carpet patterned with the Port of Portland’s logo. In 1988, PDX swapped that design out for the now-iconic one, created by a local architecture firm.

After almost 30 years, though, the wool carpet — whose color varied from teal to green, depending on the manufacturer — was so threadbare that our maintenance crews used markers to color in the bare spots.

In 2015, the same year the carpet was the Starlight Parade’s grand marshal, the Port of Portland’s Vince Granato held a press conference announcing the airport was replacing the carpet. He was surprised to find a room filled with reporters: “I don't think any of us anticipated the response from the community.” 

In the decade since, locals have copied the ’88 PDX carpet style onto earrings, sneakers, coasters, beer labels and even the Blazers’ jerseys. And now? It’s back where it belongs: the floor of your hometown airport.