The section west of the Willamette was the most vibrant street in downtown Portland even before it was renamed, in 1913, from 7th Avenue to Broadway, and this continued for decades.

The street hosted several movie theaters and vaudeville playhouses, and at night their many neon signs and lighted marquees gave the area a look that was similar to Manhattan's more-famous Broadway.

Over a dozen buildings on Broadway are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but the street is meant to be a busy and commercial, and to provide a route through which Portlanders could commute.

Due to an advanced lighting system installed in 1925, it was once called "the brightest street in the world.

"[2] In downtown, Broadway is parallel to, and one block west of, the Portland Transit Mall.