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There are many connections between the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and the city of Portland, Oregon, the hometown of series creator Matt Groening.[1][2][3]
Many characters on the show have names similar to streets in Portland; Burnside, Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy, Quimby, and Terwilliger inspired Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Reverend Lovejoy, and Mayor Quimby, and Robert Onderdonk Terwilliger Jr. (better known as Sideshow Bob), respectively.[4][5]
The 2019 episode "Marge the Lumberjill" is set in Portland and includes street signs with the names that inspired the character names.[6]
In early 2021, Groening signed a portrait of Homer Simpson for a fundraising auction for Lincoln High School, his alma mater.[7]
Ned Flanders Crossing (2021), a footbridge spanning Interstate 405 to connect the Northwest District and Pearl District, is named after Ned Flanders.[8]
In 2021, an anonymous artist installed a "Merge Simpson" depicting Marge Simpson near an on-ramp to Interstate 405 in northwest Portland. The sign was displayed below a column of shrubbery resembling Simpson's beehive. City officials removed the sign because of driving safety concerns.[9][10]
See also
- "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" (December 9, 2012)