The 800th ‘The Simpsons’ episode is set in Philadelphia. But Portland is in its DNA

The 800th episode of the longest-running primetime scripted show in U.S. history — The Simpsons — is scheduled to air on Sunday. This milestone installment of the nearly 40-year-old animated series finds the family in Philadelphia. But much of the show’s true DNA is rooted almost 3,000 miles west, in Portland, Ore.

Although The Simpsons is famously set in the fictional town of “Springfield,” the creator of the satirical animated series, Matt Groening, grew up in Portland and sought early inspiration for some of the show’s characters in the local landscape.

“Matt Groening was influenced by this place to a degree and chose to name characters after these streets,” said Bill Oakley, who served as a showrunner and head writer on The Simpsons through most of the 1990s. He moved to Portland after his tenure on the series.

Oakley said he is best known as the creator, with his writing partner Josh Weinstein, of the famous “Steamed Hams” skit in the season seven episode, “22 Short Films about Springfield.” The scene, set at a dinner party that goes horribly wrong, has been the source of many Internet memes since it came out in 1996.

A bully, a politician, and a cleric 

Driving through the city, Oakley points out a stretch of road – NW 23rd Ave. – which intersects with multiple street names repurposed for characters in The Simpsons. “We have Flanders, Lovejoy, Kearney and Quimby along this strip,” Oakley said.

In the world of the show, Kearney Zzyzwicz is the buzz-cut bully who regularly terrorizes Bart Simpson alongside fellow hoodlums Jimbo Jones and Dolph Starbeam. (Portland also has a Dolph Street, but Oakley said it likely wasn’t responsible for the naming of Dolph the character.) Reverend Timothy Lovejoy is Springfield’s resident man of the cloth. Quimby Street lends its name to Joe Quimby, Springfield’s corrupt mayor.

“He’s supposed to be a parody of one of the Kennedys” said Oakley. “Kennedy and Quimby sound similar.”

Hi-diddly-ho, Portland!

Perhaps the most famous pilgrimage site for fans is Flanders Street. The thoroughfare serves as the namesake for the Simpsons’ neighbor, Ned Flanders. “He’s an extremely friendly, happy, upbeat, chirpy guy – to the point of being annoying,” Oakley said.

In 2021, Portland returned the naming favor when the city’s Bureau of Transportation officially renamed a freeway overpass called Flanders Crossing to Ned Flanders Crossing. The sidewalk at one end of the overpass features a bronze plaque engraved with Flanders’s cheerful face and his signature catchphrase: “Hi-Diddly-Ho-Neighborinos!”

Treacherous inspiration and a non-existent street number

The inspiration gets more treacherous while driving along the Terwilliger Curves. This serpentine, six-lane stretch of Interstate 5 is known as one of the most dangerous sections of highway in Oregon. It is also the namesake of the show’s “evil genius” Robert Underdunk Terwilliger—better known as Sideshow Bob. “He’s a dangerous character, not to be trifled with,” Oakley said. “Much like this stretch of highway.”

One Portland street – Evergreen Terrace – appears in The Simpsons, not as a character name, but as itself: Evergreen Terrace is where the Simpson family lives. Groening grew up on the real Evergreen Terrace. It’s located in an upscale, leafy neighborhood in the hills above the city.

But there is no 742 Evergreen Terrace – the specific house number in The Simpsons – in Portland. The house numbers on the real-life street start in the thousands. “I don’t even know where 742 came from. I think it might have been made up randomly, but it’s since become canonical,” Oakley said. “In any case, this area looks nothing like the Evergreen Terrace that we know and love in Springfield. The real one here in Portland is forest-y, with quiet, pretty fancy-looking houses.”

A practical solution

Why streets? According to Oakley, the choice wasn’t purely sentimental; it was practical. In the early days of the show, the writing team faced a daunting creative hurdle: world-building at scale.

When you have to make up 50 characters’ last names, streets are a good way to go,” Oakley said.

Of course, street names are not the only option.

“Sometimes it’s as easy as going to the phone book,” Oakley said. “But you don’t pick the first name that comes out of the phone book. It’s got to be the most interesting name that comes out of the phone book.”

Jennifer Vanasco edited this story for air and web.