We asked, you answered: The best bridge in Portland is the St. Johns. Is anyone surprised?

The big picture: More than 220 Axios Portland readers voted in our bridge poll earlier this week, and 45% of y'all ranked the Willamette's northernmost span the crowning beauty of our city.

Zoom in: Built in 1931, the 2,067-foot suspension bridge's Gothic church spire-inspired arches became an instant icon, and it remains the city's tallest river crossing at 400 feet.

• Fun fact: Designer David Steinman pushed to have the bridge painted verde green to match Forest Park — not black and yellow, like officials initially suggested.

Zoom out: We also asked readers to weigh in on some fun superlatives.

• Here are those results.

Most likely to make you late

Winner: Marquam

The Marquam is Portland's heavy lifter. More than 140,000 vehicles cross it every single day, making it Oregon's busiest river crossing.

• You've got three major highways — I-5, I-84 and I-405 — coalescing at once!
• She's already hated for the way she looks (the Portland Art Commission called it "so utterly inconsistent with any concept of aesthetics"), so let's give her a break.

What you're saying: "The bridge itself is somewhat scary to drive," reader Dave Dunkak said. "However, the view of the city, especially heading north, is fantastic."

Runner-up: Hawthorne

The underrated gem

Winner: Steel

This is the only active telescoping vertical lift bridge in the U.S., and it is located at the site of the first bridge built with steel in the state.

• Its double decks, each with a 211-foot span, can be moved independently of one another — the only one in the country able to do so.
• While not initially flashy in appearance, Steel makes up for it by being one of a kind.

Runner-up: Hawthorne

The showoff

Winner: St. Johns

We get it.

Runner-up: Tilikum Crossing

Winner of best multimodal experience

Oregon's gubernatorial primary next month features a crowded field of Republicans running for the opportunity to unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.

The big picture: The Oregon GOP hasn't occupied the governor's mansion since Victor G. Atiyeh's tenure ended in 1987 and it doesn't control a single statewide office.

• The candidates aren't spending time swiping at each other, instead zeroing in on Kotek, citing her low approval rankings and her support of transportation and gas tax increases.

Zoom in: State Sen. Christine Drazan, the front-runner, is back for a rematch, hoping to reprise the 2022 gubernatorial election but with better results.

• She currently holds a double-digit lead ahead of her fellow GOP opponents, according to recent polling.
• Drazan, a Republican from Canby, ran against Kotek — a former fellow state lawmaker at the time — four years ago but fell short by just 3.5 percentage points in a crowded three-way race.

This time, she's running on a platform of lowering taxes and cost of living, improving public safety and boosting Oregon's dismal business climate.

Zoom out: Ex-Blazer and businessman Chris Dudley is positioning himself as a political outsider, and he has the backing of billionaire Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

• His focus has been on boosting the state's national standing by raising student test scores and tackling other economic challenges, emphasizing the issues facing Portland.
• Dudley lost his last bid for governor in 2010 against Democrat John Kitzhaber.

Keep reading

👟 As part of an aggressive restructuring effort, Nike will lay off 1,400 employees, mostly technology workers in its operations division, the company said yesterday. (The Oregonian)

😢 Slide Inn, the Kerns cafe featured on "Portlandia," will close after 32 years as the owners plan to step away from the food service industry. (KGW)

🚉 TriMet officials outlined more service reductions and route eliminations — including shortening the MAX Green line — planned for this summer as the agency faces ongoing budgetary pressures. (KOIN)

🏘️ Gov. Kotek signed a package of housing bills this week aimed at expanding urban growth boundaries and addressing the state's housing shortage by strengthening local housing laws and establishing construction loan programs. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

While Portlanders are known for supporting our local bookstores everyday, tomorrow is the chance for us to celebrate them.

• The last Saturday in April marks Independent Bookstore Day, where a dozen Portland-area stores will be hosting parties with live music, open mics, giveaways and other exclusives.

Zoom in: Rose City isn't just home to the monolithic "City of Books" we're known for (Powell's is also participating in tomorrow's festivities with in-store exclusives and a treasure hunt).

• There are ample bookstores here catering to a wide range of genres and niche interests.

Here's a few of our faves:

🧑🏻‍🍳 Vivienne Culinary Books features every food lover's dream: rows and rows of cookbooks, plus a wine bar and kitchenware consignment shop.

🦹🏼 Books with Pictures was once named the best comic book store in the world thanks to its diverse collection of stories about LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters.

❤️ Grand Gesture Books is Portland's second Black-owned bookstore and first dedicated solely to romance, where founder Katherine Morgan also hosts wedding ceremonies.

🔮 Dark Star Magick contains everything newbies need to get acquainted with the occult, while veteran wizards and witches can indulge in owner Steve Kinchen's depth of rare grimoires.

📚 Literary Arts, the organization that hosts the Oregon Book Awards, has a huge Central Eastside headquarters that's open late and has tens of thousands of titles on hand.

🌎 Selected Stories is an intimate space focused on highlighting lesser-known international novels, poetry, criticism and the classics.

Where do you like to browse? Hit reply and let us know!