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Puzzle #2

The second puzzle requires you to find a QR code hidden somewhere in the Hilton hotel. When you find the code and scan it with your phone, it will take you to Puzzle #3.

To find the code, you will have to answer a few questions about the history of labor unions in Portland.

Question 1: Which floor?

A black and white image of women holding picket signs that say '40 cents a day is what makes prostitutes. girls demand living wage'

In the early 20th century, 200 fruit-packing workers, all women, organized a strike at Oregon Packing Company at SE 8th and Belmont in Portland. The strikers, supported by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), demanded $1.50 a day and a 9-hour workday. More than a thousand picketers and protestors gathered in the streets as the strike gained momentum over the next few weeks, and the women were repeatedly attacked by police on horseback, beaten, and arrested.

What year did the cannery strike described above take place?

The last digit of that year will tell you which floor of the Hilton holds your next clue.

Question 2: Which room?

a black and white photo of a group of longshore workers on strike, holding picket signs that say 'STRIKE ON for decent wages and conditions'

The Great Waterfront Strike of 1934, organized by the International Longshoremen’s Association (which later joined the ILWU) shut down West Coast ports for 83 days. Working conditions before the strike were dirty and dangerous, and shifts could last up to 36 hours. More than 12,000 workers joined the strike at ports from Bellingham to San Diego. Shopkeepers, farmers and unemployed workers provided critical support to the strikers by joining picket lines and donating food and supplies. Other maritime union members joined the strike in solidarity. A group of wealthy families in Portland who were determined to break the strike paid 1000 vigilantes to violently attack picketers, killing one student and injuring many workers. After nearly 3 months, the striking workers won a coastwide contract, union-controlled hiring halls and increased wages.

During the Great Waterfront Strike in San Francisco, two strikers were shot dead and hundreds were injured in a battle that became known as “Bloody Thursday.” This battle took place on July ___, 1934.

The number that fills in the blank will tell you the number of letters in the name of the room. The floor of the Hilton that you found in the last clue has 9 named rooms, but only one of those has this number of letters in its name. You will start your search for the next clue standing in front of the door to this room.

Question 3: Where is the clue?

The corner of a concrete building with two rows of windows, located at SW 4th and SW Jefferson in Portland, OR

The Portland Labor College was located at the corner of SW 4th and Jefferson in Portland from 1921-1929. The college offered a number of short, worker-oriented courses on a variety of topics, including political events, the workings of the economy, and literature. It also sponsored talks by well-known activists, including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Scott Nearing. In 1922, the Portland Labor College established the Portland Labor Players, the first workers’ theater in the country.

To solve this puzzle, stand in front of the door to the room you identified in Question 2. The room has 2 doors. You are looking for the door closer to the elevators and farther from the bathrooms. Turn away from the room with your back to the door. Imagine that you are a student at the Portland Labor College, and look for a place that you might sit down to study. The solution to this puzzle is a QR code taped somewhere in this area. It is hidden out of sight, but you can find it with a little searching. Scan the QR code for the link to Puzzle number 3.

Remember that Puzzle #3 will be published at 5:30pm on Friday, August 2. If you find the QR code before then, you can either bookmark the link in your phone browser to load it later, or come back to the location after the puzzle is published to scan it and load the page.

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