PORTLAND — The Paul Bunyan statue in Portland, created a half-century ago to mark Oregon’s 100th birthday, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The statue was recognized as a “well-crafted example of roadside architecture.” It is the first Oregon roadside attraction to be included in the register, but it’s not the first Paul Bunyan statue to be so recognized. An 18-foot statue in Bemidji, Minn., earned that honor in 1990.

The 31-foot-tall statue in North Portland was commissioned by the Kenton Businessman’s Club to greet visitors to the Centennial Exposition. It was designed by Victor R. and Victor A. Nelson, a father-and-son team who operated Kenton Machine Works. They built the statue’s steel structure and then moved it into place.

“People were really proud of it,” said Ian Johnson, a historian at the State Historic Preservation Office. “Paul Bunyan was a really popular figure at the time. Even though Paul Bunyan is a Minnesota legend, it made sense to folks out here because the timber industry was really important in Oregon.”