When creating The Simpson’s Matt Groening chose to draw from his hometown memories by not only naming characters after childhood influences but he utilized various streets and landmarks from the Portland area as well.
One can’t help but notice as you’re driving through Northwest Portland how several of the alphabetically named streets carry the names of popular Simpson’s characters such as Flanders, Lovejoy and Quimby. Other character names that aren’t as popular such as Kearny and Van Houten are included, but not all the street names used in the series come from the same part of town. Having grown up in the West Hills on Evergreen Terrace Matt must have felt it was a suitable street for Bart and Lisa to live on as well.
Other influences for The Simpson’s came from various parts of Oregon like the city of Springfield and even Homer’s place of employment, the nuclear power plant. The construction of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in 1970’s must have been very influential as it took place during most of Matt’s high school career. Even it’s location in Rainier has its spot in the series with Rainier Luftwaffe Wolfcastle also known for his role as McBain.
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