It was for manufacturing. It's not as great as one would hope for actually playing. The city has an ordnance that says that you need a special "public place of amusement" license if you have more than 3 machines and are open to the public, and it can be rather expensive. So places to play are generally limited to a relatively small number of barcade-type venues that tend to be loud and crowded.
I prefer the pinball scene in Milwaukee. Seemingly every neighborhood has at least a few relaxed, cozy bars with a decent number of machines in the back room, and there are also a few decent venues that are open to minors.
I don't know Portland as well, but based on what little time I've spent there it seemed like the situation was more similar to what it's like in Milwaukee. I've stumbled across some great old classic machines when I was there.
Seattle is like this too. There seems to be one or two machines in a lot of bars, particularity the sleepy ones. There are a few dedicated pinball bars as well which are always fun to kill an hour or two in.
