Architectural Guidebook to Portland / Edition 2

by Bart King

Overview

A graceful combination of eccentric and traditional architecture.

Portland, Oregon, is a city widely known for its civic planning, preservation of historic buildings, attractiveness, and inviting atmosphere.

Within the five-mile downtown district can be found skyscrapers, nineteenth-century cast-iron-front buildings, a riverfront park, old brick warehouses and breweries still in operation, a train station with a 150-foot clock tower, five bridges, and a rich assortment of museums, government buildings, and shops. With more than 250 entries, this comprehensive guide includes the following:

Pioneer Courthouse

Union Station

Chinese Classical Garden

U.S. Bancorp Tower

Historic Bridges

U.S. National Bank Building

Additional updates and expanded information can be found at: teleport.com/~kilm2/home.html

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780870711916
Publisher:	Oregon State University Press
Publication date:	10/15/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	601
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

A longtime teacher, Bart King is also the perpetrator of the national bestseller The Big Book of Boy Stuff. Along with his five sisters, Bart co-authored its companion volume, the critically acclaimed The Big Book of Girl Stuff. His project, the second edition of An Architectural Guidebook to Portland, is equally useful as a reference work and a cure for insomnia. Bart's book, The Pocket Guide to Mischief, will be out in Winter 2007.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

The nature of a city's architecture may not entirely dictate its nature, but it goes a long way toward defining it. The righ balance of glass or wood or metal gives a structure tangible character; the height, shape, color, and essential physical nature of a building influences (or even determines) the experience that a person on the sidewalk has. This is not to overstate the case; as Ada Louise Huxtable wrote, nobody "believes that the architect can solve the ills of society." But the architect does create the environment of a city, and the architect's work shapes the interactions and experiences of those who come in contact with it.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     viii
Introduction     1
Downtown     9
Cultural District     56
Government Center     88
Yamhill     115
Old Town-Chinatown     140
The Pearl     156
Northwest     179
Southwest     193
Southeast     220
Northeast     249
Downtown Bridges     283
Glossary     292
Photo credits     299
Bibliography     300
Index     309

Editorial Reviews

This is a charming, accessible guide of interest to visitors to Portland, Oregon, as well as to locals. The author, a Portland teacher with a background in history, offers informal background and description of some 250 noteworthy buildings in the city, and a few in the region, as well as some bridges, gardens, and neighborhoods. Each is described in terms of its origins, significance, and current status, and illustrated with a small b&w photo. Maps and an extensive bibliography are included. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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