The Grand Era Of Cast Iron Architecture In Portland

Portland's great residential architecture is presented in the context of the history and growth of the city as well as the broader, international architectural trends.

The first book on the life and work of 19th-century American inventor and entrepreneur James Bogardus, known for his unique grinding mill and other patented devices. However, his enduring claim to fame is his cast-iron structures, forerunners of the modern skyscraper. Modern interest in Bogardus stems from the historic preservation movement. His four surviving buildings in New York are recognized landmarks. Illustrated.

The National Park Service's official advice on preserving and restoring historic buildings.

In 1883, railroad financier Henry Villard brought Portland and the Pacific Northwest their first transcontinental railroad. Earning a reputation for boldness on Wall Street, the war correspondent turned entrepreneur set out to establish Portland as a bourgeoning metropolis. To realize his vision, he hired architects McKim, Mead & White to design a massive passenger station and a first-class hotel. Despite financial panics, lost fortunes and stalled construction, the Portland Hotel opened in 1890 and remained the social heart of the city for sixty years. While the original station was never built, Villard returned as a pivotal benefactor of Union Station, saving its iconic clock tower in the process. Author Alexander Benjamin Craghead tells the story of this Gilded Age patron and the architecture that helped shape the city's identity.

Covers ironwork from roughly 1840 to 1930. Thus, it includes cast iron, which prevailed during the nineteenth century and hand wrought iron, which triumphed from about 1900 to 1930.

As Portland has grown and changed, so has its architectural landscape. Once prominent landmarks have disappeared--the Marquam Building collapsed during 1912 renovations, the massive chamber of commerce building became a parking lot and the Corbett Building became a shopping mall. The city skyline was shaped by architects like Justus F. Krumbein and David L. Williams, only to drastically change in the face of urban renewal and the desire for modernization. Discover the stories behind some of Portland's most iconic buildings, including the Beth Israel Synagogue and the first East Side High School, both lost to fire. Join historian Val C. Ballestrem as he explores the city's architectural heritage from the 1890s to the present, as well as the creative forces behind it.