An Invitation from;)
Dragonfly Press
to discover more about your Northwest neighborhood!
"A History of Northwest Portland:
From the River to the Hills" NOB HILL - SLABTOWN - PEARL - OLD TOWN
Exciting, engrossing and well researched
Over 150 historic photographs
Historic maps to help orient you to the past
This beautifully designed coffee table book, A Northwest Portland History: From the River to the Hills, lets you experience the beginning of Northwest Portland. Featuring many previously unpublished photographs showing the early days when the muddy streets were filled with horse-drawn wagons, the harbor wharves welcomed sailing ships carrying goods and immigrants, and the waterfront teemed with lumber mills, manufacturing plants, businesses, saloons, hotels and boarding houses. Meet the early homesteaders and entrepreneurs; and watch while the horse-drawn trolleys open up the hillsides for communities “with a view”.
A Northwest Portland History: From the River to the Hills reveals how this riverfront land, rich in trees, creeks, and lakes, was transformed into the thriving and vibrant district of unique neighborhoods we know today. Learn about the origins of these neighborhoods: Nob Hill, Slabtown, Old Town, the Alphabet District, the Industrial District, and the Pearl, and how they they received their names.
Read about the Lewis and Clark World’s Fair; the Vaughn Street Ballpark; the shanghaiing of sailors; and, the rich mixture of pocket immigrant communities of Germans, Jews, Greek, Irish, Scandanavian, Chinese, Croatian, Japanese, and African American communities. Learn how a hillside was moved to turn a lake into an industrial district and how landslides saved a park from development. Travel back to the days when streets were named with letters, and the term “North End" referred to Northwest Portland.
The author, Jane Comerford, a native of Portland, moved to Northwest in the early 1970s, though her family’s roots in NW date back to the 1880s. She is a retired community college administrator. Her previous book, At the Foot of the Mountain: An Early History, on the beginnings of the coastal towns of Manzanita and Neahkahnie, is carried in libraries, historical societies and bookstores and graces the coffee tables of most homes in those communities.
The designer, Giuseppe Lipari, is a transplanted New Yorker who attended Parsons School of Design, and now lives in Portland. He also designed At the Foot of the Mountain: An Early History.
Some photos from this beautifully designed book:
NW Everett Street in OLD TOWN during the 1894 flood.(Courtesy Gholston)
Fire station at NW 15th and Glisan in the PEARL. Now the restaurant Touche. 1915 (Courtesy Norm Gholston)
A family picnic at pavilion grounds near 23rd and Burnside in NOB HILL. c.1891 (Courtesy Norm Gholston)
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ORDER YOUR BOOK for $29.95 plus $5 for postage and handling
Book may also be purchased at:Powells Bookstore
Daedelus Books
Stella's
Lewis and Clark Worlds Fair 1905 (Library of Congress)
Contact me: jane@dragonfly-press-pdx.com
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Reviewers' comments about Ms. Comerford's previous book, At the Foot of the Mountain: An Early History
“….an elegant compilation of history and anecdotes of the area….enhanced with dozens of historical photos, maps, postcards, paintings and drawings.”- Oregonian , Oct 2004
“Skillfully written….design is strong and handsome….full of wonderful historical photographs….rewards all of us who devour the rich history of the Pacific Northwest….the patina of this brief coastal history is rich, as this book is rich…..thank Comerford for such splendid memories”. The Daily Astorian, January 2005
“…this fine book….is well-written, with copious photographs, well selected, and the production values in design, paper, binding, etc. are all first rate….A must purchase for libraries on the northern coast, and a wise choice for any collection of Oregoniana”- Oregon Library Association, Dec. 2004
