Railway Palaces of Portland, Oregon: The Architectural Legacy of Henry Villard

by Alexander Benjamin Craghead

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625847942
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	10/24/2016
Series:	Landmarks
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Alexander Benjamin Craghead, MS (architecture), is a historian of design and place, and teaches at UC Berkeley.

Editorial Reviews

"The Northern Pacific and its boom-and-bust proprietor Henry Villard were responsible for some amaz-ing architecture in the region,. "Railway Pal-aces of Portland, Oregon: The Architectur-al Legacy of Henry Villard" (The History Press, paperback, 120 pages, 85 images, $21.95) by Alexander Benjamin Craghead details that history in such buildings as the original Port-land Hotel, and Villard's role in preserving Union Station." Pacific Northwest Rail News

From the Publisher