Portland's Lost Waterfront: Tall Ships, Steam Mills and Sailors' Boardinghouses

Lost Series

by Barney Blalock

Today, Portland, Oregon, is a city of majestic bridges crisscrossing the deep swath of the Willamette River. A century ago, riverboat pilots would have witnessed a flurry of stevedores and longshoremen hurrying along the wharves. Situated as the terminus of sea lanes and railroads, with easy access to the wheat fields, sawmills and dairies of the Willamette Valley, Portland quickly became a rich and powerful seaport. As the city changed, so too did the role of the sailor--once bartered by shanghai masters, later elevated to well-paid and respected mariner. Drawing on primary source material, previously unpublished photographs and thirty-three years of waterfront work, local author Barney Blalock recalls the city's vanished waterfront in these tales of sea dogs, salty days and the river's tides.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2012

Reviews

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barney Blalock's Portland's Lost Waterfront: Tall Ships, Steam Mills and Sailor's Boardinghouses provided a fulsome wander over places I've been so many times, only 100 years ago when those places were anything but the spaces I was walking through. . .

Some of the same bits and pieces are there, but it was an entirely different world. Makes a person think. Ships instead of cars, smoke and horses, and rules and roles I would have never survived.

Am beyond glad to be in today. . .but fun to think of yesterdays. . .

[Tammie Painter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an intriguing look into a specific time (pre-WWI) and place in Portland's history. I've been reading plenty of books on this time period for research, but found myself reading this one for pleasure. The author dispels some of the myths of Portland's waterfront, but also adds in details that are just as interesting.

I'm giving it four stars because a couple chapters toward the end felt a bit rushed and thin, but overall this is a book I'm going to be reading again!

[Carye Bye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barney is simply wonderful. I met him prior to reading his book as he was a guest on a Willamette River Day trip on the historic Portland Steamer. He worked on the waterfront amidst the longshoremen and after retirement was baffled that not more had been written and how much Portland's waterfront has changed and all the lost history. The book is by History Press which has a word count limit. This is the only reason I gave it 4 not 5. I wanted more! It's not Barney's fault. I appreciate Barney's patience to read through and bring together old newspaper articles and more to recreate the past stories and his insight from working on the river. The chapter: Two Sisters which is sbout Portland and Astoria was my favorite chapter. I had been noticing this thing about Astoria snd their love/hate of Portlanders and this chapter finally historical clears up a lot for me. We chose this book for the Hidden Portland Book Club and Barney came to Introduce his book and later for Discussion and questions. I'm excited for his next book about debunking the Shanghai Tunnel myths once and for all!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. Always happy to learn more about the area and its history.