Portland Names and Neighborhoods: Their Historic Origins [Hardcover]

Eugene E. Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1979

Hundreds of street, school, and park names are in daily use in the city, but most of them have become mere labels, their origins forgotten. Here are more than 950 such names -- alphabetically arranged- with biographical and historical information about what lies behind those names and what persons they honor. Maps, illustrations, index. 256 pages. Other books by Eugene Snyder: "Amanda's Friends: Prints and Drawings by Amanda Snyder American Artist 1894 - 1980" "Aurora, Their Last Utopia: Oregon's Christian Commune, 1856-1883" "Early Portland: Stumptown Triumphant" "Mexican Notebook" "Portland Potpourri: Art, Fountains & Old Friends" "Skidmore's Portland: His Fountain and Its Sculptor" "The Adventure of the Missing Brother:" "We Claimed This Land: Portland's Pioneer Settlers"

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Binford & Mort Pubs; 1st edition (December 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 083230347X
• ISBN-13: 978-0832303470
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,430,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Book of Portland History for Anyone!, April 1, 2008

By 

Samuel John Klein "designer" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portland Names and Neighborhoods: Their Historic Origins (Paperback)

This, published in the late 1970s, is a gem. Local historian Eugene Snyder, who ought to be justly renowned for his approachable, "historian-for-the-rest-of-us" approach to Portland Oregon history, produced a genius book that is a friendly, chatty rundown of Portland street names, address system history, and where all those names really came from. Among the the things you'll know are:

* Why Ladd's Addition came about, and why it looks the way it does
* Why Downtown's Ankeny Street is so remarkably narrow
* Why Portland's address grid is the way it is (and why we needed a Great Renaming)
* Why those streets in NW Portland run alphabetically
* What game Lovejoy and Pettygrove played to choose the name of the new town

This is a book that is lovingly done, as thoroughly researched as can be and despite its dating (copyright was 1979) still essential. Published by a small Portland press which as since passed into history, it's hard to find, so get it while you can!