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Monday, November 10, 2008

Walking Porland

by Sybilla Avery Cook

I bought this book to help me know what buildings I was looking at when I visited Portland at the end of Oct and to help me discover other interesting sights. I didn't have any intention of walking very far because my knees are bad and my 86-yr-old mother was with us on that trip. (Truth be told, she could have out walked both Candleman and I!)

Walking Portland was very helpful and I'm very glad I bought it and used it to plan our time in Portland. There are descriptions of older buildings and tidbits about the architecture. For example, one of the architects hoped to make Portland a white city because he was fascinatedby the "City Beautiful" ideas displayed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and Columbian Exposition. Having read The Devil and the White and then visited Chicago that bit of information was interesting to me.

There were helpful hints on how to get a good picture of Portlandia, the 2nd larges hammered copper statue in America (the largest is the Statue of Liberty) and where to find lots of parks, both big and small.

There are pictures, but I would have liked many more. I realize if there were more pictures the cost of the book probably been more than I would have spent for this book.

All-in-all, I am very pleased with Walking Portland and I hope I get to refer to it again and again as I plan future trips.

Note - How hard is it to hold the camera so the picture doesn't come out at an angle? Good grief!

5 comments:

jenclair said...

Sounds like a good one! I hope to visit Portland one day, but would enjoy the photos and the information even if I never get there.

Framed said...

I really need to go back to Portland. We didn't spend near enough time there.

Bookfool said...

Well, just tilt a little further, deliberately, next time. The pros do that -- for drama, I guess. It's surprising how often we tilt just a tiny bit.

Paula said...

I love Portland. It's such a pretty and clean city.
I'm sure the statue is probably crooked, not the photographer...LOL!

Lotus Reads said...

Hello Booklogged!

As a devour of guide books I was really pleased to see your review of "Walking Portland" and to note that you found it so helpful. I'm off to see what other cities they feature in this "Walking" series! BTW, loved your photo of Portlandia!