Portland's Lost Waterfront

center of bridge showing three of the four shelters In high school my main means of transportation was either my feet, a green Robin Hood 3 speed bicycle, or Rose City Transit, if I was feeling wealthy enough for the fare. Countless times I have crossed the Hawthorne Bridge, and in my days as a pedestrian, many is the time I was sheltered from a downpour by the quaint little shelters that were placed nearer to the west side of the river. In those days these shelters puzzled me, but not enough to seek out an answer. There were more pressing mysteries to an adolescent than the reason why some bridge builder thought that four bus shelters were a good idea when there wasn't any reason for a bus stop—although, if I remember correctly, the bus did stop at the one closest to town where there was a nearby stairs leading down to Harbor Drive and the walk by the sea wall. Toll houses It wasn't until after these shelters were removed, sometime during the 1989-90 remodel, tha...

I have never been on a tour of Portland's so-called "shanghai tunnels," so I am unable to comment on this attraction, except that I have heard that the tour is quite entertaining. Neither have I been to the Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland,  the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, or the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, for that matter. The closest I have come to this sort of tourist entertainment was while visiting the ancient city of York I took my family on the "York Ghost Walk." This tour is a bit of innocent fun with some old ghost stories mixed in with distorted history—just for the tourists.  It may be true that I have no experience with the tourist tours of these basements in the northwest regions of downtown, but I do know a bit about them. There is a great deal of documentation in the newspapers, and in old court records. They were built by Chinese back in the days when Chinatown was the center of gang activity related to the different tongs...

"Tar" is a multifaceted word. Most people with any degree of literacy know that it was the term used for British sailors. If their reading accomplishments include the works of Uncle Remus then they are acquainted with the famous tar baby that the Br'er Fox made from tar and turpentine to capture the Br'er Rabbit. The story has become a parable of caution for those who might become embroiled in a subject merely by cursory acquaintance.  Midshipman 4th Class Rabbit   Before I go on let me make one thing clear: I am grateful for any reviews of my book, and any interest given to it by any organization. In a world that is drowning in books, it is a pleasant thing for an author to see his come to the surface — if just for a moment. In my book, Portland's Lost Waterfront, there are 3 short paragraphs dealing with the "shanghai tunnel" fakelore (manufactured mythology)that has become popular in Portland. It would seem, from the attention given ...