An entertaining, informative read.

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DAN HAYS, The Statesman Journal
“Portland history treasured in new architectural guide”
June 10, 2001

Don’t be fooled by the title An Architectural Guidebook to Portland.

While it is true that the book identifies designers . . . it is also true that the text is rich in Portland history, anecdotes, and just plain stories. As a bonus, teacher Bart King isn’t afraid to wax downright poetic when the mood strikes him.

This wonderful book discusses more than 250 sites throughout Portland . . . Its contents include descriptions of buildings and other structures, but King never rests on that sort of information . . .

This book is a plethora of riches, an irresistible read and a fine guide to many of Portland’s unique buildings and areas.

It is full of useful maps and lots and lots and lots of black-and-white photographs by the author. The photos are a treasure in and of themselves.

WALLACE KAY HUNTINGTON,
“Portland’s preeminent architectural historian” (Randy Gragg, The Oregonian)

(The book is) witty, informative, and accurate. I suspect it will be in print for a long time and a very useful addition to books on Oregon architecture . . . your perceptive view of Portland architecture is fresh and informative and you have my profound congratulations on a job well done.

At last, Portland has a new and fully up-to-date guide to its architecture . . . I salute (Bart King) for having done what several years of work by Portland’s leading architects, designers, and historians were unable to do, and for doing a very good job of it . . . (the book) is much more comprehensive than any of its predecessors . . . and is as good a selection of notable buildings as anyone might compile.

The notes are conversational . . . frequently expressing criticism and wit . . . If you have been looking for a guide to Portland’s architecture, I recommend this one.

SARAH GIANELLI, The Oregonian
“New in the Northwest: Build on what you know about city’s legendary places”
Sarah Gianelli, August 20, 2001

How well do you know Portland? Here’s a test: Do you know where the Rose Festival crown is stored? Or what the “Made in Oregon” sign originally advertised? Which Portland church was modeled after yogurt cups?

These are just a few of the quirkier facts found in An Architectural Guidebook to Portland. Bart King’s book is Architecture 101, but a little more fun. It provides brief historical descriptions of approximately 250 Portland structures “that have distinguished or disgraced themselves in some interesting fashion.”

. . . for casual observers who have found themselves admiring the wide variety of architectural styles abundant throughout the city, it offers the perfect amount of interesting and enlightening information in a very accessible format.

VERA KATZ, Mayor, City of Portland

Take a tour of my favorite city with this guide in hand and learn about Portland’s architecture (the good and the bad), its history, its personalities, and its beauty. Bart King has provided a comprehensive look at Portland’s architectural heritage.

GINNIE COOPER, Multnomah County Library Director

Quoted in “Book Briefs” The Portland Tribune, October 26, 2001

This new book is a charming guide of interest to visitors and locals alike. The author, a Portland teacher, provides informal background and descriptions of noteworthy buildings, as well as bridges, gardens and neighborhoods.

TONI STROUD, The Chicago Tribune
“Check out Portland Architecture — by the Book”, June 24, 2001

As author Bart King says in his introduction, this book is not a listing of all or even most of Portland’s buildings, but rather a collection of buildings that have distinguished or disgraced themselves in some interesting fashion.

And so it is that in the 310 pages that follow, we find the cracker box designs of the Standard Insurance Center, the Security Pacific Building and the Union Bank of California keeping company with the octagonal wooden cupola atop Pioneer Courthouse, the rococo facade of the Hollywood Movie Theater and the turret of the Queen Anne-style Johan Poulsen House, just as they do in the city itself.

Some of the building descriptions are even more intriguing than their accompanying black-and-white photos.

VIRGIL RUPP, East Oregonian
“Northwest Books”, August 26, 2001

Portland has grown gracefully from timber town into its role as “City of Rose,” without losing any character, says a new book, An Architectural Guidebook to Portland.

Author Bart King is a school teacher with a passion for architecture. He’s done a great job with this book; 250 entries, many photos and maps and an index. Using this book will help you get to know Portland better.

BOOK NEWS, INC. (booknews.com)

This is a charming, accessible guide of interest to visitors to Portland, Oregon, as well as to locals. The author, a Portland teacher with a background in history, offers informal background and description of some 250 noteworthy buildings in the city, and a few in the region, as well as some bridges, gardens, and neighborhoods. Each is described in terms of its origins, significance, and current status . . . Maps and an extensive bibliography are included.

BRIAN LIBBY, Willamette Week
“Visual Arts: Design of the Times”, June 20, 2001

. . . As King’s comprehensive survey of Portland architecture reveals, ours is not a place for landmarks, but rather a fabric of smaller-scale new and historically preserved projects that achieve collective harmony. It’s not flashy, but it works . . . . take a stroll through Portland — either literally or in King’s book — and you’ll find an array of small treasures that might have fallen victim to the wrecking ball in other cities.

King not only examines the city’s architecture, but provides the social history behind it as well, such as the famous dialogue between Pietro Belluschi and Frank Lloyd Wright that gave birth to the Art Museum . . . If other cities have diamonds, we have a string of pearls.

ANDREW HALL, The Bridges of Portland, Oregon
http://www.bizave.com/portland/bridges/

Ever wonder about the origin of Portland’s eclectic mix of buildings old and new? This is a terrific resource with photos, key facts, and colorful trivia about most of the important and significant structures in the city. Even buildings constructed as late as 2000 are covered. If you ever have friends or relatives in town and take them around the city, you’ll want to whip out this guide to answer their questions. Great book.

This book should've been called THE Architectural Guidebook to Portland ... excellent copy and photos ... every city needs their own book like this. Author Bart King also has a new book on Portland postcards coming out in 2004.