This history of Portland's bridges includes all the bridges on the Willamette River from the St. Johns to Oregon City, plus three bridges on the Columbia.

The big & awesome bridges of Portland & Vancouver is a book that gets young people excited about science and engineering and provides teachers a comprehensive resource for developing engaging elementary school units of study, all through an exploration of one of the most diverse and historic collections of big river bridges in the world.

Portland, Oregon's innovative and distinctive landmark, Tilikum Crossing Bridge of the People, is the first major bridge in the U.S, carrying trains, busses, streetcars, bicycles, and pedestrians- but no private automobiles. When regional transportation agency TriMet began planning for the first bridge to be constructed across the Willamette River since 1973, the goal was to build a something symbolic, which would represent the progressive nature of the Twenty-First Century. In this book, MacDonald captures the story of an engaging public process that involved neighborhood associations, small businesses, environmentalists, biologists, bicycling enthusiasts, designers, engineers, and Portland City Council. The result &– an entirely unique bridge that increased the transportation capacity of the city while enabling Portlanders to experience their urban home in an entirely new way--car-free. Written in a friendly voice, readers will learn how Portland came to be known as "The City of Bridges" and the home to this new icon in the city's landscape. MacDonald uses 98 of his own drawings to illustrate the history of Portland river crossings. Readers will take away a deeper understanding of how our public structures come to reflect a community.

Portland has 196 public staircases, an irresistible asset to this pedestrian-friendly city. In The Portland Stairs Book, Portland's walking guru Laura Foster has gathered the best and most interesting in a handy pocket-sized guide. From Mount Tabor's epic 282 steps to the glass cupola atop 115 steps in Pioneer Courthouse, The Portland Stairs Book features details on twenty outdoor stairs that have amazing stories and something unique to offer an urban explorer. The stairs include the Willamette River Bridge Stairs, The Westover Terraces Steps, and Rocky Butte's Grand Staircase. The book also features indoor stairs that are perfect for a rainy Portland day and five Stair Trails that lead readers on urban treks that contain hundreds of steps in five different areas of town.

The case was closed, but for journalist Nancy Rommelmann, the mystery remained: What made a mother want to murder her own children? On May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith drove to the middle of the Sellwood Bridge in Portland, Oregon, and dropped her two children into the Willamette River. Forty minutes later, rescuers found the body of four-year-old Eldon. Miraculously, his seven-year-old sister, Trinity, was saved. As the public cried out for blood, Amanda was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. Embarking on a seven-year quest for the truth, Rommelmann traced the roots of Amanda's fury and desperation through thousands of pages of records, withheld documents, meetings with lawyers and convicts, and interviews with friends and family who felt shocked, confused, and emotionally swindled by a woman whose entire life was now defined by an unspeakable crime. At the heart of that crime: a tempestuous marriage, a family on the fast track to self-destruction, and a myriad of secrets and lies as dark and turbulent as the Willamette River.

Rugged individuals armed with hand tools, sweat, and ambition began building covered bridges in Oregon during the mid-1850s. These bridge builders often camped out at remote sites, living off the land or contracting with local farmers for food. Early owners of covered bridges financed construction by charging tolls—3¢ for a sheep, 5¢ for a horse and rider, and 10¢ for a team of horses and wagon. In the early 20th century, the state provided standard bridge and truss designs to each county, and most of the resulting structures incorporated the Howe truss. With the abundance of Douglas fir and the shortage of steel during the world wars, the construction of wooden covered bridges continued well into the 1950s, mainly in the Willamette Valley. During the 1920s, Oregon boasted more than 350 covered bridges.