Portland's Streetcars

This book explores the street railways arrived in Portland early and made lasting social and economic contributions that are still evident in the city’s neighborhoods today. During the 1890s, streetcar lines rapidly expanded into the West Hills and across the Willamette River. The technological prowess of the rapidly growing “Rose City” was evident in the largest horsecar in the Northwest, the second steepest cable car grade in the nation, the first true interurban railway, and an annual illuminated trolley parade. By the dawn of the 20th century, Portland boasted the largest electric railway system in the West and its first eight-wheeled streetcar. Streetcars continued to operate in Portland until the late 1950s, after which they were rediscovered by a new generation of urban planners.