Railway Palaces of Portland, Oregon

In 1883, railroad financier Henry Villard brought the first transcontinental railroad to Portland and moreover to the PNW. The war correspondent turned entrepreneur embarked on a mission to establish Portland as a thriving metropolis. Villard hired architects to design a grand passenger station and a luxurious first-class hotel. Despite financial crises, lost fortunes, and construction delays, the Portland Hotel opened in 1890 and remained the social center of the city for six decades. While the original station was never constructed, Villard continued to be a significant benefactor of Union Station, preserving its iconic clock tower in the process. Author Alexander Benjamin Craghead recounts the tale of this Gilded Age patron and the architectural elements that shaped the city’s identity.