The Portland we see today does not very closely resemble Portland in its early years. Today’s coffee shops and technology firms are a far cry from the lumber yards and shipping ports that grew Portland into one of the early economic centers of the Amer- ican West. Nevertheless, trends leading up to the present day emerge in considering Portland’s transformation over time. The importance of trees to Portland as a city can be traced back to the founding of the northwest timber industry, but the values expressed toward trees have transformed since then. It becomes clear that trees may take on the values which residents of the city project onto them. The following sections present three views from the city’s history which illustrate this process