Portland, carved in layers of birch
Every depth a real step in the wood, not a print.
“Beautiful piece, expertly crafted. Packed well and arrived in perfect condition.”
Mark S., Hudson, OH. Verified buyer
Portland in stacked Baltic birch, 13.5 by 31 inches: the river city carved one depth contour per layer, the Willamette threading downtown toward its meeting with the Columbia.
Details
- Dimensions
- 13.5 × 31 in
- Material
- Baltic birch, hand-stained water
- Build
- Up to 12 laser-cut birch layers
- Detail
- Carved bathymetric relief, laser-etched labels
- Soundings
- NOAA nautical survey data
About this piece
Portland is Bridgetown for honest reasons: a dozen spans cross the Willamette in the city alone, from the 1912 steel of the Hawthorne, the oldest operating vertical-lift bridge in the country, to Tilikum Crossing, built for everything except cars. The river carries dragon boats, rose-festival fleets, and working barges through the city's center, passes Ross Island's lagoon and Sauvie Island's farm shores, and joins the Columbia just downstream, where the region's water road runs to the sea. On the chart, the Willamette's engraved channel bends through the grid with each bridge in position, the city's spine in birch.
Each contour is a separate laser-cut sheet, stacked by hand and engraved, behind acrylic glass in a solid Baltic birch frame.
Bridge loyalty is a Portland personality trait. All candidates appear on this chart.
The engraving spans downtown and its bridges, Ross Island, Swan Island's basin, and the confluence reach toward Sauvie. The river's far end lives on the Columbia River Mouth chart.
- 13.5 × 31 in
- Solid Baltic birch frame
- Acrylic glass front, ready to hang
- Free next-business-day shipping on orders placed by 2 PM EST
- 14-day returns
Shipping and returns
Orders placed by 2 PM EST ship the next business day, free anywhere in the US, with tracking.
14-day returns if the size or frame is not right for the room.
Going on someone else’s wall? It ships packed and ready to wrap. Add a gift note in your cart.
Not a print
Run a finger across it. You can feel the water get deeper.
Up to 12 sheets of Baltic birch, each one laser-cut to a real depth contour from NOAA survey data, stained darker as the water gets deeper, then stacked by hand. Deep water falls away layer after layer; the shallows sit close to the surface, just like the real thing.
How the water becomes wood
Anyone who grew up on this water has a spot on this chart.
The dock, the crossing, the stretch of shoreline that meant summer. Most people find theirs in the first minute. Every shoreline, island and depth contour of Portland is cut, layered and etched from real survey data.
Built for the wall it ends up on.
A solid birch frame, an acrylic front that keeps dust off the layers without the glare of glass, and hanging hardware already on the back, so it goes up the day it arrives.
From the people who hung one
3 reviews, 5.0 average
Plus 3,400+ reviews across our other charts, 5.0 average.
Live from the water
Questions people ask before they buy
Straight answers to the things that stop an order.
When will it arrive?
Orders placed by 2 PM EST ship the next business day, free anywhere in the US. You get a tracking number as soon as it leaves.
Which size should I choose?
The larger size is the one most people hang in a living room, over a sofa, console or mantel; it reads clearly from across the room. The smaller size suits a hallway, office, bathroom or boat. Both carry the same detail.
How is it packed? Will it survive shipping?
Each piece ships framed, with the acrylic front already in place, in a box built for it. "Packed well and arrived in perfect condition" is the most common thing reviewers say about delivery.
What if it is not right?
14-day returns. If the frame color is wrong for the room or the size is not what you pictured, send it back.
Is this a print?
No. The water is up to 12 physical layers of birch, each laser-cut to a real depth contour and stacked by hand. The names and depths are burned into the wood. You can feel every step.
Do you have my lake?
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