This photo is taken from the campus of the University of Portland, looking south.

The Swan Island Shipyard has dominated the city’s port since World War II, when it was a bustling hub for war related ship building.

Most of Portland, Ore’s heavy industry is located on the banks of the Wilamette River. The Swan Island Shipyard is one biggest areas dedicated to what are still high-paying, blue collar jobs. I took these pictures from the bluff overlooking the yards southward, from the campus of the University of Portland. The shipyard has a storied history dating to World War II, when Kaiser was in the business of building ships, not running a health insurance monopoly. (Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)