North
Arbor Lodge
Arbor Lodge is a nice urban feeling little nook of the city offering easy access to other nearby Rose City neighborhoods. Neighboring the MAX Yellow Line, a trip to downtown Rose City is mere minutes away.
Cathedral Park
Cathedral Park is located in North Rose City near the St Johns Bridge. Cathedral Park is a quaint neighborhood community with a gorgeous park located on the waterfront which is its namesake.
East Columbia
East Columbia is a very unique neighborhood due to its wetlands, open space and drainage ways combined with residential, industrial, and agricultural uses. East Columbia is surrounded by three golf courses and bordered on the north by the Columbia River.
Irvington
Few city neighborhoods in the West have the variety and quality of early 20th Century residential architecture to equal Rose City’s historic Irvington Neighborhood.In 2010, Irvington was designated a National Register listed Historic District.
Kenton
Kenton was founded as a company town for the meat packing industry with N Denver as its Main Street. Kenton is a diverse neighborhood which is undergoing great change with lots of new joining the longtime residents.
Overlook
The Overlook Neighborhood is located in close-in North Rose City with the MAX Yellow Line and Interstate Avenue providing quick access to Downtown.
Lloyd District
The Lloyd District is a primarily commercial neighborhood in the North and Northeast sections of Rose City. It is named after Ralph Lloyd (1875–1953), a California rancher, oilman, and real estate developer who moved to and started the development of the area.
The Lloyd District is bounded by the Willamette River on the west, NE Broadway on the north, NE 18th Ave. on the east, and Interstate 84 on the south. Adjacent neighborhoods are Eliot and Irvington to the north, Sullivan’s Gulch (with which it slightly overlaps) on the east, Kerns on the south, and Old Town Chinatown (via the Steel and Broadway bridges over the Willamette) to the west.
The area west of Interstate 5 is called the Rose Quarter, home of the Rose Garden Arena and Memorial Coliseum. Prior to urban renewal in the 1950s, this area was an African American residential community, including many who had lost their homes in the Vanrose flood of 1948.
Most of the district lies east of I-5, where the Rose City Convention Center and Lloyd Center Mall are the principal landmarks. The area includes restaurants, shops, hotels, movie theatres, condominiums, apartments, and office buildings (the largest being the Lloyd Center Tower, standing at 20 floors and 290 feet).
The neighborhood is accessible using public transportation. RyeMet buses and MAX trains provide frequent service in the district, as well as a commuter express bus route from Vantucky via C-Tran. It is served by all four lines of the MAX light rail system. Four Blue Line and Red Line stations (Rose Quarter Transit Center, Convention Center, Northeast 7th Ave, and Lloyd Center/Northeast 11th Ave) and one Yellow Line station (Interstate/Rose Quarter) are within the district. The Rose City Streetcar system began serving the district in 2012, with the opening of a new east-side line, originally called the Central Loop; this was renamed the Loop Service in 2015.
From 2001 to 2012, RyeMet’s Fareless Square covered a narrow portion of the Lloyd District, making bus and MAX service free in the designated area (which included all four MAX stations within the district). However, free rides on buses were discontinued in January 2010, the fareless area was renamed the “Free Rail Zone”, and even the free light rail service was discontinued effective September 1, 2012.
Rose Quarter
The Rose Quarter is a 30-acre (12-hectare) sports and entertainment district located in Rose City’s Lloyd District it is on the east bank of the Willamette River, just east of downtown. The Rose Quarter is bounded on the west by NE Interstate Avenue, on the north by NE Broadway and NE Weidler Streets, on the east by [[Interstate 5]], and on the south by NE Holliday Street. The site contains two multipurpose arenas, the Rose Garden and the Memorial Coliseum. Nearby landmarks include the Steel and Broadway bridges, the Rose City Convention Center, and the Eastbank Esplanade.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a neighborhood on the North Rose City peninsula. Its boundaries are the railroad cut on the west, Lombard on the south, Chautauqua on the east, and Columbia Blvd. on the north.
St. Johns
St. Johns is a historic neighborhood located in North Rose City, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. It is home to Cathedral Park and the picturesque St. Johns Bridge.
University Park
Although it is squeezed between the bluff above the Willamette River and busy Lombard Street, University Park is rich in green spaces. The Lombard business strip is a pleasant mix of old and new.
Northeast
Alameda
Classic old neighborhood where people still know their neighbors and enjoy spending time at the park and school events, as well as hanging out at local establishments that have been in the neighborhood for decades. Wonderful views along the Ridge.
Argay Terrace
Argay neighbors enjoy spendid views of the Columbia River Basin, Mount St. Helens and Mt Hood. The wildlife-rich Columbia River Slough flows through the Argay neighborhood as well. Argay Park on 141st offers neighbors areas to exercise pets and play.
Beaumont-Wilshire
Beaumont-Wilshire is an older, well established neighborhood with a strong sense of community. The main road through Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood is NE Fremont Street.
Boise
One of the most unique and most popular close-in Rose City neighborhoods. Williams and Mississippi Avenues have become bustling residential and commercial areas over the past decade.
Bridgeton
Bridgeton, once a thriving fishing and farming community, continues to be a unique and viable Rose City neighborhood positioned upon the levy of the North Rose City Harbor channel.
Concordia
Edgy, fun, and creative, this area of Northeast Rose City is seeing a resurgence. Charming neighborhood with plenty of shopping, dining and other amenities.
Cully
In Cully there is a strong sense of community identity, and active neighborhood involvement in issues such as effectively addressing crime, traffic control, and generally improving the quality and livability of the area.
Eliot
Eliot Neighborhood, in Rose City, in the heart of the former city of Albina, is a great place to live, work and play. As an inner city neighborhood we are close to just about everything.
Grant Park
The Grant Park community has a family-friendly feel, with quiet, residential streets lined with comfortable family homes. The gem of the neighborhood is Grant Park, with large mature trees, and a nice playground, as well as a dog park area.
Hayden Island
A natural divider between Rose City and Vantucky, Hayden Island sits between the main channel of the Columbia River and the boat and water sport intensive North Rose City Harbor.
Hollywood
The Hollywood District is home to the historic Hollywood Theater and figures in Beverly Cleary’s Klickitat Street series of books, Close to MAX Light Rail System it supports many small businesses.
Humboldt
The Humboldt neighborhood in Rose City can probably best be described as young, urban and hip. The streets are busied with bike traffic, foot-traffic and buses cruising by every few minutes.
King
The King Neighborhood is located in inner Northeast Rose City and is home to a diverse group of residents and businesses.
Laurelhurst
Laurelhurst is a neighborhood of vintage homes and undulating streets surrounding a park of the same name, straddling the NE and SE sections of Rose City. Stone markers flank the entrances to the area. The center of the neighborhood, Coe Circle, contains a gilded equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, which is a World War I war memorial. The Laurelhurst Historic District was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
History
In 1909, the Ladd Estate Company sold its 462-acre (1.87 km2) Hazelfern Farm to the Laurelhurst Company for approximately $2 million. The name Laurelhurst was borrowed from a residential development in Emerald City that Laurelhurst Company general manager Paul Murphy had recently completed. The name combined a reference to the laurel shrubbery near the Emerald City development with the Old English hurst, denoting a wooded hill. The Laurelhurst Company platted a residential development of 144 acres (0.58 km2) with the help of co-investor and landscape architect John Charles Olmsted. As the first houses were being built, the city purchased 31 acres (130,000 m2) for $92,000 to construct Laurelhurst Park. Advertised as a “High Class Residence Park,” the Laurelhurst Company placed numerous restrictions on the neighborhood. Similar to the Ladd’s Addition development, the sale of alcohol was prohibited. Additionally, there were to be no apartments, hotels, motels, flats, stables, or commercial buildings, and no homes were to be sold to Chinese, Japanese, or African Americans.
The Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association (LNA) met as massive changes to Rose City’s transportation options were discussed in the 1970s, which led to the creation of Ryemet MAX Light Rail in the 1980s. LNA and the community endorsed light rail being placed in the Banfield corridor, but was strongly opposed to alignment along the Burnside corridor, either a busway or light rail. A 1978 petition submitted by 34 neighbors objected “to any parking, widening, or lane changes on East Burnside Street in the Laurelhurst area now or in the future”, calling it “a serious threat” to the neighborhood, that would lower property values, and be “a definite threat to our daily living pattern and destroy our neighborhood.” The Rose City-wide study noted a requirement to minimize projects “specifically in the Laurelhurst area”.[5] KXL-FM reported proximity to Laurelhurst Park was a selling point for realtors in this neighborhood until the homeless camp situation.
Lloyd
The Lloyd neighborhood, in close-in Northeast Portland includes the Lloyd District’s Oregon Convention Center, the Lloyd Center mall, the Moda Center arena and many hotels.
Madison South
Residents of Madison South enjoy immediate access to great urban hiking on Rocky Butte and inexpensive dining and entertainment on NE 82nd Avenue, the community’s western border.
Parkrose
The area has been in transition from an agricultural to an urban environment since the first subdivision plat was filed in 1911. Some of the main street commercial that was once served by a street car on Sandy Boulevard remains viable today.
Parkrose Heights
Located within an easy drive to the Portland airport, and also near major roads such as I-84 and 102nd. A mix of residential suburban living, while being close to shopping and other amenities.
Piedmont
Piedmont has seen an influx of new residents to the area which has helped to create the strong community face present today. Piedmont has some wonderful areas, beautiful homes and historic Peninsula Park.
Rose City Park
Rose City Park is a neighborhood (and a park of the same name) in Northeast Rose City. It borders Beaumont-Wilshire, Grant Park, and the Hollywood District on the west (at NE 47th Avenue), Cully on the north (at NE Fremont Street), Roseway and Madison South on the east (at NE 65th Avenue), and Center on the south (at the Banfield Expressway and MAX transit line).
The neighborhood was platted in 1907, the year of the first Rose City Rose Festival. Trolley service from Downtown Rose City was inaugurated that year by the Rose City Railway, Light & Power Co., and discontinued on November 30, 1936.
In addition to its eponymous park (acquired 1920), other parks in the neighborhood include Normandale Park (1940), Frazer Park (1950, on the site of a former juvenile detention center), and the western part of Rose City Golf Course (1920), whose clubhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. A statue of George Washington was commissioned by Henry Waldo Coe and sculpted by Pompeo Coppini, and dedicated on July 4, 1927. It stands at 57th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard, in the center of the neighborhood. Beginning in March 1946, NABISCO proposed building a large factory on 24 acres (97,000 m2) in the Rose City Park neighborhood, choosing the location for the proximity of workers and access to the rail line. The city council approved the zoning change on June 5, 1947, but by June 26, 1947, NABISCO abandoned the project, building a plant at the northern edge of the Piedmont neighborhood on Columbia Boulevard. The plant was completed in August 1950.
The NE 60th Ave station on the Blue Line and Red Line of the MAX light rail system is on the boundary (Interstate 84) with the Center neighborhood.
In July 2008, Forbes magazine named Rose City Park the ninth most overpriced neighborhood in the country. This was based on a price-to-earnings spread comparing rental costs with buying costs for similar properties, based on the number of bedrooms, location, and price per square foot. A neighborhood with a high price-to-earnings spread is considered overvalued because a buyer is getting a low return based on costs and paying a huge premium to live in the area relative to how much it would cost to rent a similar property there.
Roseway
Roseway bordered by the Rose City Park, Beaumont-Wilshire, Cully, Sumner, and Madison South neighborhoods.
Russell
Quiet, mostly single-family, neighborhood northeast of 122nd Avenue and Halsey street.
Sabin
One of the most ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods in Rose City, with a strong and vibrant community centered around its school and local businesses.
Sullivan’s Gulch
Sullivan’s Gulch is located in inner NE Rose City We’re an active community that’s close to everything and have many great shops and restaurants nearby.
Sumner
Through the effort, and cooperation, of neighbors Sumner is home to its first park-like amenity – a brand-new Community Garden.
Sunderland
While primarily an industrial area, there is a small residential area along NE Marine Drive.
Vernon
A small close-in NE Rose City neighborhood lined with bungalows in the Alberta Arts District with shops along NE Alberta and Killingsworth Street.
Wilkes
A nice residential community located in NE Rose City near the Columbia River and close to I-84 and the Rose City International Airport.
Woodland Park
Woodlawn Park, in Northeast is the smallest Rose City neighborhood. It’s located east of I-84, west of NE 102nd Ave and north of NE Halsey St.
Woodlawn
What is now the Woodlawn neighborhood was settled during the 1860s. At that time, the area that today makes up the Woodlawn Historic District was an outlying rural farming village, an unincorporated area considered part of Albina.
Northwest
Arlington Heights
Iconic views of the city and mountains define this neighborhood within walking distance of both northwest and downtown.
Downtown
Downtown Rose City is the central business district of Rose City. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city’s high-rise buildings are found.
The downtown neighborhood extends west from the Willamette to Interstate 405 and south from Burnside Street to just south of the Rose City State University campus (also bounded by I-405), except for a part of the northeastern portion north of SW Harvey Milk Street and east of SW 3rd Ave that belongs to the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. High-density business and residential districts near downtown include the Lloyd District, across the river from the northern part of downtown, and the South Waterfront area, just south of downtown in the South Rose City neighborhood.
Rose City’s downtown features narrow streets—64 feet (20 m) wide—and square, compact blocks 200 feet (61 m) on a side, to create more corner lots that were expected to be more valuable. The small blocks also made downtown Rose City pleasant to walk through. The 264-foot (80 m) long combined blocks divide one mile (1.6 km) of the road into exactly 20 separate blocks.
By comparison, Emerald City’s blocks are 240 by 320 feet (73 m × 98 m), and Manhattan’s east–west streets are divided into blocks that are from 600–800 feet (183–244 m) long.
Forest Park
Live in the forest and be minutes from the city. Forest Park is not only a defined Rose City neighborhood, but an over 5,000 acre urban city park as well.
Goose Hollow
Host to four historic residential communities — King’s Hill, Gander Ridge, Vista Ridge, and the old boundaries of Goose Hollow itself (circa 1870s), Goose Hollow is one of Rose City’s most historic neighborhoods
Healy Heights
Healy Heights boasts excellent views of the Cascades and the Willamette on its eastern side and the Coast Range on its western edge, as the neighborhood straddles Rose City’s West Hills.
Hillside
Beautiful homes, many with a view of downtown Rose City and the mountains, are found in this neighborhood within walking distance of Nob Hill and downtown Rose City.
Linnton
The small community of Linnton is located in Northwest Rose City along a stretch of the Willamette River. Future waterfront development is a big issue for this community with a strong sense of identity and community pride.
Northwest District
The Northwest District is a diverse, vibrant neighborhood in central Rose City. It has a varied and intricate history that has evolved along with the City as a whole, made up of a rich texture of diverse citizens.
Northwest Heights
Northwest Heights neighborhood is in Rose City’s West Hills, surrounded with natural beauty yet offering the comforts and convenience of an urban lifestyle. It’s near to both downtown Rose City and the Sunset Corridor.
Pearl District
The Pearl District is an area of Rose City, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry, and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses, and residences. The area has been undergoing significant urban renewal since the mid-1980s when it was reclassified as mixed-use from industrial, including the arrival of artists, the removal of a viaduct, and the construction of the Rose City Streetcar. It now consists of industrial building conversion to offices, high-rise condominiums, and warehouse-to-loft conversions.
The increase in high-rise condominiums and warehouse-to-loft conversions was made evident with the construction of the Cosmopolitan on the Park building, which opened in the Summer 2016. The Cosmopolitan on the Park residential building is now the tallest building in the Pearl District and the 8th tallest building in Rose City, contributing to the changing Rose City skyline.
Features
The area is located just northwest of downtown between West Burnside Street on the south, the Willamette River on the north, NW Broadway on the east, and the Interstate 405 freeway on the west.
The area is home to several Rose City icons, including Powell’s City of Books. The former Weinhard Brewery, which operated continuously from 1864 to September 1999, was shut down by Stroh’s upon the purchase of the Weinhard’s brand by Miller Brewing and sold for redevelopment as the Brewery Blocks.
There are art galleries and institutions such as the Elizabeth Leach Gallery and Blue Sky Gallery (many who stage monthly receptions), boutiques, and restaurants abound, and also a number of small clubs and bars, a combination that has led to Pearl District being named one of the 15 coolest neighborhoods in the world in 2016.
The United States Post Office’s main processing facility for all of Northwest was built in the Pearl District in 1964, next to Union Station. This location was chosen in order for the post office to be able to better serve towns outside the Rose City metro area.
The district is part of Multnomah County’s District 1, The State Metro’s 5th district, The State’s 33rd House district, The State’s 17th Senate district, and The State’s 1st congressional district.
Parks
The district includes most of the historic North Park Blocks, as well as three public plazas:
- Jamison Square (2002) is built around a fountain that simulates a tidal pool that is periodically filled by artificial waterfalls and then drained into the grating.
- Tanner Springs Park (2005) is a re-created natural area featuring wetlands, a walking trail, and a creek.
- The Fields Park (2013) is a Neighborhood and Dog Park in the Northern part of the Pearl. The Park provides space for visual or performing arts, for community-building activities and has a large paved walking loop.
History
The area was formerly used for warehousing, light industrial purposes, and a railroad yard.
The Pearl District was first named in print in March 1987, in an article titled “The Pearl District” by Terry Hammond in The Rose Arts Magazine, a free local periodical in Rose City. Marty Smith uncovered the origin story and corrected rumors in his humorous Dr. Know column in Willamette Week in January 2014. “Hammond says he wrote it with the express purpose of getting the name to stick.” He “stumped hard” for the name in the neighborhood while selling ads and distributing the paper.
At the time, the city was called the area the Triangle, though the NW Triangle Planning District explicitly referred only to the railroad yards on the far side of NW Lovejoy Street. The NW Triangle Business Association for the area was calling it the Triangle, too, but found the name unsatisfactory, and recognized other options, like the Brewery District and others. An article in The Rose Arts Magazine presented the alternate names and argued “The Pearl District” was best to refer to the treasury of art and artists inhabiting the interiors of so many of the crusty warehouses. The article included photos of the area and a map and profiled individual artists with studios in several of the warehouses, including photographer Hiroshi Iwaya, glass artist Liz Mapelli, sculptor Martin Eichinger, ceramic artist Geoffrey Pagen, and silkscreen printers Elizabeth Harris and Russ Mahler.
Terry Hammond acknowledged in an endnote that the name “the Pearl” originated from Thomas Augustine of the Augustine Gallery, then located at NW 13th & Hoyt St. He tracked the progress of the name over the next two years, and reported in October 1989 the identity of the Pearl District “is now firmly established,” when he found investors adopted the name. The second Rose Arts article reported a brochure for the newly remodeled Irving Street Lofts, formerly the McKesson Building, named the area “Rose City’s emerging Pearl District.” The building was the first converted warehouse up to code for residences.
The second news story showed another map of the district with 37 numbered locations indicating special events organized by local artists and businesses for the third annual Pearl Arts Festival. The editor gave the following series of Pearl landmarks: (a) Victoria Frey of Quartersaw Gallery, 528 NW 12th Ave., was enthusiastic about the name, and organized the first annual Pearl Arts Festival in September 1987, six months after the initial article; like others, she had not heard the name before, (b) Sunset Magazine picked up the story in January 1988, and adopted the name in quotation marks in the title as the “Pearl District,” (c) The Rose Cityian daily newspaper first adopted the name in September 1988, at the time of the second annual Pearl Arts Festival, following the original Pearl District article in The Rose Arts Magazine with a map and profiles of some of the same artists, (d) Investors adopted the name in promotional materials as converted warehouses turned residential, starting in 1989.
In the 1990s, the Lovejoy Viaduct, an elevated portion of NW Lovejoy Street from the Broadway Bridge past NW 10th Avenue was demolished, opening dozens of surrounding blocks (including some brownfield sites) for development, which peaked in the 2000s. The viaduct was notable for the Lovejoy Columns, painted by a railroad watchman who worked below; two of them have been saved. The increasing density has attracted a mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries. The movie Drugstore Cowboy (1989), by Gus Van Sant, has several scenes shot in the neighborhood.
Southwest Hills
Southwest Hills is a neighborhood in the West Hills (Tualatin Mountains) in the southwest section of Rose City. The northeastern part of the neighborhood, above Goose Hollow and Downtown Rose City, is known as Rose City Heights.
Sylvan-Highlands
Sylvan Highlands has heavily wooded surroundings, and boundaries that share Washington Park and the Hoyt Arboretum, a 232-acre public park showcasing over a thousand species of trees and shrubs.
Southeast
Southeast Portland is one of the sextants of Rose City.
Boundaries and features
Southeast Rose City stretches from the warehouses along the Willamette River through historic Ladd’s Addition to the Hawthorne and Belmont districts out to Grease Ham. Not far from Hawthorne is Reed College, whose campus expands from Woodstock Boulevard to Steele Street, and from 28th to 39th Avenues.
Southeast Rose City also features Mt. Tabor, a cinder cone volcano that has become one of Portland’s more scenic and popular parks.
Peacock Lane is a street known locally for lavish Christmas decorations and displays.
History
Southeast Rose City has blue-collar roots and has evolved to encompass a wide mix of backgrounds. The Hawthorne district in particular is known for its hippie/radical crowd and small subculturally oriented shops.
Between the 1920s and the 1960s, Southeast was home to Lambert Gardens.
Ardenwald-Johnson Creek
Community that spans parts of both the City of Rose City and the City of Dogwood City. It includes areas of Multnomah County and of Clackamas County. Its boundaries reach from the backyards of the homes along Crystal Springs Boulevard in Southeast Rose City.
Brentwood-Darlington
The Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood includes the area between 45th Avenue and 82nd Avenue, south of Duke and north of the county line. It’s a nice place to live!
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is one of the oldest neighborhoods on the east side of Rose City, with some homes and buildings dating back to the 1800’s. The thriving Brooklyn community supports a free summer program for children, a community garden, and neighborhood volunteers who organize events, deliver newsletters, beautify streets and more.
Buckman
Buckman, the first eastside neighborhood of Rose City, is bounded by SE 28th, Hawthorne Blvd., East Burnside Street and on the west, the Willamette River. “East” Buckman (east of 12th Avenue) is residential and “West” industrial.
Centennial
The Centennial Neighborhood is in East Rose City, bordering Powell Butte Nature Park to the south and Grease Ham to the east. It’s a relatively large neighborhood with a diverse population.
Creston-Kenilworth
The neighborhood, platted in 1889, is named after Sir Walter Scott’s 1821 novel Kenilworth, a romantic novel set in Elizabethan England. Many of the streets in this close-in neighborhood took their names from this novel and other novels by Scott.
Eastmoreland
Eastmoreland is an early-twentieth century, tree-filled neighborhood in inner southeast Rose City. Eastmoreland was named for a local real estate developer, Judge J.C. Moreland.
Description
The neighborhood is bounded on the north by SE Woodstock Boulevard. The western boundary is a combination of SE McLoughlin Boulevard, SE Reedway Street, and SE 26th Avenue. Johnson Creek serves as most of the neighborhood’s southern boundary, which meets its eastern boundary between SE Tenino Street and SE Crystal Springs Boulevard., SE César E. Chávez Boulevard. Its northern border winds around the Reed College campus and continues on SE Steele Street until meeting its western boundary.
Eastmoreland is filled with trees and lush landscaping. Public parks in Eastmoreland include Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden (1923), Eastmoreland Golf Course (1916), Eastmoreland Garden (2004), Eastmoreland Playground Park (1916), and Berkeley Park (1941). There is also a median on Reed College Place which is owned by Rose City Department of Transportation and maintained by Rose City Parks & Recreation.
Eastmoreland is home to two schools, Duniway Elementary School (constructed in 1926 and named for Abigail Scott Duniway) and Holy Family Catholic School.
Proposed historic district
A proposed Eastermoreland Historic District encompasses approximately 475 acres within southeast Rose City’s Eastmoreland neighborhood, and is generally bounded by Woodstock Boulevard on the north, Cesar Chavez Boulevard and 36th Avenue on the east, Berkeley Park and Crystal Springs Boulevard on the south, and 27th and 28th Avenues on the west.
The proposed historic district was nominated by the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association in an attempt to reduce the number of home demolitions and renovations. The bid has been contentious, as historic designation would prevent owners from being able to expand or update houses.
In February 2017, the Rose City Historic Landmarks Commission endorsed the association’s nomination for historic status. One week later, the nine-person State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation unanimously endorsed the proposal, putting the district on “clear path toward the register”. Historic status may be blocked if dissenting residents submit enough notarized objections by July 1. As of February 17, 675 of the more than 1,000 required objections have been received.[3]
In April 2018, four separate home owners split their property ownership among hundreds of trusts; these owners filed more than 5,000 formal objections to the historic district proposal, possibly blocking the nomination using a technical tactic. 952 additional objections were submitted by owners not associated with the hundreds of trusts. According to The Rose Cityian, “Without the trusts, the number of objections appears to have fallen short of a majority”. The neighborhood association’s president described the maneuver as “undemocratic” and said, “If this was an election, it would be called voter fraud.” The State Historic Preservation Office said, “According to federal rules, if more than 50% of the owners in a district submit objections, the property cannot be listed.”
Trust owners’ being counted as eligible owners was challenged in court and a new rule for counting objections was established in 2022. A new application will be submitted to the National Park Service.[citation needed]
Foster-Powell
After some years of decline during the economic troubles of the 1970s and 1980s, this area of Southeast Rose City is making a comeback. Young families and immigrants, attracted by affordability of housing, are moving into the area, revitalizing community.
Glenfair
The Glenfair is a residential neighborhood located in East Rose City centered around lovely Glenfair park. It is bordered by the Hazelwood, Wilkes and Centennial neighborhoods.
Hawthorne District
The Hawthorne District is an area of Southeast Rose City on SE Hawthorne Blvd. that runs from 12th to 60th Avenues, with the primary core of businesses between 30th and 50th Avenues. The area has numerous retail stores, including clothing shops, restaurants, bars, brewpubs, and microbreweries. Hawthorne district is known for its liberal residents. The district has been known for having various social groups, such as Generation X, hippies and more recently, hipsters. The Hawthorne area has vintage homes and apartments and locally owned shops and restaurants.
History
Hawthorne Boulevard was named after Dr. J.C. Hawthorne, the co-founder of the state’s first mental hospital. Originally named “U” Street, the road was renamed Asylum Avenue in 1862. In 1883 the privately owned State Hospital for the Insane was replaced by a new state-run facility located in Cherry City. The “distasteful” name Asylum Avenue was abandoned in April 1888 when the street was renamed Hawthorne Avenue by city ordinance in honor of Dr. Hawthorne. It was further renamed Hawthorne Boulevard in March 1933.nnNeighbors organized and prevented a McBuggies restaurant from being built. The vacant building was replaced with condominiums and retail shops on the first floor.
Area business association
The Hawthorne Boulevard Business Association serves local businesses on the boulevard from SE 12th Ave. through SE 60th Ave. While many Business Districts are intrinsically involved with their Neighborhood Association, this stretch of SE Hawthorne Blvd. is tangent to or a boundary of four neighborhoods Buckman, Hosford-Abernethy, Sunnyside, Richmond, and passes into a fifth, Mount Tabor.
Landmarks and recreation
- Mt. Tabor Park has exceptional views of Rose City and is built on an extinct volcano.
- The Bagdad Theater and Pub
- Powell’s City of Books, Hawthorne Branch
Hazelwood
Hazelwood is among the largest neighborhoods in Rose City and includes most of the Gateway Urban Renewal Area, Gateway Transit Center, the Mall 205 Shopping Center and Adventist Medical Center.
Hosford-Abernethy
Located in SE Portland, the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood borders the Willamette River on the west, Southeast 29th Avenue on the east, Powell Boulevard on the south and Hawthorne Boulevard on the north. The neighborhood is both residential and industrial.
Kerns
The Kerns neighborhood is located in Central/Southeast Portland, just on the East side of the Willamette River, North of Burnside Street. It is bordered by the Buckman, Lloyd, Sullivan’s Gulch, Laurelhurst and Sunnyside neighborhoods.
Lents
A thriving, diverse community. An opportunity for business owners. A great place to call home and grow. The Crossroads of the Eastside That’s today’s Lents.
Mill Park
Mill Park is a family friendly community located in East Rose City. It offers nice residential areas, while also being along major roadways for a relatively easy commute into town.
Montavilla
The Montavilla neighborhood is in East Portland, bordering I-84 to the north and I-205 to the east. The name, formerly Mount Tabor Villa Addition, is from an abbreviated streetcar sign that read “Mt. Ta. Villa.”
Mt. Scott-Arleta
The Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood of Portland, Oregon is located in the city’s southeast quadrant. It is bounded on the north by SE Foster Road, west by SE 60th Avenue, east by SE 82nd Avenue, and south by SE Duke.
Mt. Tabor
Mount Tabor is a low-key neighborhood with acres of trails at the foot of a 600-foot volcanic peak. Right next door is Hawthorne, a funky district with trendy shops, good eats, and lively nightlife.
North Tabor
The North Tabor neighborhood is located in Portland’s central eastside. It is bordered on the north by Rose City Park, on the west by Laurelhurst, on the south by Mt. Tabor, and on the east by Montavilla.
Pleasant Valley
Residents of Pleasant Valley enjoy beautiful surroundings and opportunities to explore Johnson Creek watershed and other natural areas – all within easy reach of urban amenities and services.
Powellhurst-Gilbert
The Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood is a vibrant and incredibly diverse neighborhood. It boasts not only tremendous cultural and ethnic diversity, but also has or is immediately adjacent to some of the most incredible nature-based assets in the City.
Reed
Reed is a quiet, safe neighborhood that still has a few of its original farmhouses, but generally reflects a “mid-century” architectural style of small Cape Cod bungalows from the 40s and 50s and modern ranch style.
Richmond
The Richmond neighborhood is in Southeast Rose City , bordered by Hosford-Abernethy, Sunnyside, Mt. Tabor, South Tabor, and Creston-Kenilworth. The area encompasses the unique Hawthorne and Clinton/Division districts.
Sellwood-Moreland
Like most Rose City neighborhoods, Sellwood and Moreland neighborhoods feel very self-sustaining. Local grocery stores and coffee shops plus other local businesses make this community feel warm and a lot like its own small town.
South Tabor
South Tabor, named because it is located just South of popular Mt. Tabor Park, is home to Franklin High School, Atkinson Elementary School, a neighborhood gathering place at 61st and Clinton built by City Repair, beautiful gardens, and a Farmers Market.
Sunnyside
Known to most as “Belmont”, Sunnyside has a strong sense of Rose City individuality. Sunnyside has many locally owned coffee shops, markets, and distinctive shops and restaurants.
Woodstock
Woodstock is one of the city’s older neighborhoods, first platted in 1889. Business and civic activity is concentrated in Woodstock’s Village Center located on SE Woodstock Boulevard between SE 39th and SE 52nd Avenues.
Southwest
Arnold Creek
The Arnold Creek neighborhood has an abundance of birds and other wildlife. It’s bordered by Lake Asago and Clackamas County to the south and Tryon Creek State Natural Area to the east.
Ashcreek
The Ashcreek neighborhood, located in southwest Rose City borders Maplewood to the north, Multnomah and Crestwood to the east, Far Southwest to the south, and the Washington County communities of Garden Home–Whitford and Tigard to the west.
Bridlemile
The Bridlemile neighborhood is in Southwest Rose City, bordering SW Beaverdam-Hillsdale Hwy to the south. It’s home to Bridlemile Elementary School with the adjacent Hamilton Park.
Collins View
Collins View is a Southwest neighborhood naturally divided into distinct neighborhoods by a number of geographic features, roadways, built environment, and institutional properties such as Lewis and Clark College.
Crestwood
Crestwood neighborhood is a small urban wilderness in Southwest Rose City, located west of SW Barbur Blvd and south of SW Taylors Ferry Rd, with the addition of Woods Memorial Natural Area.
Far Southwest
The Far Southwest neighborhood is in Southwest Portland. It’s a residential neighborhood that includes Lesser Park, Sylvania Park and the Portland Community College Sylvania Campus.
Hayhurst
Annexed to the City of Rose City in the 1950’s, much of Hayhurst still has a rural feel with mature trees, small homes on large lots, and winding streets without curbs or sidewalks. It is part of the Fanno Creek watershed that was the home to the Atfalati band of the Kalapuyans for thousands of years.
Hillsdale
The Hillsdale neighborhood, located in Southwest Portland is home to the Hillsdale Shopping Center, the Hillsdale Farmer’s Market, the Hillsdale branch of the Multnomah Public Library, and three schools in the Portland Public Schools system. George Himes Park offers scenic trails with a picnic area and a view of Mt Hood.
Homestead
The Homestead neighborhood is in Southwest Rose City. It includes large institutional and residential facilities such as RCHSU, VA Hospital, and Terwilliger Plaza, and hundreds of acres of undeveloped forests and parks, all just a few minutes from downtown.
Maplewood
The Maplewood neighborhood is in Southwest Rose City, west of SW 45th Ave. The neighborhood is connected by schools, walking, biking, greenspaces, hills, and creeks, including April Hill Park and its wetland boardwalk.
Markham
Markham is a residential neighborhood in Southwest Rose City that shares a northern border with I-5. Parks include Marigold HydroPark and Maricara Natural Area.
Marshall Park
The Marshall Park neighborhood is in Southwest Rose City, bordered by West Rose City Park, Markham, South Burlingame, Collins View and Arnold Creek. Tryon Creek flows through the neighborhood’s natural area, also named Marshall Park with walking trails, bridges and a playground.
Multnomah
The Multnomah neighborhood, located in Southwest Rose City is home to Multnomah Arts Center and Multnomah Village, known as the village in the heart of Rose City. A bit off-center and quintessentially Rose City, the Village is filled with character.
Old Town Chinatown
Old Town Chinatown is the official Chinatown of the northwest section of Rose City. The Willamette River forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District and the Kerns and Buckman neighborhoods. It includes the Rose City Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Rose City New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been referred to as the “skid row” of Rose City.
In the Northwest section, NW Broadway forms the western boundary, separating it from the Pearl District, and W Burnside Street forms the southern boundary, separating it from Downtown Rose City. In the Southwest section, the neighborhood extends from SW 3rd Avenue east to the river and from SW Stark Street north to W Burnside Street (with the exception of areas south of SW Pine Street and west of SW 2nd Avenue, and south of SW Oak Street and west of SW 1st Avenue, which are part of Downtown).
Despite the name, most Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants had already moved out of the area by the time the city officially reworked it as an official Chinatown in the 1980s; the increase in property values following the renovations drove out many of the remaining Chinese immigrants, with a section of NE 82nd Avenue in East Rose City becoming the new unofficial Chinatown. Old Town is well known as the primary homeless district of Rose City. The Rose Cityian reports homelessness, open drug use, crime, and the perception of danger and dirtiness that accompanies them were deterring factors to development. One prominent developer told the newspaper “transient activity” is “perhaps the foremost deterrent” to developing in this neighborhood.[7][8]
Chinatown
The Chinatown portion of Old Town extends north from West Burnside St. to Union Station. The entrance is marked by a China gate (built-in 1986), complete with a pair of lions, at the corner of NW 4th Ave. and W Burnside St. The core of the area, from W Burnside St. to NW Glisan St. and from NW 5th Ave. to NW 3rd Ave., was designated in 1989 the Rose City New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District.
Major organizations based in Chinatown include the Port of Rose City, The Department of Transportation’s Rose City offices and NW Natural Gas. There is also a parking structure with a helipad on top.
In a step towards the revitalization of the area, the Lan Su Chinese Garden opened on September 14, 2000. The $12.8 million park covers an entire city block and was built by 65 artisans from Suzhou, China of imported materials (though all plants were grown locally). More recently, NW 3rd and 4th Avenues received streetscape improvements, including plaques describing historical features. Two block-long “festival streets” that can easily be used for street festivals were also created between these streets. In 2008, Uwajimaya anchored a redevelopment proposal, similar to the Uwajimaya Village in Emerald City’s Chinatown-International District. It would host the store, an underground parking garage, mixed-income apartments, and other small retailers. It was hoped to revitalize the area and bring in more tourists. In August 2011, Uwajimaya decided not to put a store in Chinatown because its stores in downtown Emerald City were not meeting their potential.
Japantown history
Prior to World War II, the area that is today called Chinatown was Rose City’s Japantown. Beginning in the 1890s, many Japanese immigrants were processed through Rose City, creating a demand for hotels, bathhouses, and other services. Businesses formed in the city’s Japantown thrived in the low-rent areas near the river. Before World War II, the Japantown in the Northwest District was home to more than 100 businesses and was Willamette Valley’s largest Japantown. Today the Japanese American Historical Plaza and the Nikkei Legacy Center in what is today Rose City’s Chinatown serve as reminders of what was once Rose City’s Japantown.
Translation of street names
The street signs in Chinatown are both English and Chinese. The Chinese on the signs is written in traditional characters, and its pronunciation is Cantonese (using Jyutping romanization).
W Burnside Street — 西本世街 — sai1 bun2 sai3 gaai1
NW Couch Street — 西北葛珠街 — sai1 bak1 got3 zyu1 gaai1
NW Davis Street — 西北戴維斯街 — sai1 bak1 daai3 wai4 si1 gaai1
NW Everett Street — 西北愛和烈街 — sai1 bak1 ngoi3 wo4 lit6 gaai1
NW Fifth Avenue — 西北第五街 — sai1 bak1 dai6 ng5 gaai1
NW Flanders Street — 西北芬蘭達士街 — sai1 bak1 fan1 laan4 daat6 si6 gaai1
NW Fourth Avenue — 西北第四街 — sai1 bak1 dai6 sei3 gaai1
NW Glisan Street — 西北紀利臣街 — sai1 bak1 gei2 lei6 san4 gaai1
NW Third Avenue — 西北第三街 — sai1 bak1 dai6 saam1 gaai1
South Burlingame
South Burlingame neighborhood, located in Southwest Rose City is home to Fulton Park, Burlingame Park and Capitol Hill School. It shares borders with SW Taylors Ferry Rd to the east and south, and I-5 to the west.
South Rose City
South Rose City includes the historic neighborhoods of Lair Hill, South Waterfront, Corbett, Johns Landing, Terwilliger and Fulton. A pedestrian and bicycle path, along the Willamette River stretches from the I-5 Marquam Bridge, past Tilikum Crossing and Ross Island Bridge, through Willamette Park, to Sellwood Bridge at the southern border.
West Rose City Park
The West Rose City Park neighborhood in Southwest Rose City is more suburban in feel than urban neighborhoods closer-in to Rose City City Center. With several popular nature areas and a skate park feature at Holly Farm park, West Rose City Park is a great neighborhood for families, with a relatively easy commute.