by Geon, Bryan
The walkable, tree-lined residential streets that branch off Fremont boast a bumper crop of bungalows and English-style homes, along with some Cape Cods and a few lost-looking ranches. Most homes are relatively modest, if not necessarily small. The grand homes concentrated along the section of Alameda Ridge that runs south of Fremont represent a significant exception to this generalization; many of these homes stand on curving streets on the brink of the ridge offering expansive southward views and are akin to the houses in Alameda proper. Some new and not entirely welcomed apartment buildings are rising along Fremont, but in general Beaumont Village has a palpable, cohesive community feel somewhat reminiscent of a small town. In keeping with this vibe, an old-fashioned parade heads down the main drag during Fremont Fest in August.
Wilshire Park
A few blocks to the north of Fremont, the Wilshire Park neighborhood surrounds the 14-acre park of the same name. Homes around Wilshire Park are similar in style to those in Beaumont Village, but with more emphasis on English Tudors and a higher concentration of ranches. The area has been a desirable one for many years, so although home prices in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood are not as jaw-dropping as in neighboring Alameda, the per-square foot price is similar.
To the east, the Rose City Park neighborhood is bungalow heaven, particularly south of Sandy Boulevard (although other older house styles certainly exist). Until a few years ago, Rose City Park was full of long-term residents, and was the sort of deep-rooted neighborhood where most of the front steps are covered in Astroturf. Few people moved in, and few people moved out—except perhaps into the neighborhood’s Rose City Cemetery. (Rose City Park is where Alameda Ridge goes to die, too; it peters out at its eastern end at about 57th and Sandy.) The neighborhood’s traditional insularity may explain why it long remained off the radar screen for most Portlanders. The area has undergone a turnover in the last few years, however. A minor influx of Southeast Asian immigrants, together with couples and young families that were priced out of neighborhoods with a similar feel, has helped diversify and energize the neighborhood, and Astroturfed steps are becoming a rare and kitschy sight. Prices have certainly risen here, but not as sharply as in some other neighborhoods, and Rose City Park, while not cheap, remains relatively affordable compared to the more sought-after neighborhoods a mile or two west. The Fremont Street commercial strip extends into Rose City Park; moreover, the once notoriously skanky section of Sandy Boulevard that bisects the neighborhood is being revitalized, and now features some decent restaurants and shops. Woodsy Normandale Park in the south part of the neighborhood has sports fields and a dog park. Rose City Park (the park, not the neighborhood) adjoins the Rose City Golf Course at the east end of the neighborhood; the park hosts live musical performances in summer. Homes in the southern part of the neighborhood endure noise from Interstate 84 and the adjacent railroad tracks.
Rose City Park
While Beaumont-Wilshire and Rose City Park are farther (as the crow flies) from downtown Portland than some other Northeast neighborhoods, they’re a relatively quick trip downtown by car—about 15 to 20 minutes on Broadway or Sandy, or (during non–rush hours) 10 minutes on Interstate 84—or by bus. Beaumont Village is reasonably close to the Hollywood Transit Center light rail stop, and the 60th Avenue stop is on the southern border of Rose City Park. These neighborhoods are also a short journey from the airport, yet are out of the normal airport flight path and are not typically subject to noise from low-flying planes.
The Alberta Arts District and Concordia
Neighborhood Associations: Concordia, King (partial), Vernon, Woodlawn
Before a real estate agent with a flair for marketing coined the term “Alberta Arts District,” there was simply Northeast Alberta Street, a minor east-west thoroughfare with some basic neighborhood shops and services and an abundance of boarded-up storefronts. In the 1990s, the sound of gunshots and the pulsing flash of police lights were just part of the neighborhood fabric, while the name of another neighborhood street, Killingsworth, became a sort of grim joke. And then something remarkable happened. Through a mysterious and apparently uncoordinated process involving artists priced out of the Pearl District, couples (gay and straight) who saw potential in the neighborhood’s inexpensive and often dilapidated old houses, entrepreneurs dealing in exotic niche goods, and other so-called urban pioneers, the neighborhoods north and south of Alberta became the Next Big Thing. In the last few years, the transformation—or gentrification, depending on your point of view—of the neighborhood has become largely complete, and Next-Big-Thing status has migrated westward to North Portland. Some edginess remains, and crime isn’t exactly nonexistent, but to see how far the neighborhood has come you need only recall that this part of town couldn’t even support a supermarket in the late 1990s. There is now an upscale New Seasons on Northeast 33rd, while the Alberta Cooperative Grocery, www.albertagrocery.coop, is on Alberta proper.
This part of the city slopes gently northward from Alameda Ridge toward the Columbia River, and some residents opine that the area gets more light and has an airier feeling than neighborhoods like Hollywood that lie at the foot of the ridge’s southern (steeper) slope. The modern heart of the neighborhood is the stretch of Northeast Alberta Street from MLK Jr. Boulevard east to 33rd Avenue. This newly christened “Alberta Arts District” is lined with a blend of upscale and aggressively countercultural establishments—hair salons (and a dog salon), clothing and knick-knack boutiques, and dozens of coffeehouses, bars, and restaurants—mixed in with long-standing businesses like Acme Glass. Most businesses are locally owned, although rising rents threaten the viability of some smaller merchants. There are also several art galleries, although fewer than the “arts district” label would suggest. During the Last Thursday (lastthursdayonalberta.com) art walk, created in response to (or in mockery of) the Pearl’s First Thursday and held on the last Thursday evening of each month, galleries and other businesses stay open late and the street becomes a freaky carnival of sorts. Close to a mile of Alberta Street is closed to traffic on Last Thursdays from May to September. Last Thursday has become somewhat controversial, in part because it draws so many non-locals, who cause parking and traffic problems and who are not necessarily respectful of the neighborhood. The Alberta Street Fair (www.albertastreetfair.com), held each August, is a bit like Last Thursday on steroids, and the neighborhood comes together at that time to celebrate its distinctiveness.
Alberta Arts District
The blocks north and south of Alberta are primarily filled with bungalows, Old Portlands (foursquares), and homes in other early-20th-century styles. Many of these houses have been lovingly restored, while others were quickly remodeled and “flipped” for a quick profit as real estate prices in the neighborhood skyrocketed in the early and middle ‘aughts. Still others are decidedly fixers. In addition to the older homes, some newer infill buildings, including new homes (built following teardowns or on vacant lots) and even some modern lofts, have been built in recent years. Alberta-area exteriors are notable for displaying a wider and brighter range of paint colors than those in more established neighborhoods. The neighborhood’s transition started earlier in the zone south of Alberta Street (i.e., closer to the expensive homes on Alameda Ridge) than in the area to the north; the percentage of renovated homes is generally lower the farther north you go, but don’t expect a bargain even on a rundown house within walking distance of Alberta. Keep in mind, too, that gentrification has not brought an end to crime or to urban annoyances like graffiti, and spending a small fortune for a beautifully restored bungalow with original woodwork and exquisite built-ins does not guarantee that your neighbor won’t be selling drugs out of his house.
The heart of Alberta falls within the boundaries of the compact Vernon neighborhood. The northern and western part of the Alberta district technically falls within the Woodlawn area. This area tends to have smaller and less expensive homes than more southerly neighborhoods, but has many of the same characteri
stics. The neighborhood has the distinction (dubious or enviable, depending on your point of view) of being home to Oregon’s first cannabis café, on Northeast Dekum. Stoners shouldn’t get too excited (if that’s even possible): the café is open only to members of NORML (a marijuana pro-legalization group) who have medical marijuana cards. More conventional businesses line Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard at the west end of the Woodlawn neighborhood, including a whole crop of new, trendy cafés, restaurants, and boutiques. Controversy surrounded plans for a new Trader Joe’s grocery store to be built in a vacant lot at the intersection of MLK and Alberta Street; the company withdrew from the project in 2014 in the face of vocal (if not necessarily widespread) opposition by local community members opposed to gentrification. Natural Grocers is now expected to build and anchor a facility including commercial and retail space in the vacant lot. The gentrification process is less advanced in Woodlawn than in adjacent districts, and the neighborhood is still a bit rough around the edges. Freight trains run along tracks at the foot of the bluff near Lombard Street at the northern edge of the neighborhood, and train whistles and other noise bother some residents.
The Concordia neighborhood, named for Concordia University, includes the eastern half of the Alberta district (which is not an official neighborhood), but also extends further north and east. The blocks beyond the Alberta area consist of quiet, generally well-kept single family houses, with a couple of exceptions: Killingsworth Street, which runs parallel to Alberta several blocks to the north, is undergoing a revitalization of its own, with new businesses opening on a regular basis. The intersection with 33rd Avenue is particularly hopping, thanks to the presence of the New Seasons market, and the corner of Killingsworth and 31st has become one of the city’s premier foodie destinations, boasting several top restaurants such as Beast, Cocotte, and DOC. Just to the north, McMenamins Kennedy School is an old elementary school that has been converted to a bar–hotel–movie theater complex; the clever remodel includes kid-height drinking fountains, blackboards in the guest rooms, and “Honors” and “Detention” bars. The tiled soaking pool, which is otherwise only open to overnight guests and paying members of the public, is available for neighborhood residents with picture ID to use for free. The mix of homes in “outer” Concordia is similar to the mix near Alberta, but the average home size is slightly smaller, and a few Cape Cods and ranches are thrown into the mix. Many of the old one-and-a-half-story bungalows have attic space that has been converted into office space, bedrooms, or luxurious (albeit low-headroom) master suites. Fernhill Park, at the eastern end of the neighborhood, with sports fields, a playground, and a wading pool, is the venue for free summer concerts.
Concordia
The Alberta Area lacks significant woodsy greenspaces, but it has several attractive neighborhood parks, including Alberta Park and Woodlawn Park. While the area around Alberta Street is definitely urban and relatively close-in, the city’s grid layout means there is no direct route to downtown Portland, which lies due southwest of the neighborhood. Cars and buses alike either have to travel west to Interstate 5 or Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and head south, or travel down 33rd Avenue to Broadway or Interstate 84 and head west. (To put it in geometrical terms, to get to downtown Portland you have to travel along two sides of an isosceles triangle rather than down the hypotenuse.) As a result, travel times are longer than the relatively short distance would suggest: about 15 minutes by car, and at least 20 minutes by bus. Several bus routes serve the area, but many transit trips involve a transfer to light rail.
Other Northeast Neighborhoods
Neighborhood Associations: Cully, East Columbia, Madison South, Roseway, Sunderland
The neighborhoods that lie in the triangle from the Portland Airport vicinity to Interstate 205 and south to Interstate 84 are often overlooked in home searches, although some homes here offer excellent value. Sunderland and East Columbia, near the airport, are mainly industrial, although East Columbia includes an enclave of single-family contemporary homes near the Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Sunderland is home to the city’s recycling yard as well as to Dignity Village, a semi-permanent, self-governing tent camp for the city’s homeless. The northern tip of Sunderland touches the Columbia River, where some houseboats are moored. In contrast to these sparsely populated neighborhoods, Cully has a substantial population—about 13,000 people—and is one of the most diverse areas of the city. The areas adjacent to the Rose City Park and Beaumont Village/Wilshire Park areas, north of Fremont and the Rose City Cemetery, offer some attractive small bungalows along with newer (but still small) ranch homes and some infill development. Many properties have large lots, and in some parts of the neighborhood you can almost image being in a rural area (if you squint and plug your ears). Indeed, in 2014 an errant black bear was removed from a tree here, which is not something that has happened in closer-in Northeast neighborhoods in recent years. The northern part of the neighborhood is largely light industrial, and this part of Cully sometimes suffers from airplane noise. Parts of the neighborhood are neat as a pin, while in others neatness is an exception. Much of the neighborhood lacks sidewalks, and many of the streets are unpaved. Moreover, while there are parks in adjacent neighborhoods, Cully itself is somewhat park-deficient; the main “park” is the grounds of Rigler Elementary School (which has an adjacent community garden). Many Cully residents complain that the city pays insufficient attention to the needs of their neighborhood. That said, there is some housing stock with good bones here, and per-square-foot housing prices are among the lowest in the city.
Cully
The Roseway neighborhood straddles a not very attractive, but slowly improving, section of Northeast Sandy Boulevard. The neighborhood has more than its share of “adult” shops on Sandy, but it also has some lovely bungalows, English-style cottages, Cape Cods, and ranches on quiet, walkable streets. Home prices here are a bit higher than in other outlying parts of Northeast Portland, but are substantially lower than in the more fashionable, closer-in neighborhoods. Roseway has good bus service along Sandy, Fremont, Prescott, and 82nd, and the neighborhood is reasonably close to the airport and main Eastside MAX lines. The adjacent Madison South neighborhood has somewhat newer homes on average than other neighborhoods west of Interstate 205, although there are still plenty of prewar homes “with character” here. In general, housing here is even less expensive than in Roseway, except for homes on Rocky Butte, the hill abutting Interstate 205 east of 82nd Avenue, which tend to be custom-designed structures with great views of downtown Portland, the Cascades, or (less appealingly) the airport. Rocky Butte homes are much pricier than homes elsewhere in the neighborhood, and some are valued at more than a million dollars. Rocky Butte features a summit lookout and some popular hiking and rock climbing locations. Madison South is also home to the Grotto, a peaceful Catholic garden/retreat that is famed for its Christmas light display and musical performances. The small neighborhood of Sumner just to the north has a few small cottages, but is dominated by light industrial facilities and various hotels, restaurants, and other sites associated with the nearby airport. Madison South and Sumner have excellent bus and MAX access.
Northeast Portland Neighborhood Information
ZIP Codes: 97211, 97212, 97213, 97218, 97220, 97232,
Post Offices: Airport Mail Facility, 7460 NE Airport Way; Holladay Park Post Office, 815 NE Schuyler St; Piedmont Post Office, 630 NE Killingsworth St; Rose City Park Post Office, 2425 NE 50th Ave
Police Stations: Portland Police Bureau, North Precinct, 449 NE Emerson St, 503-823-5700 (non-emergency); East Precinct (for Madison South only), 737 SE 106th Ave, 503-823-4800 (non-emergency)
Emergency Hospitals: Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, 2801 N Gantenbein Ave, 503-413-2200, www.legacyhealth.org; Providence Portland Medical Center, 4805 NE Glisan St, 503-215-1111, www.providence.org
Libraries: Albina Library, 3605 NE 15th Ave, 503-988-5362; Gregory Heights Library, 7921 NE Sandy Blvd, 503-988-5386; Hollywood Librar
y, 4040 NE Tillamook St, 503-988-5391
Parks: Major parks include Irving Park, Grant Park, Wilshire Park, Normandale Park, Rose City Park, Alberta Park, and Rocky Butte; www.portlandparks.org
Community Publication: Hollywood Star, www.star-news.info
Public Transportation: TriMet, 503-238-RIDE, www.trimet.org; extensive bus network on main streets, especially in close-in neighborhoods; Eastside and Airport MAX lines serve southern and eastern neighborhoods.
Southeast Portland
Boundaries: North: East Burnside Street (official); Interstate 84 (unofficial); West: Willamette River; South: Milwaukie; East: 82nd Avenue (approximate)
Southeast Portland is in many ways the epitome of the image some people conjure up when they think of Portland: funky cafés, second-hand boutiques, tree-lined streets lined with old houses, plenty of aging hippies and bearded hipsters, bike riders galore, and one of the most consistently liberal voting records of any neighborhood in the country. While the Legalize Pot and Free Mumia crowds are certainly a part of the neighborhood fabric, Southeast Portland is also the haunt of families, immigrants, students, professionals working for The Man, artisans, drug addicts, retirees, construction workers, and community and political activists of every stripe. Since not all of these types of people are usually found in the same place, it’s safe to say that most people will feel at home somewhere in Southeast Portland—unless you’re, like, too uptight, man.
