by Geon, Bryan
Oregon City is the seat of Clackamas County, and a few county government offices (including the courthouse) are still located in Oregon City’s historic downtown, along with a variety of small shops, bars, restaurants, and other businesses. Although a few vacant storefronts remain, the downtown area is evolving into a more vibrant place, as new businesses inject fresh life into the district. Downtown Oregon City huddles at the foot of a near-vertical bluff, and one of the city’s stranger sights is the Municipal Elevator, which resembles a flying saucer on a thick pillar. The elevator carries pedestrians up and down the face of the 90-foot bluff between the business district and literally named High Street at the clifftop.
The McLoughlin Historic District spreads for blocks across the relatively flat plateau at the top of the bluff. This area contains many lovingly restored houses from the 19th and early 20th centuries, an era when this neighborhood was Oregon City’s most fashionable residential area. Although somewhat less fashionable today, it is easily the city’s most distinctive (and to many observers, most attractive) neighborhood. Some of these historic houses still await loving attention. A few of the houses here have expansive views, but unfortunately a handful of nondescript 1950s- and 1960s-era commercial buildings occupy most of the view property at the brink of the bluff. Shops and restaurants border parts of Seventh Street, which runs through the heart of the district and is the commercial center for the neighborhood; the city hall, a repurposed Depression-era medical building, is also located here. Several of the historic houses, some of which date back to the 1840s, are open to the public.
In the southeast section of the historic district, Seventh Street (and the landscape as a whole) rises steeply to another relatively flat terrace, which stretches away toward the Clackamas County hinterlands. Here Seventh Street becomes Molalla Avenue and heads southward, flanked by supermarkets and shopping plazas. A diverse mix of newer subdivisions, old farmhouses, mobile home parks, ranch houses on culs-de-sac, apartments, and retirement communities sprawls across the this plateau. The library and police station are also located here, just off Molalla Avenue on Warner Milne Road; county offices are nearby, and one of the city’s three farmers’ markets (www.orcityfarmersmarket.com) takes place here on Saturdays from May to October. The outlying neighborhoods to the south and east feature predominantly newer homes, and a few brand-new new residential and commercial developments have risen on the fringes of the city. Some of these developments offer fine views of the Cascades. Clackamas Community College is in the city’s far southeastern corner.
Back along the river, the Canemah Historic District clings to the steep slopes overlooking the Willamette just upstream from the falls. The neighborhood was once a bustling town, separate from Oregon City, and prospered as a place of portage around the falls. Today, it is eerily quiet, and is comprised of some historic homes, some new townhomes and single-family homes (generally built in a neo-traditional style), and some small ranch houses. Many of these homes have river views, while others are tucked back into dark hollows. Some barely improved roads lead to the neighborhood, which includes a pioneer cemetery dating from the 1830s, and the area is easy to miss.
Interstate 205 crosses the Willamette north of downtown Oregon City; some industrial facilities border the freeway, and the low-density Park Place neighborhood lies to the east. A large, upscale mixed-use development planned for the Clackamette Cove area—which sounds like the noise a waterfowl would make, but denotes the confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette Rivers—has been on-again, off-again for years, but currently seems to be moving forward. A park at the confluence itself includes a popular boat ramp.
Despite Oregon City’s woes, the overall crime rate is not shockingly high. Still, some neighborhoods are plagued by drug dealing and property crime, so try to avoid choosing a residence sight-unseen. The Oregon City School District (www.orecity.k12.or.us) serves Oregon City and much of the outlying unincorporated area. Oregon City has decent transportation connections to the rest of the metropolitan area, both by car and by public transit. Amtrak’s Cascades trains also stop here on their runs between Portland and Salem.
Website: www.orcity.org
ZIP Code: 97045
Post Office: Oregon City Post Office, 19300 Molalla Ave
Police Station: Oregon City Police Department, 320 Warner Milne Rd, 503-657-4964 (non-emergency), www.orcity.org/police
Emergency Hospital: Providence Willamette Falls Hospital, 1500 Division St, Oregon City, 503-656-1631, www.providence.org
Library: Oregon City Public Library, 606 John Adams St, 503-657-8269, www.orcity.org/library
Parks: More than 20 parks and trails, including Clackamette Park, Singer Creek Park, and McLoughlin Promenade; www.orcity.orgparksandrecreation
Community Publications: Oregon City News, www.oregoncitynewsonline.com
Public Transportation: TriMet, 503-238-RIDE, www.trimet.org; multiple bus lines within city to Oregon City Transit Center, and service between Oregon City and West Linn, Portland, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, and Clackamas; service to Canby via Canby Area Transit (503-266-4022), and service to Molalla via South Clackamas Transportation District (503-632-7000, www.southclackamastransportation.com).
Canby
This center of the nursery industry—for plants, not babies—feels smaller and more isolated than it actually is. With a population of more than 15,000, Canby is no longer a small town, but the surrounding farmland helps the city maintain a countrified veneer. Indeed, Canby also houses the extensive Clackamas County Fairgrounds, home to the annual Clackamas County Fair and Rodeo.
The lack of a direct road connection across the Willamette to the southern part of the metropolitan area increases the city’s sense of isolation; the rustic Canby Ferry, just north of town, is one of the last public ferries across the Willamette. In truth, while it’s not exactly centrally located, Canby is only about 15 minutes from the bona fide suburbia of Oregon City, West Linn, and Wilsonville, and busy Highway 99E cuts right through town.
Canby
The city attracts a diverse set of newcomers, including many professionals who work in the south metro but want to live in a small, quiet city in the sticks. The surprisingly extensive downtown, just north of the railroad tracks and the highway, has a few restaurants and shops, a public library, and a cute red brick city hall. The adjacent neighborhoods have some lovely older homes that date from an era when Canby really was a small town. The rest of the city has homes in a variety of postwar styles, including some new subdivisions; houses on acreage lurk just outside the city limits. If you’re looking for a truly small town, the neighboring city of Barlow, incorporated in 1903, has fewer than 150 residents.
Canby has its own school district (www.canby.k12.or.us) and its own transit agency, Canby Area Transit (503-266-4022), which provides bus service between Canby and Oregon City, Wilsonville, and Woodburn, as well as free bus service within Canby city limits.
Website: www.ci.canby.or.us
Clackamas County—Southeastern Suburbs
The stretch of northern Clackamas County from Milwaukie east to Damascus was once a mostly rural landscape. By the 1980s, urban development filled much of the region east to Interstate 205; development slowly began to spill into the areas beyond, and by the late 1990s areas like Sunnyside and Happy Valley were experiencing tremendous growth. This area, along with the new city of Damascus, is expected to continue to grow rapidly over the next two decades. Unfortunately, improvements in infrastructure have lagged behind population growth, and these areas are struggling to cope with crowded roads and classrooms. In contrast, much of the eastern part of this region is still semi-rural. Numerous newcomers select this part of Clackamas County because there are many new homes, and the area offers reasonably easy access both to Portland and to the Mount Hood region.
Clackamas
Clackamas and Sunnyside
The unincorporated area known as Clackamas sits between Happy Valley and Milwaukie south of the Portland city lim
its. This area has no fixed boundaries that are popularly accepted (as opposed to census-designated), but “Clackamas” is generally understood to refer to the neighborhoods that extend along either side of Southeast 82nd Avenue in northern Clackamas County. The area is a mix of residential, commercial, and light industrial uses; 82nd Avenue itself is a long strip mall of questionable aesthetics.
Clackamas Town Center and neighboring Clackamas Promenade, at the intersection of 82nd Avenue and Sunnyside Road, is the retail and geographical heart of the area.
Residences in the Clackamas area run the gamut from squalid to luxurious. Low-rise apartment buildings and townhome complexes are abundant, and these often lie in close proximity to shopping plazas and other commercial facilities. Most single-family homes are solidly middle-class, although there are also some truly dilapidated affairs here; the neighborhoods west of 82nd Avenue are among the most affordable in the metropolitan area, but some pockets are plagued by crime problems.
The most expensive and desirable homes in the Clackamas area are located on Mount Scott, just east of Clackamas Town Center across Interstate 205. A warren of culs-de-sac and winding streets covers the lower slopes of this prominent hill; contemporary, custom, and neo-traditional homes, with a few stranded ranches and prewar homes, can all be found here. The neighborhood has lots of tiny wooded greenspaces, and many homes have good views west and north across the city to downtown Portland and the West Hills. Homes that are higher up are generally newer and larger; some of the largest houses are actually visible from downtown Portland, especially in late afternoon when their picture windows reflect the westering sun. Near the summit, with its cluster of antennas, stand a few brand-new, high-end homes with panoramic views east to Mount Hood.
Sunnyside (not to be confused with the neighborhood of the same name in the Hawthorne District of Portland) is a nearby unincorporated area; it extends along and to the south of Sunnyside Road, east of Clackamas Town Center and south of Happy Valley. There are some tidy older subdivisions in this area, but most housing here is quite new, in a range of styles and sizes from townhomes and apartment complexes to hulking three-story luxury homes with Mount Hood views. A few shopping plazas line Sunnyside Road. Forested Mount Talbert Nature Park, on a volcanic butte on the west side of the community, provides a large area of open space.
Sunnyside
Parts of both Clackamas and Sunnyside are being selectively annexed by the city of Happy Valley, and the result is a discontinuous patchwork of incorporated and unincorporated areas. Although it is not centrally located, the entire Clackamas area is well-connected to the rest of the metropolitan area. Interstate 205 provides access to the southern suburbs and to Northeast Portland, while the Milwaukie Expressway (Highway 224) runs toward downtown Portland. TriMet buses cover most of the Clackamas area (although not up Mount Scott) and connect Clackamas to downtown Portland and to most destinations on the east side, and a light rail line runs along I-205 to Clackamas Town Center.
Clackamas County agencies provide most public services in this area. The North Clackamas Park District manages local parks and public recreational facilities, including the popular North Clackamas Aquatic Park, which includes an indoor wave pool and diving well. North Clackamas School District (www.nclack.k12.or.us) provides public education.
Website: www.clackamas.us
Happy Valley
Boundaries: North: Portland; Gresham; unincorporated Multnomah County; West: Clackamas (unincorporated Clackamas County); South: Sunnyside (unincorporated Clackamas County); East: Damascus, unincorporated rural Clackamas County; Area: 8.3 square miles; Population: 16,500
If a high income alone can buy contentment, then Happy Valley is aptly named: the average household income is the highest of any city in the metro area, including Lake Oswego. At the same time, Happy Valley is one of the fastest-growing cities in Oregon, with new construction visible almost everywhere. In addition to growth through an influx of new residents, the city is expanding by annexing surrounding areas, and the city limits are weirdly discontinuous. (Happy Valley and Damascus recently reached an agreement about which unincorporated areas each city is entitled to gobble up.)
Happy Valley
To the extent it has a center at all, Happy Valley is indeed centered in a valley along Mount Scott Creek, between Mount Scott on the west and Scouters Mountain on the east. The valley was once forestland and farmland, with a few houses on the valley bottom. The scene is very different today. Massive developments of large new homes sprawl up every hillside; styles range from “Northwest Lodge” to McMansions with giant entry arches and soaring great rooms, along with some basic, fairly nondescript (but still quite spacious) houses. Hillside (and especially hilltop) homes tend to be the largest and to command the highest prices. An eastward view is particularly coveted; because of Happy Valley’s position closer to the Cascades, Mount Hood looms much larger from here than from Portland’s West Hills. A few dazed-looking bungalows and ranches, the survivors of the original rural community, remain standing near Mount Scott Creek and along 147th Avenue, but the city’s population has tripled in the last decade and virtually every structure here is less than 20 years old.
If Lake Oswego is the East Coast–style affluent suburb, Happy Valley is instant community, sunbelt-style, and as in parts of the sunbelt the real estate boom resulted in unsustainable real estate price increases. Parts of the city saw a wave of foreclosures after the bubble burst, but those unhappy times are largely in the past.
The city has a fair number of parks and open spaces amid the sea of housing; there is not much commercial activity in the heart of the city itself, but the shopping plazas of Sunnyside Road and the Clackamas area are a short drive away. Several retail centers have opened on Sunnyside in the southeast part of Happy Valley. The city is part of the North Clackamas School District (www.nclack.k12.or.us). A TriMet bus line runs along Sunnyside, and another provides service within Happy Valley and between Happy Valley and Clackamas Town Center, but the city is generally quite car-dependent.
Website: www.ci.happy-valley.or.us
ZIP Code: 97086
Post Office: Clackamas Post Office, 9009 SE Adams St, Clackamas
Police Station: Clackamas County Sheriff, Happy Valley Community Policing Center, 12915 SE King Rd, 503-760-0123 (non-emergency)
Emergency Hospital: Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center, 10180 SE Sunnyside Rd, Clackamas, 503-652-2880
Library: Sunnyside Library, 13793 SE Sieber Park Way, www.clackamas.us/lib
Parks: Happy Valley Park, Happy Valley Nature Park, and several open spaces; North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District, www.ncprd.com
Community Publications: Clackamas Review, www.clackamasreview.com
Public Transportation: TriMet, 503-238-RIDE, www.trimet.org; limited bus service to Clackamas Town Center
Damascus
A conversion will take place on the road to Damascus. In this case, there is no religious aspect; rather, fields will be converted to subdivisions on Sunnyside, Foster Road, Highway 212, and other roads to Damascus. Though it still looks mostly rural, make no mistake: Damascus is primed for radical change. (That’s bucolic Damascus, Oregon, by the way, not its somewhat less bucolic namesake in Syria.) Metro’s 2002 expansion of the urban growth boundary included Damascus, and a minor land rush is occurring in this semi-rural landscape of fields, berry farms, and modest country houses. Much of the region’s growth in the next two decades is anticipated to occur here, and the area incorporated in 2004 to help deal with the anticipated population explosion. Since then the city has struggled to complete a comprehensive plan, and the city has been embroiled in waves of controversy and political infighting, including a vote to disincorporate and a fight over deannexation. Residential growth along existing thoroughfares is expected to begin as soon as water and sewer service is in place, although it will take many years to develop and finance infrastructure for the entire city, especially given the dysfunction in municipal governm
ent. For now, development is basically limited to parcels of one acre or more (i.e., parcels large enough for septic systems), although some denser development has occurred in the Carver area along Highway 224 where water and sewer lines already exist.. At the moment, the city offers a beautiful landscape, but a rather unhappy combination of relatively high taxes but few services.
As the area grows, transportation is likely to become a major issue; existing roads cannot handle projected traffic volumes. The first phase of the Sunrise Corridor freeway project linking Damascus to Interstate 205, and bypassing Highway 212, is under construction. TriMet buses run to the neighboring communities of Happy Valley and Estacada. The city is part of the Gresham-Barlow School District (www.gresham.k12.or.us), and has its own elementary and middle schools.
