Portland Neighborhood Tour - Northwest (Part 1)

Sekkle · #1 Posted **Apr 8, 2008, 6:39 PM**

Previous Portland Neighborhood Tours…
Sellwood/Westmoreland\\\Hosford-Abernethy\\\ Irvington\\\Goose Hollow
Buckman\\\Multnomah Village\\\St. Johns\\\Mississippi\\\CTLH

Northwest is a neighborhood just (you guessed it) northwest of downtown Portland. The district centers on 21st and 23rd Avenues, each of which are lined with shops and restaurants. Northwest is bordered by Goose Hollow on the south, I-405 and the Pearl District on the east, the West Hills (Tualatin Mountains) on the west, and an industrial district on the north. The Portland Streetcar loops through the neighborhood on Northrup and Lovejoy Streets.

Generally (though there are plenty of exceptions), streets east of 21st Ave. consist of walkup apartments, mixed with detached homes and a few midrise buildings, while streets west of 23rd have more single-family homes. It is a pricey neighborhood to own a home in, but there seems to be a good mix of age groups and income levels here, with many younger people filling the apartments. Many of the large, older homes, too, have been converted into apartments.

23rd Avenue has lots of shopping, much of which is more upscale than most shopping districts in Portland. Still, there are plently of local shops mixed in with the Pottery Barn-type places. I get the feeling that Northwest is looked down upon by hipsters and others in east Portland as being too trendy, mainly because of 23rd, but the neighborhood itself is beautiful, has a great stock of old apartments and homes, and is very walkable. There were lots of people walking and biking throughout the hood each time I went there.

I decided to split this thread up into two since I had so many photos. Part 1 is the east portion of the neighborhood (generally east of about 22nd ave), including 21st ave, and part 2 is the west, including 23rd ave. I definitely didn’t do the neighborhood justice with these photos. It’s a really cool area, and it’s well worth a visit if you’re in Portland, especially since it’s right on the streetcar line.

Couch Park (pronounced “cooch”)

The building across the street is a Jewish Temple (or synagogue?)

21st Ave…

Along Burnside St.

More to come in Part 2…

daniel_t · #2 Posted **Apr 8, 2008, 6:50 PM**

What a great lookin neighborhood. It's got a good vibe. Maybe i'll have to come up this summer and see Portland for myself. can't wait for part 2. Great Job!!!!

daniel

Buckeye Native 001 · #3 Posted **Apr 8, 2008, 7:08 PM**

Stately-looking homes and apartments in an awesome urban neighborhood

That moon face, however, creeps the hell out of me.

hymalaia · #4 Posted **Apr 8, 2008, 8:50 PM**

northwest is one of the few truly "urban" Portland neighborhoods, in the sense you think of northeastern cities or San Francisco as urban. There are a few others, mostly concentrated around downtown on the west side of the river, such as Goose Hollow, but NW is far and away the cream of the crop. If you want to genuinely feel like you are in a classic, historic urban neighborhood in Portland, NW, specifically east of 23rd Ave, cannot be beat.

great thread!

Top Of The Park · #5 Posted **Apr 8, 2008, 10:16 PM**

Its easy to see Portland's charm through your photos. I wish they had major league baseball.

flar · #6 Posted **Apr 9, 2008, 2:33 AM**

Great urban neighbourhood, I love all the apartment buildings.

shovel_ready · #7 Posted **Apr 9, 2008, 2:41 AM**

Holy smokin' density, I love it!

This great urban neighborhood looks bustling yet laid back at the same time.

mSeattle · #8 Posted **Apr 9, 2008, 6:23 AM**

This is my favorite area I think. South Waterfront is very nice with the new towers and Pearl District has it's great new re-development but the detail and charm of the old buildings can't be beaten by height.

Thanks for getting out there and showing us more of PDX.