[Sekkle]

Previous Portland Neighborhood Tours…
Sellwood/Westmoreland (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=141691)\\\Hosford-Abernethy (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=142667)\\\ Irvington (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=143158)\\\Goose Hollow (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=143930)
Buckman (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=145475)\\\Multnomah Village (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=146173)\\\St. Johns (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=146597)\\\Mississippi (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=147093)\\\CTLH (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=147789)

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 (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=143930) 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 (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=149005) 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.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/NWMap2.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5135-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5136-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5138-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5141-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5145-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5148-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5166-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5167-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5303-sh.jpg

Couch Park (pronounced “cooch”)
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5304-sh.jpg

The building across the street is a Jewish Temple (or synagogue?)
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5305-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5313-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5332-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5317-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5186-sh.jpg

21st Ave…
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5178-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5179-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5291-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5293-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5296-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5297-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5299-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5300-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5441-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5444-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5954-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5679-sh.jpg

Along Burnside St.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5470-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5475-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5476-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5467-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5465-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5477-sh.jpg

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http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5260-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5259-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5257-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5278-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5273-sh.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj223/Brizzle78/Portland/Northwest/IMG_5253-sh.jpg

More to come in Part 2 (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=149005)…

[daniel_t]

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]

Stately-looking homes and apartments in an awesome urban neighborhood :tup:

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

[hymalaia]

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]

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

[flar]

Great urban neighbourhood, I love all the apartment buildings.

[shovel_ready]

Holy smokin' density, I love it!

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

[mSeattle]

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.

[blade_bltz]

I would live there!

[smArTaLlone]

Wonderful neighborhood!

[pdxman]

Awesome photo thread forateoh! Northwest is by far my fav neighborhood in portland. Truly the most urban hood in portland.

[sabotai]

Portland is delish! You're making me jealous man!

[holladay]

You capture it well... Great tour.

[denveraztec]

Another fun tour! Thank you for taking the time to share all of these areas of Portland.

[Sekkle]

^ You're welcome. And thanks to all of you for taking the time to comment! ;)

[Cbautz]

Again, a great tour (saw #2 first) I believe I stayed close to here. I loved this strip with the restaurants and theater. I think its 22nd or 23rd st

[Kingofthehill]

Thank you.

[ShadowMaster]

Absolutely amazing, I <3 Portland, it has a unique charm about it. Like San Fran and Seattle, Portland also has many hipsters, correct ?

[fflint]

I was just there a few days ago--great area. Very charming.

[nickcarey]

I lived in NW at 20th and Kearney from '02-'05, and how I miss it! Nice photos-

[kemet1984]

Portland has trains, that's good enough for me! Although I think I've been carrying the wrong impression about this West Coast city. I kept expecting, stupidly, the Bay area. But I can say that the architecture of the first few pictures, by which I mean the carefully hewn façades, made me feel like I was in an European urban context, particularly pictures 9 & 13. A strong sense of elegance can be found in the palatial enchantedness of the ninth one, especially.

[ChrisLA]

The buildings are nice and everything, but perhaps because its gloomy it looks down right depressing to me. Believe me I don't mind cloudy cool days, but I don't know how much I could take if it look like this most of the year.

[Abner]

The buildings are nice and everything, but perhaps because its gloomy it looks down right depressing to me. Believe me I don't mind cloudy cool days, but I don't know how much I could take if it look like this most of the year.

The winter is very dark and cloudy, but also short. Vegetation (and moss) staying very green throughout the year also helps a lot.

Inner NW really does hit sort of a sweet spot in terms of density. It's not at all overbearing, but there is a lot of activity. It makes me wish that current developments could mimic Northwest's patterns, which I think have a much broader appeal than highrise districts. Northwest is an urban neighborhood that a suburbanite could see himself living in.

[downtownpdx]

The buildings are nice and everything, but perhaps because its gloomy it looks down right depressing to me. Believe me I don't mind cloudy cool days, but I don't know how much I could take if it look like this most of the year.

Believe me, we had an unusually cool and cloudy spring, and every time I talked to my friend in LA on the phone I was bitching about the gloom. But Portland has this cozy, vibrant quality to its environment that seems to dispel the gloom in my opinion. Of course I'm a native so I'm used to it :). But I was in LA a year ago, and we drove all over the place on a drizzly day ... and THAT was depressing. The character of the urban landscape in SoCal seems to respond to, almost require, a sunny climate, if that makes sense, and places like Portland reflect a more cool, rainy climate. Anyway, the amazing late spring - early fall months really make up for the winter gloom.

[Sekkle]

Thanks for the comments everyone. ChrisLA, I agree that if it were gloomy/cloudy like this for most of the year, it would be a lot tougher to live in Portland (these photos were taken in March I think). But the summers are very sunny, with very little rain or clouds (I think Portland typically gets less rain than Phoenix in July). That said, it was cloudy, cool and rainy for longer than I expected this year (this being my first winter here).

[brandonpdx]

Don't believe these guys. Portland is very dark and gloomy all the time. It's probably best if you just stay away from here.

[ChrisLA]

Don't believe these guys. Portland is very dark and gloomy all the time. It's probably best if you just stay away from here.


I've passed through Portland on my way to Seattle via Amtrak several years ago. Don't worry this is one Californian who have no great desire to live there as is the case with most of us here. Please don't flatter yourselves up there, those who left the area usually are the ones who perfer to live among their own kind. Although I may consider a visit this fall for a few days just to check it out as it seems like a nice place to visit, I just hope there is a bit more sunshine when I do visit.

[EastBayHardCore]

Portland...man, what a fucking awesome town. You did a great job capturing one of it's best neighborhoods.

[natepdx]

I've passed through Portland on my way to Seattle via Amtrak several years ago. Don't worry this is one Californian who have no great desire to live there as is the case with most of us here. Please don't flatter yourselves up there, those who left the area usually are the ones who perfer to live among their own kind. Although I may consider a visit this fall for a few days just to check it out as it seems like a nice place to visit, I just hope there is a bit more sunshine when I do visit.

I really don't think any of us up here ARE trying to "flatter ourselves". We know we live in a wonderful city that has an above average quality of living index. We are certainly not the largest or most glamorous city around but we take justifiable pride in what we have. Please don't post negative comments here about how "gloomy", "depressing" it looks or that we shouldn't "flatter ourselves" up here. There really is no need for that. Please do us a favor and stay in Los Angeles.

[ChrisLA]

:previous:

Its my opinion and I can choose to say what I was thinking, just as many on this board choose to say what they like or hate about LA. I didn't insult anyone, and I really didn't put your city down. To me most west coast cities, and including LA does have a rather depressing look when its cloudy.

I think most of our western cities look much more colorful and vibrant whenthe sun is bright. Only to eastern cities because of its design (mostly red brick and less colorful) looks charming during those dark winter months.

I can't help how feel about my opinion, but they are mine to make. Because of my thoughts, I was given a back hand insult. So I came replied letting this particular forumer know not all of us Californians have any plans or some great desire to move to the northwest as many of you believe. You really need to stop wearing your feelings on your sleeve. I don't even know you, and was not talking to you. I would hate to see how you would react with all of the insults this board throw at LA.

EDIT: Oh and if you really paid much attention to my comments in the past, I have pretty much said very nice things about Portland. Just because I said I don't have any desire to live there, or didn't like how depressing it looked in these photos. This does not mean I hate it, or will never go back and explore the city a bit than what I have seen.

[natepdx]

:previous:

Its my opinion and I can choose to say what I was thinking, just as many on this board choose to say what they like or hate about LA. I didn't insult anyone, and I really didn't put your city down. To me most west coast cities, and including LA does have a rather depressing look when its cloudy.

I think most of our western cities look much more colorful and vibrant whenthe sun is bright. Only to eastern cities because of its design (mostly red brick and less colorful) looks charming during those dark winter months.

I can't help how feel about my opinion, but they are mine to make. Because of my thoughts, I was given a back hand insult. So I came replied letting this particular forumer know not all of us Californians have any plans or some great desire to move to the northwest as many of you believe. You really need to stop wearing your feelings on your sleeve. I don't even know you, and was not talking to you. I would hate to see how you would react with all of the insults this board throw at LA.
I now understand you didn't mean to insult anyone but your choice of words could easily be taken as such.
EDIT: Oh and if you really paid much attention to my comments in the past, I have pretty much said very nice things about Portland. Just because I said I don't have any desire to live there, or didn't like how depressing it looked in these photos. This does not mean I hate it, or will never go back and explore the city a bit than what I have seen.

Actually sir, I do know how many insults are thrown at LA as I regularly visit the LA threads and I grew up in LA. I think saying that I gave you a "back handed insult" is a tad bit dramatic. I just don't see the need to go to the trouble to go to a Portland specific thread to say negative things. I have never and would never do that on an LA thread. In fact I have quite a soft spot for my old hometown. In all fairness you do have a right to your opinion but it certainly seems, to me anyways, a bit troll-like. One thing I have learned in my 40 years on this planet is you never put down some one's hometown. An example : "So where are you from?" "Me? LA" "Oh, I'm sorry." I can't tell you how many times I've heared this. I probably am ranting like a crazy person but it's one of my pet peeves, for better or worse.