Portland-by-Foot

Foster-Powell 2, 72nd & Holgate.

2012-01-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

On this half sunny winter's day, having always been intrigued by the park lined boulevard running along 72nd between Foster and Holgate, I wandered the area all the way east to 82nd, including the Multnomah Cemetery, and was pleasantly surprised. Firstly, I have a disdain for Foster, can't say why exactly, but I tend to think that anything skirting it is a bit shabby, but alas, NO, I am proven wrong! This is a sweet area of fairly well tended to homes and streets, with a mix of farm houses, victorians, bungalows, mid-century traditionals, and ranches. I was really impressed and would say that if you're looking for a nice neighborhood, fairly close in, in a very affordable area, this one shouldn't be overlooked.

The 6 month sales run from as low as $85K to $275K! There's something for everyone. The tracts include Firland, Loomis, Saginaw Heights, Marysville, Rayburn Park, Isabelle A. Carpenters, Turnabout, Evelyn, Bernhardt Park, Glenacres, etc.

If you're interested in the history of Foster-Powell, here's a nice little piece.

Milwaukie, River Forest Dr..

2011-12-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

So, I went out of bounds again. I just had to. I think many of you discount Milwaukie as some suburban throwaway, when really, it's such a treasure trove. On this day I walked the streets of the Fair Oaks area of Oak Grove, which all those fabulous riverside houses are on. With the exception of a few McMansions, they are for the most part either cozy 20's-40's storybook styles, reminiscent of mountain resort towns, or large mid-century ranch homes of varying styles. Some are 80's architectural homes, and a few are leftover turn-of-the century farm houses, and some are "mid-century modest", but they're all hidden in a lovely treed area just west of River Rd. There's even a lake for those who don't live on the river! The walk is a nice 6 mile loop. I recommend it highly!

The prices run from $200 to $800K. Not too bad for river-front property with your own dock!!

Cozy Mtn Resort Style "Cabin"

Neat Vertical Timber Cabin!!

The Lake.

The worst addition ever, to the left.

Blockheaded

Cully Neighborhood, 1.

2011-11-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am sooo behind. I've been walking but not blogging. I promise to catch up in a flurry! Yesterday, my friend Wade and I hit up lower Cully. He prefers unusual lot sizes, and so this was the perfect place to walk. We started at 42nd and Simpson, and worked our way up to 60th and back down, then hit the cross streets. We even dodged traffic on Portland Hwy so that we could check out the Railside Pub and warm up a bit. It was 37 degrees out afterall.

This is a very interesting neighborhood. It's like the country in the city. Large oddly shaped lots, some grand homes, some tiny non-descript homes, a tract of picture-perfect ranches, bordering a the quasi-industrial Lombard/Portland Highway, and somewhat downtrodden upper Killingsworth on the otherside. It's a little oasis in the middle!

We came across tudors, bungalows, shotguns, portland-style foursquares, farm houses, traditional ranches, storybook ranches, and a few really stellar mid-mods, including one I sold a few years back, and one with wings!! (The best butterfly roof I've ever seen in Portland!). What a treasure trove of homes in an area most people don't even think about!

6 Months sales prices run from $135 to $325K, but there's a mid-mod for sale at $549K, and a bungalow pending at around $475K. So the prices really run the gamut. The tracts include: Jorbade, Killingsworth Gardens, Zwahlen Homes, Englewood Park, Lutz, and Century Terrace (this is the tract of mid-century standards).

The awesomest Butterfly Roof EVER!!

Awesome wagon wheel!!

I sold this house a few years back.

This house is for sale for $549,900.

South Tabor 1, SE

2011-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

As we're having unusually nice weather in Portland as of late, I've been able to take some big chunks out of South Tabor in the last two days. Monday I walked 71st to 64th from Woodward to Powell (however I avoided Crater View Addition - the pocket of cool ranches, as I will make that a post of it's own at a later date) and today I hit 63rd to 53rd. And now, I'm sorta tired!

In terms of architectural make-up (not socio economic), these neighborhoods are very pockety, in fact, on Brooklyn from 71st to 67th the Averill Tract is made up of large turn-of-the-century homes on huge lots. Very impressive and if you're always driving up Woodward as the main thoroughfare, you'd never know they were there. Speaking of pockety, the entire area from 71st to 53rd is a mish mash of all sorts of homes, mostly from the 30's, 40's and 50's, with the occasional large lot with a 19-teens craftsman styled bungalow thrown in for good measure. Actually, quite the opposite, it's obvious that there was a lot of war era infill and small tracts by specific builders offering a few styles of similar homes block by block. There are some very sweet blocks, tree lined blocks, quaint mid-century blocks, and some blocks that could use some love, but overall it's an attractive middle-income neighborhood.

The 6 month sold prices are between $325K and $114K. The tracts include (but aren't limited to) Averill, Clocks Addition, Chula Vista, East Creston, Lamanda Park, Bonne Homes, Wakefield, Frasers Addition, Valoy, etc.

Ye Olde Shoppe

*FIND the DAY* (except I knew it was there!)

Wilshire/Concordia, NE

2011-10-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

On this day I started at NE Webster and 40th (Concordia Nbhd) and walked South to Prescott, and all the way West to 33rd (Wilshire. This is such a cute neighborhood, and incorporates the coveted block of Ken Birkemeier mid-century ranchelows with their off-set rooflines and roman brick facades, and knotty pine interiors (NE 38th Culdesac/NE Alberta Ct), and is so one of my favorite areas to tour clients through. It's "Period-Perfect" in a pre/post war kind of way. The streets are tree lined and have that classic Portland feel. The houses in these blocks are mostly 40's era salt boxes, capecods, bungalows, english cottage and transitional ranches, with a few 50's mid-mods, a sprinkling of 30's tudors and the occasional earlier foursquare/arts & crafts bungalow. The tracts are: Willamette Addition, Going St Addition, and Section 24 (the Birkemeiers).

It has a walkscore of 72 and convenient access to all the fun places on NE 42nd, Killingsworth, and Alberta. The 6mos sales prices run from $255 to $405K, with really short 'days on market', most at 15 days or less - a really great place to buy or sell, and especially live!

A Birkemeier, separate from the rest.

The start of the Birkemeiers, in the 38th Culdesac.

One of my favorite Birkemeiers as taken from 38th.

This might have been the find of the day, love the curve!

Mt. Tabor 2 - SE Quad, (SE)

2011-09-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I decided to hit the long blocks from Division to Hawthorne, starting at 51st and ending at 59th. This area is considered Mt. Tabor Neighborhood and is essentially the SE foothills. Sadly, my phone/camera died as I got to about 57th...

The houses are mostly 1910's-40's Bungalows, Arts & Crafts, English, Cape Cod, Italianate, Gothic Farmhouse, a ranch here or there, but mostly Bungalow.. This is a very sweet, coveted neighborhood. It is near enough to the fun on Hawthorne to benefit, but far enough not to hear it. Division makes a great throrougfare and Franklin High is nearby. It is fairly densly built up - not a ton of space between houses and rather small lots, but the proximity to Mt. Tabor makes up for it. "There seems to be every reason why a portion, at least, of Mount Tabor should be taken as a public park. It is the only important landscape feature for miles around, and the population in its vicinity is destined to be fairly dense. It is already a good deal resorted to by people for their Sunday and holiday outings, and it will be better known to and more visited by the citizens as time goes on. . . .There can be little doubt that public sentiment will cordially support the city government in acquiring considerable land on this prominent and beautiful hill." (Olmsted Brothers "Report of the Park Board," 1903). Some of the older homes are built on expansive lots, but they are a rarity for theses chosen blocks. Below in the pictures, you will see what I believe to be one of the older homes in the area - it is a Gothic style Farmhouse with traditionally svelte windows and was likely a farm before it platted it's property into relative unimportance. The streets themselves are on very long blocks which leads to light traffic, many trees, and there is obviously a good deal of pride of ownership.

The tracts are Sewickly Addition, Jackson Place, Nixon Terrace, Buehner's Addition, Grasmere, Hutchinson's Addition, Crystal Springs Park, Groveland Park, 51st Street Addition, Waconda, Second Electric Addition,

Nine month's historical sales prices go from $214 - $505K.

Eastmoreland, SE

2011-09-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

Eastmoreland is so large and so beautiful, that it took me three visits (some ending in the darkness of night) and I didn't even dare to photograph all of the beautiful homes. In fact, I took less pictures and enjoyed my walk more because every house is so fantastic, there's no point in shooting them all. You just need to visit for yourself.

Eastmoreland is a community platted in the 20's, directly south of Reed College - since 1911 a liberal arts college with an illustrious reputation for it's rather liberal (Communist) approach , and just east of the Eastmoreland Golf Club (1916), and just West of Cesar Chavez or 39th.

The tracts are Eastmoreland, and Berkeley (smaller and quainter homes on the eastern edge of Eastmoreland. The three month sales prices run from $250K (Berkeley) to 1.1 million (EastMoreland). Stylistically the houses run the gamut from English Tudor, Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne, late Arts & Crafts, Dutch Colonial, French Provincial, Cape Cod, Late 40's Mid-century traditional, and 60's Mid-century Modern (infill) - You name it! The houses are the top of the line, many true to original design or remodels following tradition, all very well maintained and this is undeniably one of the nicest, most expensive neighborhoods in Portland. The streets are tree lined and winding, with that 'back east' feel of upper-middle class prestige.

Sullivan's Gulch, NE.

2011-09-09T00:35:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this one! On a sunny summer day, which day I cannot recall, I left my office at NE 21st & Broadway and walked East covering the area between I-84 and NE Broadway, from 21st to 28th. This area is called Sullivan's Gulch. What was once a bucolic "forest of fir trees with a beautiful stream running through it and an occasional waterfall, the site of Sullivan's cabin, and later during the depression a ShantyTown (see the history of Sullivan's Gulch here) is now a coveted inner-city neighborhood of turn of the century foursquares, and bungalows, tudors, the occasional mediterranean or ranch, and myriad apartment houses, condos, and duplexes of varying styles from the teens through the early 70's. It is a truly equal opportunity neighborhood with the ammenities of Broadway, schools of Irvington, and just enough traffic noise from the freeway to make it affordable!

The Stats: The 9 months sales prices show sales as low as $90K, as high as $475K, with median sold price being $336,750. The tracts are Holladay Park, Carter's Addition, John Irving's First Addition.

This was the second house I ever sold!

Find of the Walk!

Foster-Powell 1

2011-09-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

On this evening I took a short walk (it was getting dark!), covering the triangle formed by Holgate and Foster starting down at 52nd. There are a lot of older bungalows and foursquares in this area, some on tiny lots, others on huge ones. It's a very urban-feeling neighborhood with tons of untapped potential. A bit ramshackle is places, but some neighbors are obviously putting in the hours and creating really nice homes for themselves!
An interesting history tid-bit, per the FO-PO Neighborhood Association: "Foster was a dusty trail used by farmers to haul their goods downtown, passing through the then-independent town of Lents (near 92nd Avenue) on the way. Portland expanded and connected transportation links to suburbs, including the old Mt. Scott streetcar line which traveled up Foster on its way to Lents, eventually connecting to service all the way to Estacada. In the early 20th century, Foster was Portland’s widest street, with 17-foot wide sidewalks modeled after Parisian boulevards."

The Stats: In the past 9 mos, houses have sold for as little as $90K, to as much as $206K, with a list high of $240k. The average sold price being $161,900. The tracts include: Marcellus, Vendome, Archer, Overton Park, Cherry Park, Anabel and Hessemer.

Woodstock 4, SE

2011-08-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

This time I walked the Westernmost portion of Woodstock Neighborhood, starting at 39th (Cesar Chavez) and Woodstock, heading south to Glenwood and East up to 46th.

The tracts are Partition Plat, Eaton, and Woodstock. There's a mix of old farm houses and victorians, with 20's -50's homes of all sorts from meditteranean, to salt box, to ranch, to bungalow, to english, style homes. It's tree lined and quite darling, with great proximity to the good stuff on Woodstock. This part of 39th/Cesar Chavez is quiet and slow and makes for a good neighborhood.

Houses are going from $200 to $340K. I was really surprised at the $200K, that's a great price for this area!

One of my Fav Houses!!

Huge Potential, can't wait to see when they finish it!

La Petit Abode!

This is a monstrosity!!!!!!!

Cool cinderblock!

The Tiniest of Houses.

Cherry Blossom Park - Hazelwood, SE

2011-08-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

I have always had a softspot in my heart for the large tract that is called Ch-ch-ch-Cherry Park. Cherry Blossom Park to be exact. It's boundaries are the I-205 freeway to the west, Division to the South, Market Street to the North, and 104th or 106th to the East. It is relatively unknown and a very nice pocket of ranches; tri-levels, splits and traditionals, a few storybooks, and a mod here or there. The tracts are Cherry Blossom Park, Willbeth, and Section 04. They are selling from $130K (smaller ones closer to the freeway wall) to $269K (full basement, view, far from freeway). There is a good deal of house pride and this neighborhood is very clean and kempt, cozy. Lets just say, the Beav would be happy here.

This house sold for $134K!!

I think this is a leftover custom home, there's a similar one on Division around the block.

Find of the Day! Love that privacy screen!

I think I almost tried to buy this house... it was so very " I Love Lucy moves to the Country"..

One of the few Mods.

Beaumont - Wilshire - Cully (NE)

2011-08-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

On this lovely day, I walked from Prescott to Fremont from 42nd to 47th. It's bordered by the Rose City Cemetery. Via Portland Maps, it's considered "Cully" neighborhood, but I think people think of the Fremont side as Beaumont Village, the 42nd side heading North as Wilshire and the Prescott side heading East as the southern edge of Cully. So I'm calling it Beaumont-Wilshire-Cully. Sue me.

These house are absolutely adorable, so many different styles, mostly pre-war, and an amazing quantity of tiny box houses on huge lots (which only makes them look even smaller). The hidden gem I'm lucky enough to know about (because two friends reside there) is a tract on Shaver between 42/47th. It is a whole street of mid-century hipped roofs, standards, traditionals, brickfaced or clapboarded, ranches. There's even one with a decidely mid-mod quality to it. It's a bit of uniform in a sea of random. Funnily enough, it is under the same tract name as the sea of Random, so I don't know what to call it other than Shaver from 42/47. There's no specific designation, Shaver just broke out in ranches, as far as I can tell.

The current prices run from $180 to $569K. The tracts are Section 19, Calman, and Forest Glen.

10-4 Good Buddy, do ya Read Me? Radio Attenae Galore.

Here's the start of the Shaver Street Ranches

This would have to be the *Find of the Day*

Or maybe this one, it is really so perfect.

End Shaver St. Can you see the railings - they're bubbles!

This is the Funky Monkey of the Day.

Argay Terrace 1, NE

2011-08-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

Since I have a listing on 126th and Beech St, which is the North side of Argay Terrace, I decided to walk the neighborhood. I stayed to the left of Fremont and wandered from 126th to 142nd and all the streets between Fremont and Sandy, except a tendril off Shaver by Argay Park which I'll have to get on another day.

This is a really great early 60's-early 70's neighborhood, with the houses getting newer the further east you get. Argay Terrace is actually made of several tracts of different homes, and the north side is made up of the following tracts: Beechway, Strathmore, Prestige Park, Argay Terrace. So many swimming pools!! This is a very nice, quiet neighborhood, butted up against Shaver Elementary's grounds to the West, and a little hard to find/access. The houses are clean and well cared for with lots of house pride.

The current six month sales prices run from $186,000 to $345,000.

I went inside a house and found awesome lights.

A funky sunken fireplace..

A tiny stove in the basement.

I thought this was gonna be the Find of the Day!

This house is stunning but dark and hard to photograph.

But this turned out to be the real Fnd of the Day! Wow!

And this is the Weird Thing of the Day.

This house had orange shag carpet still.

1970, the era of the Split-Level.

Creston-Kenilworth 1, SE

2011-08-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I walked from 52nd to 42nd, Holgate North to Gladstone, and all the streets in between.

Holgate started off normally enough, a mish-mosh of pre-to-mid-century infill, a few bungalows, some craftsmen here and there. But when I walked up Boise, wow - it was like stepping back into 1890. A very wide street, comprised of several victorians of the queen anne and italianate varieties, (one of which is a mansion to be sure), a few craftsmen, four-squares, etc, many on large lots, possibly a view, and definitely that old-tyme platted feeling. I'd love to know the history of Boise at 44th - I suspect it's the Kenilworth contingent of Creston Kenilworth, as that's the crux of the victorian area. I pulled this from Wikipedia: "According to Portland Parks & Recreation, the Kenilworth neighborhood was platted in 1889 and is "named after Sir Walter Scott's 1821 novel Kenilworth, a romantic novel set in Elizabethan England. Many of the streets in the neighborhood took their names from this novel and other novels by Scott."^[1]"

The tracts are Ivanhoe (victorians), and Lenox (all else), and the prices run $169 to $469K. Here's a Map.

The lone MCM

At the base of Boise/42nd, I start to notice victorians.

*Find of the Day*

Woodstock 3, SE

2011-08-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I continued the Woodstock series and walked from 52nd to 42nd, Raymond to Holgate. A less impressive neighborhood than those further south, I did find a few undeniable gems - or as I'm calling them now "Find of the Day". Again, these blocks run the gamut of old farm houses and victorians, a slew of 20's/30's bungalows, a few English and Tudor, a ton of mid-century modests, a whole block of cookie cutter salt-boxes, a few moderns, and surprisingly a whole block of Stucco mediterraneans. They run between $189 and $463K.

The tracts include Collegiate Heights, Kelso, Beauvoir, Thayer, Longview Park, Brockton, etc.

Funky custom roof

Old shotgun shack

The block of tiny salt boxes, differing roof styles.

A salt box with a jaunty hat (addition).

A really large ranch for the nbhd.

The stucco medits

*Find of the Day* - Really Awesom Mediterranean

Sigh

The Victorian Grand Dame of the Hood.

Mid-Mod on SE 52nd

Woodstock 2, SE

2011-08-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

This evening I started a little late, so forgive me, the pictures get dark. Thanks to Lise Hardwin for joining Nugget and myself this evening.

I walked from 52nd to 41st, Steele to Raymond, and man-alive are there some really awesome mid-century homes in this pocket! In the upper portion, closer to 52nd, even though they're obviously different tracts, it seems that for the most part the majority of the tracts are mid-century in design. [Side Note: In fact, in the Raymond Tract there is a block of flat roofed houses that seem to be of the same builder as another block over in East Tabor off of 76th/Harrison]. Modest in size, these tracts run the gamut of semi-modern flat roofs, neo-colonial traditionals, standard hip roofs - and are super cute.. And reasonably priced too, $225K -300K!

Closer to 42nd, amongst the remaining large farm houses and craftsman bungalows, there are sprinkled a few mid-century moderns (really cool ones), a mix of 1920's & 30's english/tudors, some standard salt-boxes, a few mid-century modests, and a few tri-levels. This area really runs the gamut but it's all quite nice. $225-390K.

Yale, Raymond, Lexington tracts.

Mid-century Modest Traditional

Standard Hipped Roof Ranch

Flat Roofed MC-sorta Modern.

Entire tract of various mid-century houses

Wow!

*Find of the Day* - Stunning Modern.

Second Find of the Day - Tri-Level

Third Find of the Day - Eichler style Modern

Vintage Sinclair Gas Pump

Teeny

Eichler Style MCM

*Find of the Day - Evening Shot*

Northwest District & Willamette Heights, NW

2011-08-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

A few days back I found myself stuck in traffic in NW, so I decided to pull off of Burnside, head North along 29th and do a nice hilly walk. I chose to start where Raleigh dead ends, up by Chapman gradeschool, the home of the flight of the Swifts. Even though the area above and along Thurman, called Willamette Heights is quite posh, the areas I wandered are seemingly quite normal 'every-day-people' neighborhoods - lots of duplexes, apartments, rentals, many small early-century and mid-century homes, tons of condo communities, interspersed with the larger homes we think of when we think Upper Thurman and Willamette Heights. The tracts were MacClaey Park, Willamette Heights, Old Forest Commons, Exposition Commons. Condos run from $150, and houses up to $750K.

I ended up walking up 29th, over Thurman, and around Upshur into that little unknown pocket near MacClaey park that leads to another pocket behind Montgomery Park, on Wilson/33rd, and is cut off by industrial Nicolai. Of the houses currently on the market or recently sold, they seem to run in the high $300's and low $400's.

NOTE: I did not walk up Thurman to Aspen, or the area skirting Forest Park, known specifically as Willamette Heights.

Smaller mid-century homes

Lots of apartments

Neat duplex options

One of the Grand Dames - my fav Italianate on Savier

Loft conversions

Tiny mediterraneans

Huge FourSquares with a View (Raleigh)

Mid-century Modest

Ranches

Slick Rides

Historic Homes - MacClaey

Mid-Mod Apartments

My Hobbit Toes

Apartments - Wilson

Shotgun Shacks

Chimney-cum-Rock-Climbing-Wall

Mansions (Thurman)

Providence Heights, SE

2011-07-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I walked a hidden pocket of 50's transitional ranches and traditionals called Providence Heights. It's a 'perfectville' tract bordered by SE 47th & 50th and Stark/Burnside. The lawns are all perfectly manicured, the houses are mostly white clapboard and brick, and I swear this is the neighborhood Elizabeth Taylor would have moved into in the movie "Father of the Bride". It is brimming with mid-century modest perfectionism! Many of the houses are completely original, with vintage kitchens, knotty pine rumpus rooms with built in shuffleboards in the VCT flooring, period-perfect tiled baths. Ohh!

The tract is actually called Providence Heights, and the neighborhood would be classified as North Tabor. The houses run the gamut between $330K and $550K, with the majority being in that mid-$300 range.

This is faux grass and looks good (feels funny).

Dolph Park, NE

2011-07-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Monday I walked one of NE Portland's poshest neighborhoods, Dolph Park, which is within the umbrella of Grant Park. Though the boundaries are a bit fuzzy, architecturally, the neighborhood seems to fit within NE 27th to 33rd, US Grant Place to NE Brazee. Outside this area, the houses are smaller but quite nice. So, I'm going by the toppers on the streetsigns that say Dolph Park, but according to Portland Maps the whole area is considered Grant Park. Confusing, huh?

Regardless, the tracts are Bowering, Fernwood, and Dolph Park (hence the term!). For the most part, these are huge houses, 3000-7000 square feet and running the gamut in price from $335-950,000. Stylistically, there are many tudors, english cottages, dutch colonials, foursquares, a few bungalows, and the most AMAZING glass brick and roman brick Art Moderne!

More pics of this Art Moderne at bottom of page!!

Linnton - Springville Ct

2011-07-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

On this torrentially rainy Sunday, my friend Teresa and I went gung-ho and decided to hike Forest Park. On our way off the trail, we walked along Springville Road, down NW Ogden, Wood, Shepherd, down to Springville Ct. This is a hidden pocket above the NW terminus of the St. John's bridge, just south of Germantown Road. Mostly bungalows, foursquares, and ranches on large terraced lots with views, this is a nice neighborhood! There isn't much sales data - only one house for sale in the past two years, it's currently active at $275K.

Upper Piedmont 1, N.

2011-07-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Friday I walked the very most NW portion of Piedmont, heck, I didn't even know it was considered Piedmont, but alas, it is. It's bordered by the I-5 wall to the West, industrial/railroad to the North, Farragut park to the East and Lombard to the South. It's an odd mix of small 20's homes and new skinny houses to the North, and edges into larger bungalows, four-squares, saltboxes, Mediterranean and Tudors, and a few ranches, to the SE. There are some rather large, stately homes which reminds you that Lombard was once a much smaller, quieter street, once upon a time. This area comprises of the Fairport and Swinton tracts and runs the gamut in price currently between $159K to $315, with the lowest and highest sold prices in the last 12 mos being $107K and $272K.

Woodstock 1, SE

2011-07-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I walked Woodstock, well a portion of it - specifically from Woodstock North to Steele, 52nd to 41st. This includes the Woodstock, Germania, Avonia, Rosemead, Section 18, and Blue Ridge Tracts. Only five houses have sold here in the last 12 mos, and they run between $205 and $330K. It is a quite darling area and skirts the Woodstock school and huge treed park. The houses really differ stylistically - there are a lot of standard ranches, some really cute 40's transitional ranches, a few 20's shot gun shacks, a whole slew of big-porched arts& crafts bungalows, and myriad moderns.

Mississippi/Albina (N)

2011-06-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, I treked 4.5 miles around the trendy Mississippi neighborhood. I chose the boundaries of Fremont to Skidmore, the Missouri Ave (I-5 freeway wall) to Kerby Ave. This is the Boise-Eliot neighborhood and has long been steeped in a rich African-American culture, but has undergone recent urban revitalization which has made the area uber-trendy with boutiques, cafes, music venues, and all the other trappings of yuppydom, and now straddles the two cultures, seemingly amicably.

Surprisingly, even with all the money and affluence dumping into Mississippi, the neighborhood is rather pockety. Seven - ten years ago many of the houses were inexpensive and in a deferred state of repair, intrepid buyers purchased many of them and fixed them up. Some still stay the same. It gives Mississippi a gritty edge and anchors it in reality, which I think is pretty cool. Because of this, there's still untapped potential in the neighborhood and I suspect as the economy rights itself this neighborhood will lose much of it's grit, and blossom. I can't say if that's good or bad, I see the beauty in grit.

Architecturally, it's a mixed bag, but mostly turn-of-the-century with a few infill ranches, dwell-style moderns, lots of bungalows, and myriad apartment complexes of varying eras. There are many victorian homes, both grand and working class, some perched atop hills and others tightly edged in amongst the rest. There are small shot-gun shacks harkening back to a simpler existance, and over-the-top modernist structures cohabitating side by side rather nicely.

It's a rather artsy area and I was pleasantly surprised to find a gnome-diarama built in the garden retaining wall of house. The pics are included.

I went to the Shire!

Industrious lil' fellows!

Rooftop garden, how 'green' of him!

Ripe with potential!

If you like these, you'll really love my website's Mid-Mod or Period-Perfect picks of the week!

Brentwood-Darlington (SE)

2011-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

On Monday I ventured through the southern-most part of Brentwood-Darlington (also known as Felony Flats or Felony Heights as I like to call it, as it's up on the bluff overlooking Johnson Creek), into a previously unincorporated rural and treed area which I believe might be "Darlington", and sits between Harney and Johnson Creek Blvd, down around 52nd-58th, and is considered Portland. To give you a better picture, this whole area is to the south of Woodstock, and east of Sellwood (if that helps at all!). In fact, this whole area was serviced by the Spring Water Trolley line, which is now the Springwater trail and leads directly into Sellwood.

The thing that struck me as I walked through the upper portion called Brentwood, which is part of the north-clackamas urban renewal area, is that for a relatively down-trodden blue-collar neighborhood, almost EVERY SINGLE HOUSE has newly purchased and nicely tended perennial flowers. They may not have much, but what they do have is pride. They also have a carnival ride repair center!

Wandering west into that idyllic treed area feesibly known as Darlington, I ran into many large rural lots with nice turn of-the-century, or mid-century houses, mini-farms, and views for miles west. There's a whole ridge with a view that parallels that of Alameda, but is little known and hence, still affordable. I suspect its proximity to the perceived poverty of 'felony flats' and it's distance south keep it a secret. Now you know!

Flowers and House-Pride!

Pigs and Deer!

Flowers and puppies!

Mini-vineyard!

Good use for a snowboard!

This is either a single-wide or an old train car, behind the facade!

Doesn't look as expansive in the picture as it is in reality.

This view rivals Alameda in a heart-beat!

Ghost-building!!

Hard to capture, 3 modernist buildings circa 1975.

Even the trailer-park laundromat got a facelift!

Gotta love vintage hand-painted signage!

Even the trailers are decorated!

The Carnival Repair Center!

Whirly-gig?

Some ducks, on leave.