Laurelhurst - NE (and a bit of SE) Portland

Laurelhurst is one of the best-known of Portland's neighborhoods. Developed in the early 20th century based upon plans by John Charles Olmsted (son of the architect of New York's Central Park), the planned subdivision has an impressive array of single-family residential structures typical of upper class neighborhoods of the time. It remains a desirable neighborhood today, in part because of the quality of the residential construction, but also for its public amenities, which include beautiful Laurelhurst Park and mature street trees along its streets. Fortunately some of the original deed restrictions from 1909, which prohibited homes to be sold to Chinese, Japanese, or African Americans, were rendered unenforceable by a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court decision. This 3.4 mile walk goes through much of the neighborhood, highlighting community institutions and exemplars of residential construction. But most of the homes along this walk are pleasing to the eye and interesting from the perspective of the history of early 20th century residential architecture. The walk has some mild ups and downs, but nothing too strenuous.

The walk begins at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, located at the intersection of 32nd Ave. and Glisan St. This church was completed in 1956 after the Portland Greek Orthodox community outgrew its original church. Greek Orthodoxy is the cornerstone of the "eastern" branch of Christianity, making an irrevocable break with the Roman Catholic church in 1054 over mundane-sounding theological disputes, but really over which set of church leaders, those in Constantinople or Rome, should have final say in theological and doctrinal controversies. A starting point for what Greek Orthodoxy represents can be found here.

From the cathedral walk north on 32nd Avenue, which at some point has a name change to 33rd Avenue after a slight bend in the road. Go four blocks and after passing a modern-looking Presbyterian Church on the left, you will get to the Movement Center, also on the left.  The Movement Center building complex was constructed in 1911, and was originally the Anna Lewis Mann Old People's Home. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Movement Center took over the building in 1999. It describes itself as a "center for spiritual practice in the tantric tradition," and was founded in 1971 by Swami Chetanananda.    

The grounds are sometimes open during daylight hours, and beyond the parking area is a garden with sculptures and shrines such as this one. There is definitely an "eastern" orientation at the Movement Center!

Directly across the street from the Movement Center, take a right onto Holladay Street from 33rd Avenue. After one block turn right again at Peerless Place. Soon on the left is this attractive Spanish-Moorish-style home, constructed in 1925.



At the next block turn left onto Pacific Street. Pacific terminates at a slightly off-center three-way intersection with Hassalo Street and Imperial Avenue. At the south side of the intersection (to your right) is this stately 1927 Italianate-style home on a large 1/3 acre lot.

Cross over the Hassalo Street center median and head onto Imperial Avenue. Proceed two blocks north. At the corner of Imperial and Wasco Street, on the left, is the Word of Life Slavic Baptist Church.  However the building was constructed in 1927 as the Eighth Church of Christ Scientist. The grand nature of this church exemplifies the money available to Mary Baker Eddy's religious organization in the early 20th century. However Christian Science membership has plummeted in the last 50 years and many of its buildings such as this one have new religious occupants. As of March 2015 the Word of Life Slavic Baptist Church website linked to above is still under construction, but once it is finished perhaps there will be more information available about the congregation, its religious creeds, and its liturgy.

Turn right on Wasco Street and then quickly veer to the left onto Senate Street. At the corner of Senate and NE 37th Avenue is this art-deco style structure that is out of place in the neighborhood. It is actually on commercially-zoned property, probably because the I-84 freeway, which you can hear as a dull roar in the background, is adjacent to the north.



Continue east on Senate Street to NE Cesar Chavez Ave., formerly known as NE 39th Avenue.  The 2009 renaming sparked significant citywide controversy, which seems to have died down in the past five years, much as the 1990 renaming of Union Avenue to Martin Luther King Blvd  is now an accepted fact throughout the city. At the corner of Senate and Cesar Chavez is this beautiful building formerly occupied by the Bethlehem Lutheran church, constructed in 1928. Its current fate remains uncertain, based upon the lack of any signage.

Turn right on Cesar Chavez Avenue and walk two blocks along this busy street to Hassalo, where there is a traffic signal. Go left and cross the street at the signal and continue one long block to NE 42nd Avenue. Turn right on 42nd and go up the hill for two blocks. At 42nd and Laurelhurst Place, on the left, is Laurelhurst Elementary School, an attractive brick structure. The gymnasium dates from 1926, but the rest of the complex is newer.

On the right side of 42nd, across from the school, is this interesting residence. The home's architectural style could be described as Gingerbread, but the front projection with tall chimney and brickwork that continues the arch of the window is the most distinctive part of the structure.

42nd Avenue curves and transitions into NE 41st Avenue at the next block. Continue ahead for three more blocks. At the corner of 41st and Hoyt, on the left, is this fine Craftsman-style house, constructed in 1912.

Continue one more block until 41st intersects busy Glisan Street, then turn right. Go one block to the "intersection" of Glisan and Cesar Chavez, which is actually a busy traffic circle. Turn left and cross Glisan at the crosswalk, and then follow the sidewalk heading right to Cesar Chavez, where you will also cross at the crosswalk. In the center of the circle is this shimmering statue of Joan of Arc. The story of statue, a replica of Emmanuel Fremiet's Joan of Arc statue in the Place de Pyramides of Paris, can be found here.

You will now head south on Cesar Chavez, and you should be on the right side of the street. One block beyond the traffic circle, at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Davis Street, is this English cottage style home. The Ruby House, as it is known, was constructed in 1927 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Continue on Cesar Chavez one more block to Couch Street, then turn right. Go one long block along Couch, and then turn left onto Laurelhurst Place. On the right, at the corner of Laurelhurst and Burnside Street, is this beautiful colonial-style home, built in 1914. The house on the other side of the street is quite a looker too, a French chateau adaptation originally constructed in 1927.

At Burnside, which is a busy street, cross carefully. On the south side of the street, to the left, you will see an interesting, perhaps jarring, sight. On the corner of Burnside and Laurelhurst is a 1927-built traditional home, in an architectural design that is a combination of several different styles. Next to it is a home built in 2010 on a rare neighborhood vacant lot in a very modern style. It is described in more detail here.

After crossing Burnside, continue one block south on Laurelhurst to Ankeny Street, then turn left. On your right is Laurelhurst Park, which you will be entering soon. But along the left side of Ankeny amongst the houses is the Laurelhurst Club. The club has been at this site since 1912, and while the tennis courts that once were next to the building are long gone, the building itself is still used for weddings and other events and also by a dance club promoting ballroom dancing. The club is owned and operated by a non-profit organization.

Continue on Ankeny to its intersection with Cesar Chavez Avenue, then turn right onto the pathway into Laurelhurst Park. After following the path for a couple hundred feet you will see this view of Firwood Lake, 3 acres of water in the middle of the 31-acre park. The City of Portland bought the park site in 1911 and Portland's Parks Director, Emanuel Mische, designed the park in the manner of his former employers, the Olmsted Brothers. In 1919 the park was named the most beautiful park on the west coast by the Pacific Coast Parks Association. After a rough spell in the 1980's, when it was known for drug dealing, the park has undergone a renaissance in the past couple of decades. The entire park is on the National Register of Historic Places. You will come to a three-way path junction at the head of the lake. Take the middle path that goes on the left side of Firwood Lake and heads up a gentle slope to the southern edge of the park.

The street at the southern edge of the park is Oak Street. Turn right on Oak. The park will be on your right, and a series of large homes will be on your left. This home, in a Craftsman style built in 1923, is perhaps the most distinguished residence, but it has plenty of competition.

Oak Street stubs into NE 33rd Avenue, where you will turn right and then quickly turn left onto Pine Street. After one block turn right onto NE 32nd Avenue and go one block. On your right is the Old Laurelhurst church, a Spanish Colonial Revival building constructed in 1923. The building  was originally constructed for the Central Presbyterian Church, designed by noted Portland architect Frederick Manson White. For several years in the early 2000's the church hosted Imago Dei, a non-denominational congregation that has since moved to its own building at SE 13th and Ankeny. While it still bills itself as a nondenominational church, its website touts it as an event venue, primarily for weddings. Couples can "bring in the approved Christian minister of their choice to officiate, or we will provide referrals."


At Ankeny turn right and proceed one block back to 33rd Avenue. After crossing 33rd, on your right is the Bitar Mansion, constructed in 1927 by noted architect Herman Brookman, who also designed Temple Beth Israel in Northwest Portland in a somewhat similar Moorish-Mediterranean style. The mansion gets its name from Robert Bitar, who lived here from 1951 until 2000 and served as honorary consul for Lebanon. A 2006 purchaser stirred up some controversy in the neighborhood, and the house was foreclosed in 2010. It is now being restored, as is evident from the picture (taken in August 2014).


Continuing on Ankeny, also on the right, is the next of two grand mansions on this block, the "Portland Mayor's Mansion," so-named because its first resident in 1912 was Portland Mayor H. Russell Albee. It is now a bed and breakfast, with four available rooms. The architect was A.E. Doyle, who is responsible for many Portland buildings of this era, most notably much of Reed College and the Central Library. The mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places.


At the Mayor's Mansion take a left turn onto Floral Place. Go north, carefully crossing busy Burnside Street. One block further north, at the intersection of Floral and Couch Street, is this graceful 1917 home. Follow the curve of the street to the left of this home, and then take a left onto Davis Street. Go one block west on Davis, where amongst the graceful early 20th century Laurelhurst structures is, on the left, a home constructed in 1974 in a style typical of that era.


And 32nd Avenue turn right and go three blocks until you reach your starting point at 32nd and Glisan. However, at the corner of 32nd and Glisan, on your right, is the Markham Home, constructed in 1906, adjacent to one of the Laurelhurst gateway monuments. The home had been sold to a developer, and was almost demolished before a "savior" was found to buy the home. If it had been demolished, the Markham Home would have been replaced by two new residences - and with the desirability of inner Portland neighborhoods such as Laurelhurst, such a demolition and replacement makes economic sense.  The question is whether such market forces should be allowed to operate with the result that two households will benefit from living in this desirable neighborhood, or whether historic preservation, conserving the existing character of this great neighborhood, should be given priority in this kind of situation. That is a question for you, the reader, to consider.