Portland's Neighborhoods

For more information about Portland and its unique neighborhoods, check out this list.

The Pearl District

“The Pearl” is close to Embassy Suites, and clearly is the “hot spot” in Portland these days. You could spend a week there and still not run out of shops and galleries to see. You can sample haute couture and hot cuisine in Portland’s Pearl District, which has quickly become the place to see and be seen. The Pearl is composed of 50 city blocks of industrial warehouses turned sleek loft apartments, cutting-edge art galleries and vibrant international restaurants.

Though the neighborhood features outstanding brewpubs, delicious international cuisine and the world’s largest independent bookstore, the soul of the Pearl is in its galleries. Check them out on the first Thursday of every month, when most galleries stay open late to showcase the talents of new and established artists. http://www.shopthepearl.com/

Perhaps the best time to be seen in the Pearl is on the first Thursday of each month. During the aptly named 1st Thursday Gallery Tours, the Pearl’s art galleries stay open late to showcase new exhibitions amidst a street-party atmosphere.

Downtown Portland
http://www.myportlandonline.com/

Hawthorne lies across the Willamette River from downtown and is home to funky shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs. http://www.thinkhawthorne.com/

Lloyd Center
From downtown, hop aboard a MAX light rail train for a jaunt across the Willamette River to Lloyd Center, where 200 stores wrap around an indoor ice rink. Oregon’s largest mall, Lloyd Center houses a 17-restaurant food court, an 18-screen movie house and department stores. Lloyd Center is only seven minutes from downtown Portland, and the ride on MAX is free. http://www.lloydcentermall.com/

Multnomah Village
A short drive south of downtown leads into Multnomah's winding, cozy streets. Antique shops, bookstores and cafes lend this village its relaxing vibe. A refreshing mix of galleries and specialty shops round out the experience. http://www.multnomahvillage.org/joomla/

Nob Hill/Northwest Portland
You can also find great shopping areas in the bustling Northwest/Nob Hill neighborhood, another of the city’s hippest hubs. Seemingly designed for people-watching, the main streets never fail to produce an eclectic mix of leather-clad Harley riders congregating outside Starbucks, immaculately dressed West Hills’ shoppers searching for imported linens, and boisterous Gen-Xers enjoying pizza and microbrews at sidewalk cafes.
http://www.nobhillbiz.com/nobhill/

On the other side of the river is Alberta Street. A vibrant enclave known for hosting the Last Thursday Art Walk, Northeast Alberta Street between 12th and 31st streets is an emerging multicultural hotspot. http://www.artonalberta.org/

For a really cool interactive map (requires Macromedia Flash 8), click on the following link. It will allow you to see all the neighborhoods individually, and locates galleries, restaurants, coffee houses, shops, and more http://mapclicks.com/portland/neighborhoods/broadway/

ECOTRUST

Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center
Located in the Pearl District, a short distance from Embassy Suites, this building is the venue for our opening reception. The Center is famous for its historically-sensitive restoration, and for its green roof. The roof is a living organism that captures rainwater and filters it, then releases it systematically into the Willamette River, instead of draining off through gutters and picking up pollutants from the city streets before releasing it into the river. http://www.ecotrust.org