Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon

Old Town Chinatown is a neighborhood in the Northwest section of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. The Willamette River

Willamette River

The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...

forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District

Lloyd District, Portland, Oregon

The Lloyd District is a primarily commercial neighborhood in the North and Northeast sections of Portland, Oregon. It is named after Ralph Lloyd , a California rancher, oilman, and real estate developer who moved to and started the development of the area.The Lloyd District is bounded by the...

and the Kerns

Kerns, Portland, Oregon

Kerns is a neighborhood in the inner Northeast and Southeast sections of Portland, Oregon. It borders the Lloyd District and Sullivan's Gulch on the north, Laurelhurst on the east, Buckman and Sunnyside on the south, and Old Town Chinatown on the west.Parks in Kerns include Everett Community...

and Buckman

Buckman, Portland, Oregon

Buckman is a neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon. The neighborhood is bounded by the Willamette River on the west, E Burnside St. on the north , SE 28th Ave. on the east, and SE Hawthorne Blvd...

neighborhoods. It includes the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

In the Northwest section, NW Broadway forms the western boundary, separating it from the Pearl District

Pearl District, Portland, Oregon

The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significant urban renewal since the late 1990s, including the...

, and W Burnside St. forms the southern boundary, separating it from Downtown Portland

Downtown Portland

Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....

. In the Southwest section, the neighborhood extends from SW 3rd Ave. east to the river and from SW Stark St. north to W Burnside St. (with the exception of areas south of SW Pine St. and west of SW 2nd Ave, and south of SW Oak St. and west of SW 1st Ave., which are part of Downtown).

Transportation

The neighborhood is well-served by various modes of transportation. Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

's Union Station

Union Station (Portland)

Union Station is a train station near the west shore of the Willamette River in the Old Town Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon, United States....

and the Greyhound

Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...

bus station are located in the northwestern portion of the neighborhood. The Broadway Bridge

Broadway Bridge (Portland)

The Broadway Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was the first bascule bridge built in Portland and the longest in the world at the time of its completion. It is the longest Rall-type bascule bridge still in existence.-History and description:The...

marks the northern tip, and the ends of the Steel

Steel Bridge

The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...

and Burnside

Burnside Bridge

The Burnside Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.-Design:Including approaches, the Burnside has a total length of and a center span. While lowered this span is normally above the river. The deck is made of concrete, which contributes to its being one of...

bridges are along the area's eastern border.

The MAX Light Rail line turns south into the neighborhood from the Steel Bridge and stops at Old Town/Chinatown

Old Town/Chinatown (MAX station)

The Old Town/Chinatown station is a station in the MAX Light Rail system served by the Blue and Red lines. It is located in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in Portland, Oregon and is the 7th stop eastbound on the Eastside MAX as well as the last stop before crossing the Willamette River. It is...

, Skidmore Fountain

Skidmore Fountain (MAX station)

The Skidmore Fountain station is a light rail station on the MAX Blue and Red lines in Portland, Oregon. It is the sixth stop eastbound on the Eastside MAX. It originally served the Yellow Line from 2004 and 2009 until its relocation to the Portland Transit Mall.The station has side platforms built...

, and Oak Street/Southwest 1st Avenue

Oak Street/Southwest 1st Avenue (MAX station)

The Oak Street/Southwest 1st Avenue station is a light rail station on the MAX Blue and Red lines in Portland, Oregon. It is the 5th stop eastbound on the Eastside MAX. It originally served the Yellow Line from 2004 and 2009 until its relocation to the Portland Transit Mall.The station has side...

; the system connects the neighborhood to Northeast and North Portland across the Willamette, and to Downtown Portland to the south and west. The Portland Mall

Portland Transit Mall

The Portland Transit Mall is a set of public transit corridors through the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. More specifically, it is a pair of one-way streets—one for northbound traffic, the other for southbound—along which two of the three lanes are restricted to...

begins at the Greyhound station, providing local bus and light rail

MAX Green Line

The MAX Green Line is a light rail route in the MAX Light Rail system in Portland, Oregon, United States, extending to Clackamas, Oregon. Construction began in early 2007, and the line opened on September 12, 2009. The average daily ridership in June 2010 was 19,500 increasing to 23,200 by April...

service along 5th and 6th Avenues south into downtown.

Old Town

Old Town was the original urban core of Portland. It straddles West Burnside St and includes an area under the Burnside Bridge

Burnside Bridge

. The Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, created in 1975 and roughly bounded by Naito Parkway, Everett Street, 3rd Avenue, and Oak Street, is an important part of Old Town Portland. Attractions include the Saturday Market

Portland Saturday Market

The Portland Saturday Market is an outdoor arts and crafts market in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest continuously operated outdoor market in the United States. It is held every Saturday and Sunday from February 28 to December 24, at the junction of SW Ankeny and the Naito Parkway located...

; the Shanghai tunnels

Shanghai tunnels

The Shanghai Tunnels, less commonly known as the Portland Underground, are a group of passages running underneath Old Town/Chinatown down to the central downtown section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The tunnels connected the basements of many downtown hotels and bars, to the waterfront of...

; and Ankeny Plaza, site of Portland's oldest public art work, the Skidmore Fountain

Skidmore Fountain

The Skidmore Fountain is a historic fountain in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was dedicated September 22, 1888, in memory of Stephen G. Skidmore and partly financed by his will. It was designed by sculptor Olin Levi Warner for $18,000, all of which was donated...

(dedicated September 22, 1888). The fountain, designed by Olin L. Warner of New York, is named after pioneer druggist Stephen G. Skidmore. Naito Parkway (ex-Front Avenue) is named after the late Bill Naito

Bill Naito

William Sumio Naito , better known as Bill Naito, was a noted businessman, civic leader and philanthropist in Portland, Oregon, U.S...

, a longtime Old Town-based businessman and developer, who with his brother Sam Naito in the 1960s helped to halt the decline of the area—then known as Portland's "Skid Road

Skid row

A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...

"—by opening a retail store, buying and restoring old buildings in the area, and convincing others to invest in the district over the next several years. Bill Naito died in 1996.

Businesses located in Old Town include Dan and Louis Oyster Bar

Dan and Louis Oyster Bar

Dan & Louis Oyster Bar is a seafood restaurant in Portland, Oregon described by Fodor's as a "Portland landmark". As its name implies, it specializes in oysters — from Yaquina Bay and beyond — served raw and in an oyster stew the restaurant has been known for since 1919.The restaurant has been in...

(since 1907) and Voodoo Doughnut

Voodoo Doughnut

Voodoo Doughnut is an independent doughnut shop based in Portland, Oregon USA. The original location, opened in 2003, is at 22 SW 3rd Avenue, "just south of the Burnside Bridge" and around the corner from Dan and Louis Oyster Bar...

. The area is the site of the 24 Hour Church of Elvis

24 Hour Church of Elvis

The 24 Hour Church of Elvis is an exhibit at a museum and gallery called "Where's The Art?" in Portland, Oregon, USA, run by artist Stephanie "Stevie" G...

and formerly of attractions such as the Satyricon nightclub

Satyricon nightclub

Satyricon Nightclub was a nightclub in the Old Town neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States, best known for providing a place for local and touring alternative rock bands to play. Located at 125 N.W...

and the X-Ray Cafe

X-Ray Cafe

The X-Ray Cafe was a small music venue in Portland, Oregon, United States from 1990 to 1994. An all-ages and community-oriented club, the X-Ray played a "heavyweight role in shaping Portland's underground culture," fostering such musical acts as Elliott Smith, Team Dresch, and Quasi, and was...

.

The Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District was declared a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

in 1977.

Chinatown

The Chinatown portion of Old Town extends north from West Burnside St. to Union Station. The entrance is marked by a China gate (built in 1986), complete with a pair of lions, at the corner of NW 4th Ave. and W Burnside St. The core of the area, from W Burnside St. to NW Glisan St. and from NW 5th Ave. to NW 3rd Ave., was designated in 1989 the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District.

When compared to the more well-known Chinatown

Chinatown

A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...

s of Oakland and San Francisco in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

and Vancouver, British Columbia, Portland's Chinatown is smaller and less active. It has more than two dozen Chinese-owned businesses, including restaurants such as Good Taste which serves Cantonese

Cantonese cuisine

Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...

noodle soups and barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

d meats, gift and import shops, club houses, an herbal medicine store and an Asian food market.

Other major organizations based in Chinatown include the Port of Portland

Port of Portland (Oregon)

The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States....

, Oregon Department of Transportation

Oregon Department of Transportation

The Oregon Department of Transportation is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Department which, along with the Oregon State Highway...

's Portland offices and NW Natural

NW Natural

NW Natural is a publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. Primarily a natural gas distributor, the company services residential, industrial, and commercial customers in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1859, the company...

Gas. There is also a parking structure with a helipad

Helipad

Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...

on top.

In a step towards revitalization of the area, the Portland Classical Chinese Garden opened September 14, 2000. The $12.8 million park covers an entire city block and was built by 65 artisans from Suzhou

Suzhou

Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

of imported materials (though all plants were grown locally). More recently, NW 3rd and 4th Avenues received streetscape improvements, including plaques describing historical features. Two block-long "festival streets" that can easily be used for street festivals were also created between these streets. In 2008, Uwajimaya

Uwajimaya

Uwajimaya, Inc., doing business as , is a family-owned supermarket chain with its corporate headquarters in the Industrial District, Seattle, Washington, and with locations in Greater Seattle. Uwajimaya sells mainly Asian food—with an emphasis on Japanese—though it also stocks Western staples...

anchored a redevelopment proposal, similar to the Uwajimaya Village in Seattle's International District

International District

International District can refer to:*International District *International District, Seattle...

/Chinatown. It would host the store, an underground parking garage, mixed-income apartments, and other small retailers. This is hoped to revitalize the area and bring in more tourists.

There are actually very few Chinese people living in Chinatown. A second Chinese area has sprung up around Southeast 82nd Avenue. The Southeast 82nd area has a large number of Asians, mainly Chinese and Vietnamese. There has recently emerged an ideological division separating the established social services and SRO residents from many of the new residents and businesses over how best to accommodate new investments and activities with minimal displacement of current services and residents.

External links

Old Town/Chinatown information from Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association
Self-Guided Walking Tour of Portland's Chinatown from Travel Portland
National Historic Landmark Nomination for Skidmore/Old Town Historic District
Portland's Chinatown History and Resources from Friends of Portland Chinatown

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Transportation

Old Town

Chinatown

See also

External links