Pearl District, Portland, Oregon

Pearl District
Neighborhood
Pearl District
Coordinates: 45°31′48″N 122°40′53″W / 45.53012°N 122.68136°W / 45.53012; -122.68136Coordinates: 45°31′48″N 122°40′53″W / 45.53012°N 122.68136°W / 45.53012; -122.68136
PDF map
Country United States
State Oregon
City Portland
Government
 • Association Pearl District Neighborhood Association
 • Coalition Neighbors West/Northwest
Area
 • Total 0.47 sq mi (1.21 km2)
Population (2010[1])[2]
 • Total 5,997
 • Density 12,840/sq mi (4,956/km2)
Housing[2]
 • No. of households 5315
 • Occupancy rate 79% occupied
 • % households renting 51% renting
 • Avg. household size 1.13 persons

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 mid-1980s when it was reclassified as mixed use from industrial,[3] including the arrival of artists, the removal of a viaduct and construction of the Portland Streetcar. It now mostly consists of high-rise condominiums and warehouse-to-loft conversions.

The area is located just northwest of downtown between West Burnside Street on the south, the Willamette River on the north, NW Broadway on the east and the Interstate 405 freeway on the west.[4]

The area is home to several Portland icons, including Powell's City of Books. The former Weinhard Brewery, which operated continuously from 1864 to September 1999, was shut down by Stroh's upon the purchase of the Weinhard's brand by Miller Brewing and sold for redevelopment as the Brewery Blocks.[5] There are art galleries and institutions such as the Elizabeth Leach Gallery and Blue Sky Gallery (many who stage monthly receptions), boutiques, and restaurants abound, and also a number of small clubs and bars, a combination that has led to Pearl District being named one of the 15 coolest neighborhoods in the world in 2016.[6] The United States Post Office main processing facility for all of Oregon and southwestern Washington was built in the Pearl District in 1964, next to Union Station. This location was chosen in order for the post office to be able to better serve towns outside the Portland metro area.

The district includes most of the historic North Park Blocks (1869), as well as three public plazas:

History

The area was formerly used for warehousing, light industrial purposes and a railroad yard and was known as the "Northwest Industrial Triangle".[8]

In the 1990s, the Lovejoy Viaduct, an elevated portion of NW Lovejoy Street from the Broadway Bridge past NW 10th Avenue was demolished, opening dozens of surrounding blocks (including some brownfield sites) for development, which peaked in the 2000s. The viaduct was notable for the Lovejoy Columns, painted by a railroad watchman who worked below; two of them have been saved.[9] The increasing density has attracted a mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries, though in some cases pioneering tenants have been priced out of the area.

According to the Pearl District Business Association, Thomas Augustine, a local gallery owner, coined the name Pearl District around the turn of the millennium to suggest that some of its urban decay industrial buildings were like crusty oysters, and that the galleries and artists' lofts within were like pearls. As local business people were looking to label the growing area—the "warehouse district" or the "brewery district" were two suggestions—a writer for Alaska Airlines borrowed and popularized Augustine's phrase.[10]

The movie Drugstore Cowboy (1989), by Gus Van Sant, has several scenes shot in the neighborhood.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.portlandmaps.com/detail.cfm?action=Census&x=7643159.605&y=686914.544
  2. 1 2 Demographics (2000)
  3. ↑ http://www.marshall-wells.com/historypearl3.html
  4. ↑ City of Portland, Oregon Office of Neighborhood Involvement/Bureau of Planning (June 1, 2001). "Pearl Neighborhood Association boundary map" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "Mixed Use Brewery Blocks". Accessed online 16 July 2008.
  6. ↑ "The 15 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World in 2016". Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Fields Park". City of Portland. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Don Hamilton (April 29, 2005). "More polish for the Pearl". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on February 21, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  9. ↑ Lovejoy Columns
  10. ↑ Margie Boule (April 14, 2002). "Pearl District's namesake was a jewel of a woman". The Oregonian.
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