Walk 33: Irvington Neighborhood (3 miles)

There’s something in the water in Portland’s Irvington neighborhood. People working in their gardens waved hello, some women doing a “workshop” were laughing outdoors, and even a toothless guy with a shopping cart was smiling as I walked past. I’d driven by on Weidler or Broadway hundreds of times but never spent any time in this neighborhood. Never had a reason to go until I picked up the Walk There book.



This place is architect-lover's paradise. Every house is different in some way, whether by structural design or decoration, and the area has several historic buildings to admire and/or stay in as well.

First up was the Gustav Freiwald House, built in 1906 in Queen Anne style, now a bed & breakfast.



Then came a much less visually interesting early Prairie style home, but this had a porch which reminded me of my grandparents' house in Phoenix, Oregon, with it's enclosed porch around the side.



And what's a Portland neighborhood without some huge Roman columns, massive stonework or an open garage under the house?






Probably the "jewel" of the area though (actually bordering on the Grant Park neighborhood) was this English cottage style house with rounded eaves that simulated thatched roofing and a unique spider web window. The exterior was spotless:



But amid this impressive architecture was some of the quirkiness that reminded me I wasn't in Kansas anymore (not that I ever was).

Like funky treehouses...



And windows decorated with Alfred E. Neuman, Elvis and various Barbies:



Two final stops as I made my way back down Broadway:

1) The Helen Bernhard Bakery, which had the best mini cannoli, but no coffee. ("Oh no, it's much too late in the day for that!" It was 1:30 PM)



2) Broadway Books. I took this photo of the New Books section. Guess which autobiography I'm more interested in reading, Judi Dench or Keith Richards?



A very nice city walk. Looks like a great place to live: Lots of cool stuff within walking distance, surprisingly quiet streets, and friendly for bike and pedestrian traffic. And about those ladies and their workshop? Like I said, there's something in the water...