Woodstock Neighborhood in Portland, Oregon
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Woodstock…Kind of like the 3 day music festival, but not quite. The SE Portland neighborhood sits in the middle of Eastmoreland, Reed, Creston-Kenilworth, Mt. Scott-Arleta and Brentwood-Darlington neighborhoods. Woodstock is bordered on the west by SE 39th Avenue, and by Holgate on the north. Along the eastern border, 60th Avenue goes south to Duke, then west to about 50th, south again to Glenwood, west again to 45th, then south to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden which forms the southern border.
Chatting over Stumptown Coffee
Tim and Jen are two locals that have lived in Woodstock for one and a half years. The first thing they said they love about Woodstock is The Delta. The Delta is what Tim called a ‘Southern Soul food’ restaurant. They serve southern, Cajun dishes, and it is a popular hang out for many Reed College students. Jen emphasized that “If Montage was here,” she said as she measured the greatness of Montage with her hand, “then The Delta is here,” as she put her other hand an inch below Montage’s rank. So there you have it. The restaurant has mixed reviews online, and it seems that people either can’t get enough of it or they hate it.
The two locals said something that sets this neighborhood apart from other Portland neighborhoods, is that it’s not as quirky as others such as the Hawthorne and Hollywood. Instead, Woodstock is very low-key and relaxed. “It’s less hip than Hollywood,” said Jen. Sometimes less is more. And in this neighborhood’s opinion, this statement is true as they are content with their parks, local businesses, family friendly atmosphere and The Delta, of course.
I started talking to Tim and Jen while sitting at First Cup Coffeehouse. The shop was filled with locals who greeted each other and met up with others spontaneously, somehow subconsciously knowing other locals would be sitting on the outside deck, drinking a Shot in the Dark (an espresso shot in house coffee… It’s a favorite at First Cup). There is a strong sense of small town pride in Woodstock. The locals get by, day-to-day, going to businesses within the neighborhood. “Everything we need is here,” said Tim. The locals are unpretentious, the vibe is low-key, and a familiar face is often seen along Woodstock Boulevard, whether grocery shopping at Safeway, getting a cup of coffee at First Cup or Papaccino’s, or checking out some books at the library.
Schools
Local schools are very conveniently placed within Woodstock and nearby SE Portland neighborhoods.
Elementary Schools: Woodstock, Lewis, Richmond, Creston
Middle Schools: Kellogg, The Micha-el School
High Schools: Cleveland, Franklin
Colleges: Reed College
Homes and Real Estate
The neighborhood features some beautiful old home styles, with a variety of older and newer architectural styles such as foursquare, bungalow and colonial.
Parks and Recreation
Woodstock Mural in SE Portland
Woodstock Park is located on SE 47th and Steele St, right next to Woodstock Elementary. The park is 13.39 acres and has many things to offer the locals such as an off-leash dog park, softball and soccer fields, 2 tennis courts, horseshoe pit, playground, picnic tables and paths.
A park that is nearby the neighborhood is Brentwood Park.
The Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden creates the southern border of the Woodstock neighborhood. It is a beautiful seven-acre garden containing an enormous collection of rare species and hybrid rhododendrons, as well as azaleas and some other lesser known plants. The garden is run by volunteers, and heavily supported by locals and visitors who come out to visit any time of the year. The Crystal Springs Lake, which feeds into the garden, attracts countless aquatic birds such as ducks and geese, which nest and feed in the natural habitat. The setting is regarded as a photographer’s dream, and it’s easy to forget that downtown Portland is only minutes away.
Woodstock Community Center hosts tons of classes for people within the community such as Tae Kwon Do, guitar and piano lessons, Pilates, creative writing classes, line dancing and more. A group of dedicated community volunteers raise funds for the center and recruit volunteers who put in thousands of hours a year, contributing to the building’s landscape, classes and community events.
The Eastmoreland Golf Course is a historic site in Eastmoreland, a close by SE Portland neighborhood, that began in 1916 and is now ranked by Golf Digest as one of America’s top public courses in the country to play on. The course is bordered by the Rhododendron Garden and Crystal Springs Lake, which bring beautiful scenery to the game of golf.
Business in Woodstock
Across from the library on the corner of 49th and Woodstock there is a lot with a couple of food carts, one of them being Artigiano. The cart serves handmade pasta, local veggies and pasture raised meats. They provide benches to compliment the food cart experience, and the food is delicious! They get mostly locals that drop by, like a loyal local named Bill who is especially fond of the place.
I stopped by Collage, an arts & crafts store along Woodstock, and spoke to a friendly employee named Medina. She shared her wonderful thoughts on the Woodstock vibe and people in a short video interview. While talking to Medina among the stamps and scrapbook supplies in the store, she shared how family oriented the neighborhood is. I noticed while walking around the neighborhood, talking to people that live and work in the area, that it is a community of people who love family and move here to embrace the family.
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This post was written by...
Scott Krager – who has written 11 posts on Portlanders.
Scott Krager is the founder of portlanders.com. He lives in Portland, Oregon, spending most of his time writing, coding, and avoiding the rain. Scott doesn't like to run but forces himself at least once a week. Google+ | Twitter | Quora | LinkedIn
