Northeast Portland

Containing the Rose Garden basketball arena, the Oregon Convention Center, Lloyd Center Mall, the Alberta Arts District, and some of the city's poorest and most affluent neighborhoods, Portland's Northeast quadrant is diverse to say the least. Still the epicenter of the city's relatively small—compared with other U.S. cities the size of Portland—African American community, the inner parts of Northeast have slowly gentrified over the last half century. In the Irvington, Laurelhurst, and Alameda neighborhoods, you'll find some of the largest, most historic homes in town. Lined with many excellent—and generally quite affordable—restaurants, bars, galleries, and boutiques, Alberta Street has become one of the city’s trendiest neighborhoods. It also hosts a bustling street art fair the last Thursday of every month during summer (primarily between 12th and 31st avenues). Nearer to downtown, the Lloyd Center—both the name of a rather prosaic shopping mall and the surrounding neighborhood (containing the Oregon Convention Center and Rose Garden) is an unfortunately drab example of late-20th-century urban renewal. The area serves a purpose, as it’s home to the bulk of the East Side’s hotels, but it lacks the historic charm and indie spirit of other neighborhoods on this side of the river.