Woodlawn Neighborhood Guide 

Location

Woodlawn is located in Northeast Portland. It is bordered by the Piedmont, Concordia, Vernon and King neighborhoods.

Woodlawn Neighborhood Map

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Meet your Woodlawn neighbors on-line and add events to the calendar at:

PortlandNeighborhood's 'Net - Woodlawn Group

Features

Woodlawn is a great neighborhood. With it's crooked streets and slope down to the river, the temperature is cooler and even cab drivers get lost.  Drivers don't dare navigate the "vortex", keeping the streets largely free of traffic thus making it quiet and peaceful for those of us who live here.

Back in "the day" (early 1900's), Woodlawn was quite the place. People traveling from Vancouver, Washington had to cross the Columbia River by ferry and it took a while. When they got to Oregon, they hopped on the street car that went through Woodlawn. Often, travelers would hop off in Woodlawn to rest and grab a bite to eat. But once the bridge was erected over the river (still in the early 1900's), visitors weren't as exhausted by the time they reached Woodlawn and they often stayed on the street car all the way to downtown Portland where the larger area had more to offer. As a result, Woodlawn's economy began to decline.

Other than some neighborhood improvements in the 1970's, such as street repair and the glorious Woodlawn Park, the neighborhood has never really bounced back from it's early 1900's hey day.  It is, however, a very popular place to live and locals sing praises about the livability of the area. 

Woodlawn School is connected to the Community Garden which is connected to Woodlawn Park (complete with a fun water feature and big basketball court) making for a huge neighborhood gathering area. Nearly all the businesses in Woodlawn are locally owned. 

We've got a wonderful view of Vancouver, Washington at night. There are over 14 buildings on the historic registry in our small area.

The Center for Columbia River History has a great interview with a long-time resident of Woodlawn. If it weren't for this interview, much of our neighborhood's rich history may have been lost.

Cyclists have often been the very few "outsiders" to navigate Woodlawn as once one knows the diagonals, Woodlawn is an excellent cut-through when coming from Jantzen Beach or other northern destinations. It's also a neighborhood popular with cyclists. "Share the Road" and "My other car is a bike" bumper stickers abound. Cyclist residents enjoy the calm streets and proximity to downtown (4 miles).

A big thank you to local Ayleen Crotty for a fantastic write-up on the Woodlawn neighborhood!

Parks

Woodlawn Park, 13th Ave and Dekum. Includes basketball court, disabled access play area, disabled access restroom, paths – paved, picnic tables, playground, soccer field, softball field, stage, statue or public art, and water play feature.

Woodlawn Community Garden - In June 2008, in collaboration with the Portland Trail Blazers and Fred Meyer, the Woodlawn Children's Garden Program was launched. An industrious group of volunteers from Fred Meyer and the Blazers worked with neighborhood children to clean up the garden area, completing several weeks of work in a matter of hours. A ceremonial planting of vegetables by mascots Blaze the Trail Cat and Fred Bear commemorated the new partnership. (Source: Portland Parks)

Homes

Like its neighboring communities, Woodlawn homes are fantastic turn-of-the-(other)-century classics such as Bungalows, Cape Cods, a few Victorians and Four squares.  Tree-lined, crooked streets are very quiet and well maintained. 

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in this Portland neighborhood, visit our Portland Real Estate Page for more information, or visit our Portland Real Estate Map to search the RMLS for neighborhood homes for sale.

Community Resources

Woodlawn Information

Neighborhood Website GoWoodlawn

NE Neighborhoods Event Calendar

City of Portland Woodlawn Neighborhood

Neighborhood Crime Statistics

Neighborhood Census Data

Neighborhood Schools

Neighborhood Restaurants

Neighborhood Churches and Religious

Portland Public School Boundaries

Woodlawn Public Schools:

Elementary school: Woodlawn Elementary School
Middle school: Tubman Middle School
High school: Jefferson High School

Tri Met - Interactive Maps and Schedules for Bus, Max and Streetcar

Tri Met Bus #17 Schedule

Neighborhood Vibe...

Quiet, community conscious, cyclist and family friendly. 

Woodlawn Neighborhood - More Information

If you have more information about Woodlawn and would like to contribute, or if you have photos to share, please contact us.