Hawthorne

SE Hawthorne Boulevard runs east through the Richmond neighborhood from the Willamette River toward Mount Tabor. The street was originally called Asylum Avenue — named for the Oregon State Hospital at the east end, which opened in 1883 and is the setting for Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The city renamed it Hawthorne in 1888, apparently deciding that "Asylum Avenue" was bad for real estate.

Hawthorne emerged as Portland's hippie and counterculture corridor in the late 1960s — head shops, co-ops, and natural food stores. That identity persisted into the 80s and 90s. The street is more boutique-focused today, but the independent character is intact: almost everything on Hawthorne is locally owned, and the business turnover is slower than on trendier corridors.

Pok Pok — Andy Ricker's nationally acclaimed Thai restaurant, originally located on SE Division — shaped how Portland understood Southeast Asian food. The Hawthorne area has strong Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese options alongside longtime Portland institutions like Bread and Ink Café. Burgerville, the beloved Pacific Northwest regional fast food chain, has a location here that is required eating if you haven't had it.

The Bagdad Theater is a 1927 movie palace with Moorish Revival architecture, now operated by McMenamins. You can watch a film while eating a pizza and drinking a beer. Second-run films at very reasonable prices. Do not miss this place.

Powell's on Hawthorne (a separate location from the City of Books) specializes in used books and is quieter and more browseable. Mount Tabor Park is a 15-minute walk east — an extinct cinder cone with trails, views, and an amphitheater that hosts outdoor films in summer.