Irvington
Platted in 1887, Irvington has the widest residential streets in NE Portland, the deepest tree canopy, and a housing stock — Victorians, Craftsmans, Four-Squares — that has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992.
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Irvington was developed as a streetcar suburb in the late 1880s by developers who platted wide lots with setbacks and deed restrictions requiring substantial homes. The neighborhood attracted Portland's professional class — doctors, lawyers, successful merchants — who built the large Victorians and Craftsmans that still define the area. The Irvington Club, a private athletic and social club, opened in 1905 and is still operating on NE Thompson Street.
The Irvington Historic District, placed on the National Register in 1992, covers roughly 2,200 homes in a roughly 16-block-by-16-block area. It's one of the largest historic residential districts in Oregon. The preservation reflects both the quality of the original construction and the economic stability that allowed renovation rather than demolition through the 20th century.
Food & Drink
The commercial corridor on NE Broadway runs along Irvington's northern edge and is one of Portland's better neighborhood eating streets. Tasty n Daughters and Tasty n Alder (the latter on the west side) established the Tasty brand as one of Portland's most dependable brunch institutions. Grand Central Baking on Broadway is a Portland classic for bread and pastries.
What to See
Walk NE 15th, 17th, or 22nd between Knott and Hancock on a weekday morning. The light comes through the tree canopy in a way that makes it clear why people paid premium prices to live here in 1895. The Craftsman homes are particularly concentrated on NE 15th and 17th. The Irvington Community Association runs a well-regarded home tour each spring.
Curious Facts
- →Actor Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, grew up in Portland and went to Lincoln High School. Several Springfield street names (Flanders, Lovejoy, Quimby, Burnside) are lifted directly from Portland's street grid — most of them in the Nob Hill/Pearl area, not Irvington, but the connection is well documented.
- →The Irvington neighborhood's deed restrictions from the 1880s explicitly excluded non-white buyers — a racial covenant common in Portland's most desirable neighborhoods. These covenants were ruled unenforceable by the Supreme Court in 1948, but their effect on Portland's racial geography persisted for decades.