Nob Hill

Nob Hill — named after San Francisco's Nob Hill, in the way that 19th-century American developers borrowed prestigious names liberally — developed as Portland's premier residential neighborhood in the 1880s and 1890s. The city's merchant class built large Italianate and Queen Anne Victorian homes on NW 19th, 20th, 21st, and 23rd. The streetcar ran along 23rd, and the commercial strip that grew along it has been in continuous operation ever since.

The nickname "Trendy-Third" emerged in the 1990s when the avenue filled with national boutiques and upscale independent shops. Long-term residents used it with mild irony — the neighborhood was already established and didn't need marketing. The name stuck anyway.

Paley's Place, one of Portland's most enduring fine dining institutions, has been serving Pacific Northwest cuisine on NW 21st since 1995. Lovely's Fifty Fifty does wood-fired pizza with an ice cream counter in the same space. Ken's Artisan Bakery — among the best bakeries in the Pacific Northwest — is worth showing up early for the morning pastries. Gado Gado has put Portland Indonesian food on the national map.

Walking NW 23rd from Burnside to Thurman is about a mile and passes more independently owned shops than almost any comparable stretch in Portland. The residential side streets — particularly NW 19th through 22nd in the blocks north of Burnside — have some of the finest Victorian architecture in the city. The Thurman Street trailhead at the north end of NW 23rd is the main access point for Forest Park's lower trail network.