Sellwood-Moreland

Sellwood was platted in 1882 by a real estate company that purchased 321 acres from Rev. John Sellwood. It incorporated as its own city in 1887, complete with its own government, streetcar line, and a distinct identity from Portland. That independence lasted six years — Portland annexed Sellwood in 1893, along with several other small towns that had grown up along the Willamette. Residents have been ambivalent about it ever since.

The antique trade arrived in the 1960s, when dealers seeking cheap storefronts discovered the neighborhood's intact Victorian commercial strip on SE 13th Avenue. By the 1970s, "Antique Row" on SE Milwaukie and the surrounding blocks had dozens of shops and a regional reputation.

Gado Gado brought Portland's Indonesian food moment to national attention. The Moreland commercial strip on SE 13th has a concentration of neighborhood restaurants, coffee shops, and bars that punches above its size — this is a residential neighborhood with a serious food scene hiding inside it. Jade Bistro is a consistently excellent Vietnamese restaurant that has been drawing people from across the city for years.

Oaks Amusement Park, opened in 1905 on the banks of the Willamette, is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in the Pacific Northwest. It's small, it's nostalgic, the roller skating rink has been there since 1905, and it remains nonprofit and community-owned. Take children, or go without them — it works either way.

The Sellwood Bridge, rebuilt and reopened in 2016, connects SE Portland to the west side and has become a popular cycling and walking crossing. Sellwood Riverfront Park below it is one of the quieter riverside parks in the city.