Where are the Alphabet Blocks in Portland?
Located in Portland's NW section, the Alphabet Blocks in Portland are a group of streets beginning north of Burnside and continue heading north, alphabetically. The Portland Alphabet Blocks is an ubur-trendy area known for restaurants, boutiques, antique shops, bookstores, second hand thrifts, pubs, pubs and more pubs.
The Alphabet Historic District, an area zoned for historic preservation running roughly from NW 24th Ave. to NW 2nd Ave., and from NW Vaughn St. to W Burnside St. It is named for the alphabetical progression of street names in the area and in 2000 was added to the National Register of Historic Places - Wikipedia
The Alphabet Blocks located in the NW District of Portland comprises:
- NW 23rd Ave. Dubbed Trendy-third, this major shopping street is lined with swanky clothing boutiques and other upscale retail, mixed with cafes and restaurants. This area is also known as Uptown (particularly its southern end near W Burnside St.) and includes Nob Hill (centered on NW 23rd Ave. and NW Lovejoy St.).
- NW 21st Ave.The neighborhood’s other main commercial district is a dining and entertainment destination, with popular restaurants, an independent film theater, and numerous bars, pubs, and nightclubs.
How Did Portland Alphabet Blocks Come to Be?
Maybe . . . and I'm only taking a guess . . . for the ease of locating an address. Let's take an address, any addres 2105 NW Hoyt, for example. The Portland City Planners of yore developed a nice block/address identifying system.
- Burnside St. is a great divider. Burnside dissects Portland north and south.
- The Willamette River is the other great divider. It dissects Portland east and west.
"B" is for Beginning the Alphabet Blocks
Portland Alphabet Blocks begins with "B" for "Burnside" I think Alder might be the missing "A" block, but it doesn't run the length of Portlandas Burnside St.
Portland is Divided Into Five Quadrants
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NW Portland : Streets NORTH of the Burnside and WEST of the WILLIMETTE RIVER
- SW Portland : Streets SOUTH of the Burnside and WEST of the river
- NE Portland : Streets NORTH of the Burnside and EAST of the river
- SE Portland : Streets SOUTH of the Burnside and EAST of the river
- N Portland : Streets NORTH of Burnside and EAST of the COLUMBIA RIVER
So Exactly Where Are Portland's Alphabet Blocks?
The Alphabet Blocks in Portland are located on the NORTHWEST side of Burnside St. Alder (which doesn't run / transverse the City as Burnside), Burnside, Couch (pronounced COO-ch), Davis, Everett, Flanders, Glisan, Hoyt, Iriving, Johnson, Kearney, Lovejoy, Marshall, Northrup, Overton, Pettygrove, Quimby, Raleigh, Savier, Thurman, Upshur, Vaughn, Wilson . . . and X Y Z apparently didn't exist in those days of yore -- since we don't have any more Alphabet Block street names for those renegade letters.
EDITED 11/23/14: A Special THANK YOU to Diane, comment #9 who added:
A=Ankeny, X=Xavier, Y=Yeon, not sure if Xavier survived after they redid Hwy 30 in the 90's.
How Do the Street Numbers Come Into "Play" with the Alphabet Blocks?
Using the Williamette River as the boundary line, all streets running parallel* to the river are numbered, beginning with FIRST AVE. -- Both on the EAST and WEST sides of the River.
SW First Ave. is WEST of Burnside, southside, one block up from the river
2105 NW Hoyt is 21 blocks WEST of the river, north side of Burnside
Easy as ABC, 123 . . .
EDITED 6/22/16: A Special THANK YOU to Susan, comment #10 who added:
The number street run parallel to the river, not perpendicular.
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