Goose Hollow neighborhood collage showing some of the highlights of the neighborhood
Goosehollow Neighborhood is mostly in SW Portland, but just a little part of it goes over the border so I am including it in both neighborhood areas. It is bordered by 405 to the east, Burnside to the north, Washington Park to the west and just past 26 in kind of an windy pattern to the south (Going from east to west go along SW Cardinell Drive to SW Jackson Street to SW Vista Avenue. It borders on the NW -Alphabet District to the north, the downtown area to the east, the southwest hills to the south and the west hills or Hillside neighborhood to the west.
It’s funny to think about what Portland used to be like a long time ago! Goosehollow Neighborhood got it’s name because in the early times of Portland, wild geese used to run free throughout the wooded hollow in the Tualatin Mountains. In fact, there was something called the Goose Hollow Wars- people fighting over the geese! Now it has become one of the most densely populated areas in Portland.
The Goosehollow Neighborhood league is working hard to make it a people friendly area to live in- and has done a great job bringing it back from it’s residential downturn during the 2nd half of the 1900’s. There are 6 new condo projects in the area- Neighborhood: The Allegro, the Civic Concos, The Clay Street Commons, the Jefferson, the Manhattan Tower and the Shannon.
There are several different residential areas of Goosehollow Neighborhood. It is one of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods..established in 1845! Uptown or Lownsdale District used to be all residential- then went through a time when it became warehouses, commercial and light industrial. It is now being reborn- has older brick apartment buildings, hotels, commercial mixed and new condo units coming in. Kings Hill is where some of the wealthiest merchants at the turn of the century lived.-Full of gorgeous turn of the century architecture-and is now a designated Historic District. You will see home styles of Late Victorian, late 19th and early 20th Century American Movements, and late 19th and 20th Century Revivals.
Hollow used to have a huge pond- that’s why the geese lived there- and there were many family farms situated nearby- and now is mixed commercial, industrial, residential and freeways. Gander Ridge and Vista Ridge are right at the top or west edge of Goose Hollow bowl- and are full of beautiful homes built up in the hills overlooking Portland. The Max runs right through it- both the Red line and the Blue line- and I-405 and 26 run right through it too. They have done a lot of art decor along the Max line- kind of interesting to see. It is also home to Providence Park where the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns soccer teams play.
Parks in Goosehollow Neighborhood
There is no park right in Goosehollow Neighborhood, but Washington Park is located right on the west edge- you can hop on the Max and be there in just a couple of minutes.
It is great place to walk and run. Climb the stairs or walk the streets through the neighborhood and within minutes you are either downtown in NW 23rd or in Washington Park or stepping back into one of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods. The views from Vista Avenue Viaduct or Vista bridge are also outstanding!
Washington Park is outstanding! There is so much to do. I go there all the time to hike on the many trails in the Hoyt Arboretum. There is also the International Rose Test Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, The Oregon Zoo, Children’s Museum and world Forestry Center. It also includes tennis courts, a children’s playground, an archery range and a soccer field. They hold concerts in the Rose Garden in the summer and there are literally hundreds of miles of trail systems throughout the park.
History of Goosehollow Neighborhood
A brief history of Goose Hollow
The first house built in Goose Hollow was in 1845. Daniel Lownsdale owned land all the way up the hillside that included what is now Washington Park, and he built the first tannery west of the Rockies. And in 1851, Thomas Carter built a house on 18th and Clay. So this is a very old neighborhood, as you can tell when you drive around the streets! The name Goose Hollow has an interesting history. It came from the fact that it was a goose hollow. There were flocks and flocks of geese that were raised by various women in the lowlands of the hollow. They used them to get goose feathers for feather ticks. You can learn more about the history of this neighborhood on the Goose Hollow .org site. That is where I have gotten the historical photos that came from the very beginnings of Portland. They are amazing!
Eats and Sips
- The Multnomah Athletic Club is also in this area.
For Arts and Theater:
- Artists Repertory Theater is an intimate, provocative theater that is home for artists and audiences of varied backgrounds to take creative risks.
- Polaris Dance Theater features contemporary dance flavored with aerial, hip-hop, African, and Latin influences, with a focus on the human experience and social commentary. They also teach classes.
