Getting to Know the Portland Area
Saturday Market/Old Town/Chinatown
The Saturday Market offers a unique opportunity for customers to meet over 250 small businesses and individual artists from across the Northwest as well as see one of a kind pieces created in the artist's booth. This Saturday/Sunday event has live music and a plethora of exotic foods that will satisfy everyone's appetites.
Old Town Chinatown, Portland's oldest neighborhood, is always evolving. The strength of this neighborhood is its diversity, and this diversity is shown in part by the number of community organizations, social and civic organizations, and social service agencies located within its boundaries
City Hall, Keller Auditorium, S. Waterfront
Portland City Hall, built in 1895, is the headquarters of city government of Portland. The building houses the offices of the city Council and several other offices.
Only a couple blocks from City Hall, Keller Auditorium, built in 1917, hosts many performing arts events each year. The building is home to the Portland Opera, the Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Oregon Children's Theatre. It also hosts many national acts and traveling Broadway shows.
South Waterfront, one of Portland's newest neighborhoods, is inspired by the best practices of the point towers in Vancouver, B.C. This emerging neighborhood integrates alternative transportation, parks and trails, green building practices, mixed-use retail, and healthy living with art and design.
Pearl District, Alphabet Blocks, Trolley
Portland's best known art district, the Pearl District, is an award-wining, internationally recognized leader in urban renewal. The Pearl is home to a variety of art galleries, distinctive restaurants and bars, shopping, beautiful city parks, coffee and tea shops, and the famous Powell's City of Books.
Also located in Portland's NW section is an area known as the Alphabet Blocks. This unique area's street names are in alphabetical order, hence the name, and Burnside Street marks the beginning of these blocks.
East Side
This area is located from the east bank of the Willamette River outward to the edge of town. The East Side contains an eclectic mix of trendy second-hand stores, upscale, mom-and-pop, and sustainable restaurants and cafes, unique toy shops for kids and adults, old theaters, malls, hotels, and more. This area is easily accessible by Tri-Met (bus and light rail) and taxi.