Portland, Oregon Part 3: Gateway TC to the Lloyd District

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Entry posted by thecitiescenter · July 6, 2014

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We're getting closer to downtown Portland! Just a few more stops along the MAX, and a few more miles for those driving. As we begin heading westbound, both the MAX tracks and I-84 will enter Sullivan's Gulch and will continue through it for the next 3.5 to 4 miles. Heavy rail tracks (used by Amtrak and freight trains) also parallel the MAX and the freeway through the gulch. In this section, the MAX tracks are used by the Red, Blue and Green lines. I-84 has 3 general purpose lanes in each direction through the gulch, the speed limit is 55 mph, except the western-most quarter mile, which has a 50 mph speed limit.

Sullivan's Gulch is named after Timothy Sullivan, an Irish immigrant who arrived in Portland in 1851 and who previously owned land in this area. Today it serves as a transportation corridor.

The heavy rail tracks have been in operation since 1881. When it was completed, it linked Portland, for the first time by rail, to the eastern United States. This resulted in tremendous economic and job growth and a population boom in the late 1800s to early 1900s, as goods and Sims flowed east and west on the rail line between Portland and major cities such as Chicago.

In the 1950's, the United States government under the administration of President Eisenhower, began the construction and expansion of the interstate highway system. Interstate 84, as we know it today, was completed and opened to traffic in 1955. It was known as Interstate 80 North (I-80N) until 1980, when it was re-designated as Interstate 84. In the 1970s, city, state and federal highway officials began preparations to build another east-west freeway parallel to I-84, a few miles south. The freeway project was named the Mount Hood Freeway. The plans led to fierce opposition from the general public, and the project was cancelled in 1974. The funds were diverted to a light rail project instead, which was approved in 1978. Planning and engineering for the initial Portland to Gresham light rail line began shortly after. Construction began in 1982, and passenger service on the first MAX Light Rail line began in 1986.

As we enter Sullivan's Gulch, we approach the next stop from Gateway TC... the NE 82nd Avenue Station. Located approximately a half mile from Gateway TC, the NE 82nd Avenue Station serves as a transfer point to Tri-Met bus lines operating along NE 82nd Avenue, a major north-south arterial which is also designated as Oregon State Highway 213 (OR-213). The station is used primarily by local residents.

The station is surrounded by low density residential, light industrial, and light commercial land uses. The area is home to primarily working-class Sims, and homes in this area are very affordable, albeit somewhat outdated.

The next MAX stop is the NE 60th Avenue Station. Similar to the NE 82nd Avenue Station, the NE 60th Station primarily serves local Sims. The NE 60th Avenue Station is located approximately a half mile west of the NE 82nd Avenue Station.

Access to the NE 60th Avenue Station is provided by elevated pedestrian and bicycle walkways that take Sims from the surrounding neighborhoods down to the station platform which is sandwiched between I-84 and the heavy rail line. There are some light industrial land uses in the area, but the station is primarily surrounded by middle-class, low-density residential. The station is also near Normandie Park, which features play areas for children, a softball field and a community garden where Sims can grow various vegetables for their own personal consumption.

For those on the MAX, the next stop is the Hollywood/NE 39th Avenue Station. This station serves the Hollywood District, located to the north of the station and I-84, and the Laurelhurst neighborhood located to the south of the station and I-84. The Hollywood District is a designated historical neighborhood and is home to various retail stores, restaurants/breweries, commercial services, and the Hollywood Theatre, a locally-owned, non-profit theater. Despite sharing a name with Hollywood (California), the district has nothing to do with the Southern California movie-making capital, other than being named after a theater that is in turn, named after the famous Los Angeles neighborhood. The Hollywood Theatre first opened in 1926, originally a venue for vaudeville and silent films. Now-a-days, the theater shows primarily indy films (both local and international), classic movies, grindhouse movies and educational movies, as well as second-runs of recent blockbuster hits.

The Hollywood District is also home to one of several Whole Foods Market stores serving the Portland area. There are a couple banks located in the area, so Sims can take out a loan to shop for organic foods here .

To the south of the Hollywood/NE 39th Avenue station is the Laurelhurst neighborhood, a historical neighborhood consisting of vintage homes, first established in the early 1900's. When the neighborhood was built, there were strict, and rather unfortunate rules prohibiting sales of homes to Chinese, Japanese and African Americans. Fortunately, these covenants are no longer legal today. The Laurelhurst Park is a favorite hangout of local Sims, featuring many varieties of plant life and a duck pond.

If you're riding the MAX, the next three stops are all within short distances of each other (less than 600 feet apart) and serve the Lloyd District, home to the Lloyd Center Mall. The stops are (in order): the Lloyd Center Mall station, the NE 7th Avenue station and the Convention Center station.

Lloyd Center Mall opened in 1960, and is the commercial focal point of the neighborhood. The mall was originally built with an open-air configuration. When it opened in 1960, it was the largest shopping mall in the Pacific Northwest. In the 1990s, the mall was enclosed and underwent extensive renovations. Today, the mall is anchored by several department stores, including Macy's, Kohls, Sears and JC Penney. The mall once featured a Nordstrom department store, which closed in 2013, after 40 years at the mall. Nordstrom was replaced by JC Penney earlier this year. There is a food court and a movie theater on the 3rd floor, as well as an indoor ice-skating rink on the 1st floor.

The mall is surrounded by parking, retail, residential, several hotels, and office space. As well as an additional movie theater, the Regal Lloyd Cinemas.

Also located in the Lloyd District is the Oregon Convention Center, which opened in 1989. When compared to convention centers in other cities of similar size in the western United States, the Oregon Convention Center is quite small. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, efforts to expand the convention center were met with opposition from local Sims, concerned about increased traffic and potential negative environmental impacts associated with the expansion project. In 2003, expansion efforts were put on hold until 2006, when another round of efforts were made. Again, local Sims voiced their opposition. With vocal opposition and a downturn in the economy, expansion efforts were completely scrapped in 2009. However, efforts to build a 600-room convention center hotel adjacent to the convention center continue to this day. The hotel project is currently facing legal challenges in nearby Clackamas County.

Across the street from the Oregon Convention Center is a Starbucks, and a locally owned Japanese American family business, Anzen Hiroshi. Anzen first opened in 1904 and has served Portland ever since. From the early 1900s to World War II, Portland had one of the country's largest Japanese American populations. Unfortunately, due to US government internment policies during WW2, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated inland, and the Japanese population in Portland never recovered after the war. Nonetheless, Anzen Hiroshi survived, and in 1968, it moved to it's current location along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (formerly known as Union Avenue). Anzen Hiroshi sells Japanese and Asian groceries, specialty products and gifts. While small, the store offers competitive prices, and a very friendly staff, always happily greeting customers new and old.

As we pass through the Lloyd District, the next MAX Stop is the Rose Quarter station. Home of the Portland Trailblazers, your tour guide's favorite basketball team :party: