Piedmont, OR. Piedmont is
a long-established North Portland neighborhood with a rich and wonderful
history. Featuring grand turn-of-the century houses, tree-lined
streets, and home to a strong community with high expectations for the
quality of life within the neighborhood. Through many volunteer projects
and an active neighborhood association, Piedmont has re-captured the old
time feeling of a real community.
Piedmont's Location
You'll find Piedmont in inner north/northeast Portland. The neighborhood
is bounded by the I-5 Freeway to the west, Martin Luther Kind Jr. Blvd.
to the east, Ainsworth Blvd. to the south, and Columbia Blvd. to the
north.
The Piedmont subdivision was platted in 1889 by
Edward Quackenbush and promoted in an early flyer as "The
Emerald, Portland's Evergreen Suburb, Devoted Exclusively to
Dwellings, A Place of Homes." The original subdivision is now
known as "Historic Piedmont", and includes parts of the Humboldt
and King Neighborhoods, as well as the modern Piedmont
neighborhood south of Portland Boulevard.
The Piedmont subdivision was one of the streetcar
suburbs in the early through middle 20th century, so when
Northside Light Rail (The MAX "Yellow Line") arrives in 2004,
the neighborhood will revisit its past.
Peninsula Park was originally the site of
Liverpool Liz's Place, a roadhouse and horse racing track. The
16-acre plot of land was purchased by the city in 1909 and
reconfigured as a grand city park by noted architects Ellis
Lawrence and Ormond Bean. The park, its Italian-style community
center and rose gardens, opened to the public in 1913. The rose
gardens were a big hit, drawing 300,000 visitors in their first
year. The park's octagonal bandstand was used for patriotic
demonstrations during World War I.
Rosemont Commons
Villa St. Rose Convent, the former convent and school for girls
closed for good in 1993 and fell into disrepair before the
Georgian-style building and its 7.7-acre site were purchased by
the Portland Development Commission (PDC) in 1998. The Villa St.
Rose convent was designed by renowned Portland architect Joseph
Jaccoberger and constructed in 1917. The Villa St. Rose and now
listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been
renovated as a $22 million, 100-unit low-income senior rental
housing faculty renamed Rosemont Commons. The Commons is located
at 597 North Dekum Street.
In the early 2000s, Piedmont Neighborhood
Association was instrumental in working with the PDC to plan the
redevelopment of the Rosemont site into an urban village for all
ages, and incomes. Besides the Commons, there are 18 family
rental town homes; 10 Habitat for Humanity homes; six Home
Ownership a Street at a Time (HOST) homes, and 10 market-rate
houses. An Albina Head Start facility in planned to serve
infants and pre-schoolers beginning in the fall of 2004.
