Roseway

The Roseway District

Annie's Doughnuts--the only doughnut house in the universe where they still roll their own--is emblematic of what makes the Roseway District unique.

This Portland hood is on the edge of trendy, hugging Sandy Blvd and Fremont from NE 62nd Ave to 82nd Ave. Platted in the 1920s and 1930s, planners had high hopes of a boulevard leading from Portland to the Columbia Gorge lined lovingly with roses...hence the name: Roseway.

But life's gritty in this part of town--with Sandy & 82nd known by downtown city businessmen as the place to find ladies of the night, at least until the internet displaced street walking--and somehow the roses didn't not quite come to fruition.

Nonetheless, after the Second World War more houses where added that attracted solid working class families who mostly had the income to keep their modest homes maintained, albeit without costly trees in the yards and parking. (After all, the first Roseway residents were not far removed from the agrarian life. They wanted lawns and the American Dream, not spendy trees with roots that get into the sewer lines and leaves that need raking.)

By the 1990s, the old guard was mostly gone and their legacy attracted young families looking for affordable houses close in to Portland proper. Presto chango! The neighborhood starting getting trees.

Pride of ownership—bolstered by lots of DIY projects— that had slipped during the suburbs exodus of the 1970s returned. Children at play started gracing the yards. And a slow but steady trickle of new businesses--Otto's Pizza, Heim Bakery, Mom & Pop Wine Shop, and Ben and Esther's Vegetarian Jewish Deli & Bakery--took their places alongside the longstanding icons: Annie's, Fairley's Pharmacy, and the Roseway Theater.