Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
OLD TOWN AND CHINATOWN:
SKID ROW NO MORE
BOUNDARIES:
NW Broadway, Willamette River, W. Burnside St.
DISTANCE:
2 miles
DIFFICULTY:
Easy
PARKING:
Metered street parking
PUBLIC TRANSIT:
MAX Green and Yellow Lines (Union Station), Red and Blue Lines
(Old Town/Chinatown Station)
This is the historic core of Portland, once upon a time a rough-and-tumble waterfront
where sailors and loggers went carousing in the muddy streets. (Some claim it's the
source of the term “Skid Row,” although Seattle also claims that dubious hon-
or—regardless, the expression refers to the path along which cut logs were ushered
toward the river to be shipped.) In those days, before the harbor wall was built to help
contain the waters of the Willamette River, this area flooded regularly several times a
season. (This was also before an efficient sewer system had been implemented, so
you can imagine.) Old Town is also home to the legendary Shanghai tunnels,
where—rumor has it, though historians dispute it—drunken sailors would be dropped
into tunnels below certain downtown bars, then dragged aboard ships and taken on as
indentured workers. (Whether this really happened here or not, it's a good story, and
you can still tour the Shanghai tunnels below town today.)
Like many urban cores, Old Town suffered from a few decades of neglect and was
considered a pretty sketchy area until a few years ago, when the city's focused atten-
tion helped revitalize the neighborhood. Which isn't to say there are no longer any
gritty elements, but these days, Old Town and Chinatown tend to be lively at night,
with entertainment options including several good bars and clubs, art galleries, top-
notch restaurants, and the Lan Su Chinese Garden, a major draw for visitors.
Part of Old Town's appeal is its historic architecture, particularly its character-rich
brick and cast-iron buildings—in fact, Portland has one of the biggest collections of
historic cast-iron architecture in the country. Preservation efforts have helped to keep
a lot of the city's historical charm intact.
Start at Union Station; its huge clock tower and glowing
GO BY TRAIN
sign make it a great landmark. It was built in 1896, not quite as commis-
