Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
25
ST. JOHNS AND CATHEDRAL
PARK: SO FAR AWAY, SO CLOSE
BOUNDARIES:
N. Smith St., N. New York Ave., N. Ida Ave., Willamette River
DISTANCE:
2 miles
DIFFICULTY:
Moderate
PARKING:
Free street parking, lot at Cathedral Park
PUBLIC TRANSIT:
TriMet Bus 75 (N. Lombard St. and Oswego Ave.) or Buses 11 and 16
(N. Ivanhoe St. and Baltimore Ave.)
Lots of Portlanders have close friends they claim they never see anymore because the
friends bought houses in St. Johns and it's
soooo
far away. And there may be
something to that: despite its many charms, this little neighborhood is not exactly
handy. It's about 9 miles and a 15- to 20-minute drive from downtown Portland. But
homes are still (for now) comparatively affordable here, and a few years back Port-
land's cool/bored-with-it-all crowd discovered that St. Johns has a huge amount of
off-kilter charm (and a disproportionately high number of great bars for its size). It
also has one of the area's most appealing parks and the prettiest bridge, hands-down.
The saint in question, if you're curious, is James John, an early California import; he
claimed a patch of land in 1843 and started platting the town.
Start at the bus stop at N. Lombard St. and Oswego Ave. Walk along
Lombard toward town. Bear left with N. Richmond St., then turn right
on N. Ivanhoe St.
At the corner of Richmond and Ivanhoe is the St. Johns Pub. Built in
1905 for the Lewis and Clark Expo, the pub was actually intended as a
movie theater from the start, although it wasn't in St. Johns at the time.
A church had it barged here on the Willamette River after the exposi-
tion; in fact, it served as a church more than once, and as an American
Legion hall, before becoming a pub in 1989. It's now owned by the
McMenamins, part of their mini-chain of microbrew theater pubs. The
dome you see is not the original, but it's still very cute, and the inside has
loads of charm. (Plus beer, pizza, and movies—you really can't go
wrong.)
