Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Take N. Ivanhoe St. to N. Charleston Ave. and turn right. Check out
Signal Station Pizza, an old Art Deco gas station converted into a
pizzeria. Hang a left onto N. Lombard St.
Continue along Lombard through what is essentially the main business
strip of St. Johns. Stroll slowly and do a little window-shopping as you
go. You'll also find a number of good spots for a bite; we're partial to
the James John Cafe for brunch or breakfast, but you should explore.
At N. Burlington Ave., turn right. Cross N. Central St. and head into St.
Johns Park. Make a loop around the park, then cross back over Central
and onto N. Chicago Ave. When you get to N. Lombard St., turn left. A
block farther is The Wishing Well, a great dive bar in an excellent
building, with a cool sign to boot.
Turn right on N. Alta Ave., then left on N. Ivanhoe St. At N. Philad-
elphia Ave. turn right. The redbrick building across the street was ori-
ginally City Hall, built in 1905. It's now occupied by a training division
of the Portland Police.
At N. Syracuse St. take a right to get back onto N. Alta Ave., onto which
you'll turn left and walk a block before turning right on N. Willamette
Blvd., then left on N. Baltimore Ave. to head down a steep hill toward
the river.
Just past N. Decatur St. stands a big orange industrial-looking building.
In its courtyard you'll find, among a handful of other businesses, Occi-
dental Brewing Co., a scrappy little microbrewery with excellent beers
and a teeny-tiny bar in the corner of its factory space. Well worth stop-
ping in; you can also get a growler of beer to take with you.
Beyond the brewery, cross the railroad tracks and go straight to enter
Cathedral Park. This is one of the nicest parks in Portland, only partly
because of its awesome view of the St. Johns Bridge, whose 40-story-tall
Gothic cathedral spires and slender silhouette look good from pretty
much any angle. The St. Johns Bridge was built in 1931 by David B.
Steinman, who built an awful lot of bridges in his time but claimed this
one as his favorite. As for the park, it was recognized as a good hangout
early on: Lewis and Clark apparently stopped here, camping overnight,
in 1806. It was also the landing point for the ferry between St. Johns
and Linnton, across the river. But it didn't officially become a park un-
til 1980. These days it's the site of an annual jazz festival, as well as the
