Laurelhurst
A Historic Neighborhood with a Deep-Rooted Sense of Community
Median Household Income
$118,829
Median Home Value
$785,000
Average Rent
$1,503
Walk Score
82
About Laurelhurst
Established in 1909, Laurelhurst is a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places with a deep-rooted sense of community, great schools, beautiful old homes, and curving, tree-lined streets surrounding Laurelhurst Park.
The 31-acre park is one of Portland’s crown jewels and has long been a gathering place. On summer evenings, you can kick back on the lawn with a picnic and a blanket and enjoy free family concerts and movies. In the fall, follow the park’s meandering paths along the lake to watch ducks and geese skim across the water as century-old trees put on a dazzling display of fall color. Rhododendrons and cherry blossoms steal the show in the spring. The park also features a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, sports field, picnic areas, and a concert grove.
While Laurelhurst is primarily a residential neighborhood, its central eastside location affords easy access to popular shopping, dining, and entertainment districts in every direction, including Hawthorne and Belmont to the south and Burnside to the west. Just blocks from the neighborhood’s west entrance (marked with graceful sandstone arches), you can pick up groceries at Whole Foods, peruse a treasure trove of records at Music Millennium, or take in a movie at the 1923 art-deco styled Laurelhurst Theater, which serves up independent films with pizza and beer. Afterwards, head across the street to get a scoop of made-from-scratch ice cream at Fifty Licks. The local dining options near Laurelhurst are plentiful and phenomenal. You’ll need to make reservations months in advance for Langbaan, which is an intimate and exquisite Thai restaurant with a secret entrance behind PaaDee.
Laurelhurst was a meticulously planned suburb of Portland with streets platted to follow the natural contours of the land. The plans included more than 2,200 trees that were planted over 100 years ago. Along the leafy residential streets, you’ll find everything from stately mansions to more modest dwellings, but the predominant style of house in the neighborhood is the craftsman bungalow, of which there are more than 1,000 examples.
