Josh Writes a Blog

Category: every park in portland

  • EPIP: Laurelhurst Park

    SE Cesar E Chavez Blvd and Stark Street
    Neighborhood: Laurelhurst
    Website

    Nestled in arguably one of the most expensive residential areas of Portland, Laurelhurst Park is, to me, the closest thing we have to a Central Park. It’s a diverse park, gorgeous with lots of tree cover and winding pathways, and with a nice lake on the eastern side. An annex to the south has a playground and basketball court, but if you want a park where you can just stroll and enjoy the scenery, Laurelhurst is where it’s at.

    You’ll notice on the upper left of the park there’s a big house. That’s a big house. You can read more about it here: The Bitar Mansion. It seems that there’s not much info about it post-2011. I’ve walked by that house many times, and I learned during its renovation that they cut down a bunch of old rhododendron bushes. Some guy told me that while I was walking by one day. He said that the (new?) owner was crazy. I dunno, folks.

    Aesthetic: Beautiful park. Even the playground side of it is beautiful. Currently it does have some fencing up because of “fragile plants” (which I think is just a front to keep homeless away), which diminishes the beauty a bit. But in spring and summertime, this place is king. 9/10

    Function: It’s more of a stroll/jogging park but the annex has stuff to do if you’re into that, but then you’re closer to busy streets and a gas station across the street. Literally function over form, I guess. 7/10

    Sketchiness: I personally don’t think Laurelhurst is that sketchy at all, but I’m sure a lot of the NIMBYs who live in their expensive houses would disagree. Yes, homeless people live around the park, but I’ve found the park itself to be relatively sketch-free. YMMV. 3/10

  • EPIP: Buckman Field Park

    NE 12th Avenue and Everett Street
    Neighborhood: Kerns
    Website

    Buckman Field is one of those parks that you’ll miss if you don’t live nearby. For instance: I have walked on NE 12th Ave (the road on the far left of the map) a ridiculous number of times. When I used to work at a medical marijuana clinic, I would have take my check up to the Wells Fargo near Lloyd’s Center. Every time I would pass by two things: the Franz bakery building, which always smelled amazing, and those tennis courts you see in the upper left. I didn’t even realize they were part of a park. (They might not be, either.)

    This morning, in searching for parks to walk to, I noticed the track and the soccer fields of Buckman Field and decided to head there. It is what you see: a track, two fields (with the upper one being a soccer and football field), and the upper right part of the field can be a baseball diamond as well. So, it’s far more of an amateur and professional activity park than it is a “take your kids and dog” park. I did see people practicing soccer and there were dogs hanging out on the sidelines though, so who knows.

    The lower right section has some playground equipment, though, but it, as you can see, is a small portion. This is also one of those parks that doesn’t have an open entrance; by that I mean, you have to enter through a couple of narrow sidewalks, you can’t just walk straight into the park. Makes it feel more seeecret.

    Aesthetic: Not much to look at. It’s fields. 3/10

    Function: You can play soccer and then eat donuts at Voodoo! 9/10

    Sketchiness: Didn’t seem sketchy at all. The surrounding area is a little sketch, more rundown than illicit activities though. For some reason, Sandy Blvd is just one of those more run down streets overall. 3/10

  • EPIP: Ladd’s Circle (& Rose Gardens)

    This is a continuing quest to visit and rate every park in Portland.

    SE 16th Avenue and Harrison Street
    Neighborhood: Hosford-Abernethy
    Website

    In 1891, William Sargent Ladd decided to subdivide his east Portland 126-acre farm into the very unique and confusing diagonal streets we know as Ladd’s Addition. He then died two years later. Ladd’s is arguably the most unique and iconic street layout in Portland, right up there with that Lombard Street in San Francisco, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans. But those are just streets; Ladd’s Addition is a whole street structure. It’s a richer part of Portland, and in the center is Ladd’s Circle, which is just that, a circular park with some benches. There are also four rose gardens in the cardinal directions.

    People often gather at Ladd’s Addition to start something else, like runs and stuff. I often run around Ladd’s Addition myself, because it’s level and interesting and a lovely part of town. It’s also fun to get lost in, and it’s one of the few bits in Portland with alleyways! I’d love to live there, if someone would just give me a million dollars to afford a house.

    But this is a review of the circle! And the rose gardens, I guess.

    Aesthetic: Roses are pretty, can’t lie about that. But the actual gardens aren’t, to me, very aesthetically pleasing. In fact they kind of stick out and are virtually unusable as the roses are packed in each diamond. The circle is more open and is a nice centerpiece to the street structure, but other than that it’s not especially gorgeous. 6/10

    Function: The gardens grow roses. The end. The circle has some benches to sit on and contemplate life, but that’s about it. There’s some space to lay down for a picnic if you want. 4/10

    Sketchiness: Ladd’s is pretty bougie so there’s not a lot of homeless wandering through. I do see a few pseudo-sketch people lying in the grass in the warmer months. (When I say “pseudo-sketch,” that falls into a territory where I’m unsure if the person is homeless, or just a grungy Portlander.) 8/10

  • EPIP: Colonel Summers Park

    SE 17th Avenue and Taylor Street
    Neighborhood: Buckman
    Website

    Colonel Summers is definitely one of the best parks in Portland. It’s in a great location, it’s got a multitude of things to do (basketball court, meeting space, swings for kids, splash zone, tennis court, baseball diamond though I think people usually play kickball there, and a community garden), and to me it always feels larger than it actually is. That little kitty-corner square of park in the top-right of the map always fascinated me too. When I first moved here I really had no idea where this park was, even though I had passed by it many times–eventually I realized that the brunt of the park was behind the tennis courts.

    Pedalpalooza stops here frequently and there’s always something going on at the park in the spring and summer months. Now, it’s cold and most everyone is gone.

    Aesthetic: It’s a lovely park, maybe a bit cramped in spots but the community garden adds an interesting twist on what might have been an otherwise normal park. Honestly, my only gripe is that I wish the houses in the NW section weren’t there, so we could have more park. (To be fair though, they’re on an uphill slope; the park is kind of constructed around the hill.) 8/10

    Function: This place has lots to do in a smaller space. There’s plenty of activities in the warmer months and with basketball and tennis AND base/kickball, lots of places to do sports. 9/10

    Sketchiness: The park itself can vary in sketchiness, but none of it is really drug deals or anything of that nature. It’s more just homeless people sleeping on the grass or in cars around the perimeter. But lots of people sleep on the grass so it’s not a big deal. There’s also a van on the 17th Ave side which has been parked there ever since I moved to this part of town. It has people sleeping in it but they don’t bother anyone. In fact in the summertime they set up a little station where you can wash your hands, which is neat. I’d say low-to-moderate sketchiness. 3/10