portland neighborhood + event + business blurbs

Ringlers Annex and the Crystal Hotel on West Burnside with the Zoobomb Pyle in the foreground

I finished 2013 contributing some neighborhood, event and business blurbs to Neighborhood Notes, helping supplement our updated neighborhood and business district guides for West End, Mississippi, Alberta, Sellwood-Moreland, and the Pearl District. I wrote the main 'hood descriptions for all of the aforementioned (except the Pearl) and highlighted shops like Tender Loving Empire (West End) and Powell's (Pearl), Mississippi Ave. events like the summer street fair, 2nd Thursdays and Cirque du Cycling, music venues like the Crystal Ballroom and Al's Den in the Crystal Hotel (West End), and Pearl places and happenings like First Thursday, the Museum of Contemporary Craft, and Portland Center Stage and The Armory.

10 noteworthy things to do in portland's west end

Less polished than the abutting Pearl, the West End maintains a bit of its viable grit as it experiences a rebirth of sorts. Representing the craft and culture that’s become the definition of Portland, the district is a den of fashionable boutiques containing handmade goods and art, where dining, drinking and dancing abounds at night, and a quiet corner, good book and mug of coffee awaits in the morning.

CAFFEINATE: Drink Local

Pull up a chair to sip your in-house roasted coffee from a locally made ceramic mug at Courier Coffee Roasters. And because you took a seat, you can also enjoy some of the shop’s baked goods, which are made from scratch on-site using as many locally sourced products as possible.

Courier Coffee Roasters, 923 SW Oak St., 503.545.6444

SHOP LOCAL: Accessorize

Focused on the quality and sustainability of the products it sells, look beyond the selection of dresses, tops, pants and jackets at Radish Underground to the one-of-a-kind, hard-to-find accessories: Go for Rad Bad Lands jewelry (made locally with dinosaur bones and ancient fossils from Hell City, Mont.), or Portland-made Martine leather satchels and Jonny Sport bags, a “man-tastic,” 100 percent vegan, basketball-textured accessory.

Radish Underground, 414 SW 10th Ave., 503.928.6435

SHOP LOCAL: Skim the Illustrated Editions

Specializing in the little guys, geeks and independents of the publishing world, Reading Frenzy stocks a bounty of scarce small press and self-published books, art, local comics, graphic novels, and zines, like The D.I.Y. Guide To Drums by local musician Lisa Schonberg and a guide to edible weeds as well as one to help you discover Portland by bicycle.

Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak St., 503.274.1449

SHOP LOCAL: Listen Local, Too

Amongst the array of handmade art, clothing and jewelry at Tender Loving Empire lies a record label. The DIY retail consignment store and screenprinting studio stocks indie releases on vinyl from Portland up-and-comers like Radiation City, Typhoon and Y La Bamba.

Tender Loving Empire, 412 SW 10th Ave., 503.243.5859

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Find six more things to do in West End, including more shopping, happy hour and live music, on Neighborhood Notes.