Archaeology Roadshow Returns to East Portland on May 30 In 2025, after a 12-year run downtown, the annual Archaeology Roadshow moved its educational and interactive showcase across the river to East Portland. For the second year, the organizers are taking over the grassy field at Gateway Discovery…

New NE 69th Ave Sidewalk Corners from Glisan to Flanders Crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) recently reconstructed sidewalk corners with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramps on NE 69th Avenue between NE Glisan Street and Flanders Street. This helps…

Montavilla History Questions Answered: Laundry Good-bye Washday Blues? Doing laundry using a machine washer. Source: Delineator magazine, July, 1927 In the early 20th century, Monday was typically washday for American housewives. It was an all-day affair, even if you were one of the few who owned…

Montavilla Picnic Shelter Added to Budget On May 20th, at the end of a marathon budget session, the Portland City Council approved an $8.5 billion city budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 with a $755,000 line item for a replacement Montavilla Park picnic shelter. Portland City Council Member Tiffany…

Midland Library Closes for a Two-week Update The Multnomah County Midland Library at 805 SE 122nd Avenue will remain closed for repairs after the Monday, May 25th Memorial Day holiday closure, reopening on June 7th. Crews will use surplus funds from past upgrade projects to modernize the…

82nd Ave Repaving South of Division Begins May 18 Crews and subcontractors with Raimore Construction will begin repaving SE 82nd Avenue south of SE Division Street starting May 18th. This continues repaving work from summer 2025 as part of the Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) 82nd Avenue…

Victress Relocates in Less than a Year on NE Glisan Victress Entertainment recently relocated from 6824 NE Glisan Street, less than a year after moving into that shop from its previous storefront at 7303 SE 82nd Avenue. The adult entertainers working at that business will continue to offer a range…

Fire Damaged Home on SE 87th Razed for New Development Deconstruction crews will remove the burned remnants of a dilapidated 1926-era home at 3015 SE 87th Avenue to make way for a housing development. The former single-story structure suffered multiple fires over several years, rendering the…

Scaled Back NE Halsey Safety Project The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) recently scaled back plans for the NE Halsey Street Safety and Access to Transit Project, postponing a planned intersection improvement at NE 69th Avenue and removing a 150-foot section of new sidewalk and street…

Group Circulates Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter Petition In October 2021, demolition crews removed the aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park and planted new grass turf. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has postponed the planned modern 2,000-square-foot open-walled replacement shelter due to a…

Eight Off-82nd Townhomes on NE Holladay Work is underway on eight attached townhomes on NE Holladay Street with views of NE 82nd Avenue across the Don Pedro restaurant's parking lot. This housing project dates back to 2022, when Riverside Carpentry purchased 8225 NE Holladay Street and demolished…

The 2026 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade Images On April 25th, marchers held the 20th annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade from Eastport Plaza Shopping Center to SE Clinton Street. Former U.S. Representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district, Earl Blumenauer, and Nancy Chapin were the 2026 Grand…

NE Glisan Storm Drain Work at 91st and 92nd Crews working with Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) will install modern stormwater management sump drains under NE Glisan Street at the intersections of NE 91st and 92nd Avenues. This work is happening at the same time crews working with…

Montavilla Farmers Market’s 20 Years in Portland Article originally published in Bridgetown Bites by This is a big year for the Montavilla Farmers Market: They are entering their 20th year of operating one of the most beloved farmers markets on the east side of Portland. I sat down with Lisa…

Stoopid Burger Returns to NE Glisan On April 21st, the renowned and storied Stoopid Burger opened a new location inside the Rocket Empire Machine food hall at 6935 NE Glisan Street. This new location is Portland's second brick-and-mortar space for the Oregon chain, which also operates a Lloyd…

Repaving NE 87th from I-84 to NE Glisan On April 22nd, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) begin grinding down the old asphalt pavement along NE 87th Avenue from the dead-end section near Interstate 84’s sound wall north of NE Hassalo Street and progressing south towards NE…

Independent Bookstores Day 2026 Montavilla residents do not have to travel far to celebrate the American Booksellers Association's 13th annual Independent Bookstores Day with the neighborhood's newest bookstore, Endless Wonders Books, which is hosting a sidewalk sale at 414 SE 80th Avenue. The…

Community Food Pantry Sees Increasing Demand Colise Johnson and her husband, James, run a small food pantry from their home, a few blocks east of the Leodis V. McDaniel High School athletics fields on the corner of NE 86th Avenue and Brazee Street. As economic pressures push more people into food…

The 20th Annual 82nd Ave Parade Apr 25 The 20th annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade returns on April 25th at 9:30, featuring over 70 groups, including many returning and several new participants. The event organizers will use the scaled-back route implemented last year, starting at Eastport Plaza…

Harrison Community Village Shelter Preview April 24 On Friday, April 24th, Multnomah County’s Homeless Service Department (HSD) and site operator Do Good Multnomah invite the public to preview Harrison Community Village Shelter from 2 to 4 p.m. The newly completed sober-shelter site at 1818 SE…

Fire at Youth Recover Center Under Construction An overnight fire at the youth-focused 4D Recovery center off NE 100th Avenue will likely delay construction timelines for the currently unoccupied facility. The nonprofit organization bought the 1980-era office building at 180 NE 100th Avenue in…

Tool Building Readying for Tenants The owners of the single-story Tool Building at 7131 NE Glisan Street are working behind the decoratively painted window coverings to create seven to eight divided spaces for future tenants. With the help of listing agent JJ Hewitt, they are seeking creative…

Affordable Housing Rising Above Methodist Church Recently, the members of Montavilla United Methodist Church voted to demolish all their buildings at 232 SE 80th Avenue to create three stories of affordable housing above a new ground-level worship space that will also share resources with support…

Historic Fight for a Montavilla Fire Station On April 30, 1913, Montavilla residents gathered at the northeast corner of Burnside and 82nd Avenue to attend the grand opening of Fire Station No. 27. For years, the community had fought for professional fire protection. At last, it had arrived.…

Where Will Montavilla Farmers Market Go? Montavilla Farmers Market (MFM) is examining relocation options ahead of a land sale that could displace the nearly two-decade-old neighborhood icon. In October of 2024, the owners of the 0.84-acre lot at 7700 SE Stark Street informed the operators of the…

Advocating for a Jade District Park In July 2025, Oregon Metro purchased a 1.46-acre property at the intersection of SE 90th Place and SE 89th Avenue for planned Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). For over a decade, community advocates have envisioned the large, sloped property as a neighborhood…

2026 Transit Driver Appreciation Day March 18 TriMet will observe this year's Transit Driver Appreciation Day on March 18th. For over a decade, the municipal transportation corporation has used this day to invite its users to thank those who keep the system moving. If riding on public…

Reining in Chronic Nuisance Properties Portland City Councilor Steve Novick wants to amend a 1992 chronic nuisance property ordinance to lessen the threshold for triggering mandated remedies. He is proposing these changes with the intent of reducing the impact on afflicted neighborhoods from human…

VOA Oregon’s 130 Year Celebration Kicks Off Montavilla Campus Fundraising On Thursday evening, March 12th, supporters and guests of Volunteers of America Oregon gathered near the Convention Center to celebrate the family safety, substance use treatment, behavioral health, and post-criminal justice…

TriMet 19 Bus Line Likely Saved from Cost Cuts At the beginning of the year, TriMet announced a series of proposed cost-cutting measures planned for August and asked for rider feedback via an online survey. Those early cost-saving adjustments would have eliminated the Line 19 Bus route, among…

Months of Roadwork Begins on NE Glisan In early March, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) started preparing underground infrastructure ahead of updating sidewalk corners along NE Glisan Street as part of the planned NE Glisan Pave and Paint Project. The updates will use the…

Meals on Wheels People’s Eastside Hub Across from Eastgate Plaza, the Meals on Wheels People nonprofit is transforming a full block frontage at 4035 SE 82nd Avenue into an East Portland food distribution hub and resiliency center for a community that depends on their system for regular sustenance.…

House and Two ADU Condo on NE Multnomah A novel condo project is nearing completion at 6909 NE Multnomah Street, where developer Neil Heller added two Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) next to a 1,234 square foot 1951-era home. This approach seems similar to other infill housing projects, but its…

District 3 Transportation Funding Open House On Wednesday night, February 25th, community members and City representatives gathered in the cafeteria at Atkinson Elementary School for District 3's local transportation funding open house. This is one in a series of four in-person events led by the…

Montavilla History Questions Answered: Montavilla’s First Black Church Q – What Was Montavilla’s First Black Church? A – The Sunday edition of the May 7th, 1916, Oregonian, announced the formation of a Black church in Montavilla. By this time, the Black population of Montavilla had grown from only…

Secret Sauna is Social in Montavilla Secret Sauna: The name is intriguing right off the bat. So what is it? It’s literally a sauna parked on the patio behind Montavilla’s Replicant Wine Bar (shared by Mudd Works Cafe in the mornings). It offers a place to relax, enjoy some drinks and food, sit…

Harrison Community Village Shelter Public Meeting Feb 26 As the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department (HSD) readies the Harrison Community Village Shelter at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue for future residents, they invite people to attend a Public Meeting on February 26th. Nonprofit provider Do Good…

Montavilla History Questions Answered:Academy Theater Part 2 Montavilla’s Academy Theater had been in business since 1948, when, in 1966, it faced a new challenge: the Eastgate Cinema opened at SE 82nd and Harrison, just a few blocks away. The Eastgate, created by the future movie mogul, Tom Moyer…

Zwickelmania Brewery Shuttle Service Loops Through Montavilla on Feb 21st On February 21st, Zwickelmania returns to Oregon, with two of Montavilla's breweries joining more than 55 other craft beer makers from across the state. Host businesses offer attendees Zwickel tasting pours from the…

Four Townhomes on E Burnside Street Work is underway on four townhomes at 8426 E Burnside Street, built in clusters of two massings joined by a common trash room. The project is occupying a previously undeveloped parcel that once served as the extended yard of the adjacent home to the west of the…

Two-month Westbound NE Halsey Detour at I-84 Starting Monday, February 16th, westbound motorists on NE Halsey Street need to take a detour to NE 82nd Avenue during the next two months of construction on a new mini-roundabout. Eastbound travelers should not experience any significant disruption,…

TriMet Moves Forward with Nearly 7 Miles of Transit-Priority Lanes on 82nd Ave On Friday, February 13th, TriMet leadership instructed the 82nd Avenue Transit Project designers to work toward creating 7 miles of Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes along most of Portland's portion of 82nd…

Sixteen Detached Homes Complete on East Burnside Recently, crews completed paving work on the NE 92nd Place-94th Avenue Alley off East Burnside Street, leading to 16 new two-story homes. Each of the back 15 units has attached garages, and the front home features a wide parking pad. This…

Parking Protected Bike Lanes on SE Washington At the end of January, crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) completed the installation of slightly raised concrete separators for the newly created parking-buffered bike lane on the south side of SE Washington Street. This…

Montavilla History Questions Answered:Academy Theater Part 1 I think most would agree that the Academy Theater on SE Stark is one of Montavilla’s most outstanding historical buildings. When it opened in 1948, it could claim to be the most modern building on Montavilla’s main street. How it came to…

Home with ADU Sprouting Up Along New Sidewalk Crews recently built the foundation for a new home and attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) at 2701 SE 85th Avenue and will soon begin framing on the three-story structure. This lot has remained vacant since the previous property owner demolished the…

Rosa Parks Birthday Free Transit Feb 4 TriMet will honor Rosa Parks with free rides for all passengers this Wednesday, February 4th. Transit operators will suspend fare collection on that day until 2 a.m. February 5th. Portland Streetcar and C-TRAN operators will also offer rides without cost in…

Pavement Repairs on SE 85th Part of Sidewalk Infill On January 27th, contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation laid new asphalt along a segment of SE 85th Avenue behind the Fubonn Shopping Center, temporarily closing the street to through traffic. This work is part of the Jade…

Crews Complete 1st Half of NE Halsey Mini-roundabout Crews recently completed half of a new mini-roundabout along NE Halsey Street as they work to reopen NE 80th and NE 81st Avenues to car traffic. Contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation installed underground stormwater…

TESO Life Store Opening on SE Washington Jan 31st TESO Life will open its first Portland location at 10548 SE Washington Street next Saturday, January 31st. The Asian household goods seller took over the 23,200-square-foot storefront left vacant by Big Lots four years ago at Plaza 205. The…