Hawthorne Neighborhood

The Hawthorne Neighborhood does have lots to do. It is isolated from the light rail system. Traffic can be intense for such few blocks. The food is better on the westside.
It’s center does have one of the best Fred Meyer’s out there. On average, I do see way too many dreadlocks. Plenty of shopping such as for video games, clothes and a Pastaworks can be done here.
Explore it.

This is one of the better neighborhoods to explore, well at least in Portland. Lots of small shops and restaurants. And of course the Bagdad theater.
One of the things I like is that, at least so far, there arn’t many big chain stores.
It has a reputation as home to Portland’s hippie population. It does but there are a lot of great businesses here.

I admit I am not a local. I stayed in the Hawthorne district in the hostel and with all the entertainment around us, found it hard to leave the area.
Thrift shops, coffee, tea, books, you name it. People walking down the streets are graciously friendly and tatted, with neon-​colored hair. As a neon-​haired one myself, I support this.
«Hipster» as it may be, this area is great. I love the entire City of Portland, but I swear that the neighborhood of Hawthorne will especially have a dear place in my heart.

I grew up in this area. I went to Elementary school 2 blocks off of Hawthorn, and would go shopping all the time. I don’t go shopping as much here anymore, but I still love it over here. The people are nice and fun. The shops are great. The area is just amazing

Well, since this is MY ‘hood, this is the BEST.
You can get a lot done on Hawthorne or you can be super lazy and glut from food stop to food stop.
Hawthorne stretches from like 50^th (and a little beyond, if you include Sapphire Hotel… and you should!) down to about 12^th where the food cart group is.
My favorite things on Hawthorne: CD Game Exchange, Waffle Window, Sapphire Hotel, Powell’s (even though I never buy anything), Bridgeport, Swirl.
It has the nicest Fred Meyer I’ve ever been in. There is just about every ethnicity of food:
Mexican: Cha Cha Cha, Por Que No?, Pepino’s
Thai: Thanh Thao, Thai Thai, My Thai Bistro
Sushi: Mio, Fred Meyer (!!!)
Indian: Dwaraka
Phở: Phở Dalat, Chopsticks
Pizza: Apizza Scholl’s, Papa Murphy’s, Hot Lips
Groceries: Safeway (is it coming back?), New Seasons, Fred Meyer
There are some neat gift type places (Memento, Presents of Mind) and a few thrift stores. Hawthorne Vintage has cool old furniture and there’s an antique mall type place.
I even hear tell there’s a candy school bus (the Chalk-​let Bus).
I love this neighborhood. The houses are lovely and variable. There are good bike routes. It’s a straight shot downtown. It’s close to Tabor, Laurelhurst and Colonel Summers. If you can’t appreciate any of that, then I don’t know what to tell you!
Hawthorne Rules!

Whaaaaat? Haters. Having lived in the ‘Thorne (I tried to make people call it that, failed, and keep trying), I have to represent. Aside from the tourists crowding Hawthorne sidewalks on Saturdays, this place utterly rules. The neighborhood is friendly and beautiful, full of well-​kept bungalows and people who say hello to you when you’re walking down the street. There are hipsters, yeah, but there are also families and young professionals in pants that aren’t two sizes too small.
Part of being a local is discerning the tourist traps from the bona fide hangouts. So I don’t take issue there. The ‘Thorne has everything I wanted– cheap rent, grocery store, branch library (whatever Belmont, that library is ours), top notch bookstores, pubs and places to bring the laptop to «work”/people watch.
Sure, I left Portland. But Hawthorne almost kept me.

Hellloooo Berkeley. Seriously, I’ve been transported back to Berkeley, minus the Telegraph vendors (which is my favorite part). Basically, you’ve got your consignment shops, your Fair Trade stores, your Tibetan stores smelling strongly of incense, and since it’s still in Portland, your neighborhood McMenamin’s.
And since I lived in the original Berkeley for 4 years, this place just seemed like a copy. Although the Crossroads Trading was absolutely phenomenal with so many great cheap things that I didn’t know what to do with myself. There’s also a Hawthorne Powell’s for your book browsing needs.
If I ever feel the need to go back to my college years, I’ll hop down here to buy a Tibetan scarf or get some incense or check out the hipsters. Other than that, no reason to go back.

I prefer the Belmont and Clinton neighborhoods to Hawthorne, but there is a lot here.
It is true that there are a lot of trendy, expensive places, but there are also a lot of cool, local businesses. I can often do a day’s worth of errands, shopping, eating and drinking locally without leaving Hawthorne.
Hawthorne is a busy street and I would not recommend riding your bike up and down it (SE Salmon runs parallel three short blocks away and is very easy to ride on). The city has also recently installed a small bike parking area at SE 38^th and Hawthorne, so feel free to lock up and stretch your legs.
This is a great street to people watch as it is a popular area frequented by locals, street musicians and suburbanites alike.
Powell’s Books has a store here, much smaller than the downtown location, but still full of great finds. There is a Fred Meyer, a Safeway and the Daily Grind*, a great place to find healthy and organic options. Cha Cha Cha, Ben and Jerry’s and Bridgeport Brewing Company also have locations on Hawthorne.
Not to be missed is McMenamin’s Bagdad. Three bars, locally brewed beer and a beautiful old theatre showing second run movies for cheap all under one roof.
I can’t give Hawthorne five stars because it’s very busy with a lot of traffic and almost too trendy, but not quite. Overall a great place for tourists to wander around and get a taste of one of Portland’s unique neighborhoods, or a great place for locals to get their errands done.
* My heart broke this weekend when I discovered that the grocery side of Daily Grind is closing. No more fresh, delicious vegan bakery items for me. :’(The deli part will remain open.
p. p. s. Papa G’s has also left and is now located on SE Division; in happier news New Seasons will soon be taking over the space formerly occupied by Daily Grind. Welcome to the neighborhood New Seasons!