Tag: history

A Historic New Name

Posted on by David Columbus

When I am exploring a neighborhood for the first time I always end up walking to the closest park. These green spaces often tell a story about the neighborhood. How crowded is the local park on a sunny day? Is there a playground? Are people out with pets? Is there a calendar of park events? Portland is notoriously great at park events.

Parks grow and evolve alongside their neighborhoods in wonderful ways. I recently worked with some clients in the Centennial neighborhood and got to witness park evolution first hand. As it turns out, my client’s new home happens to be near a very cool piece of Portland Park history.

Lynchview Park, named for Patrick Lynch who donated land to the Centennial School district back in the 1800s, was a forlorn, undeveloped rectangle of green in Centennial. However, as of June the 8-acre park has a new name and a new look.

The newly named Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park is the first park in Portland to be named after a Black woman.

Verdell Burdine Rutherford and her husband Otto were pioneering leaders of the Oregon chapter of the NAACP. Together they worked to pass the Public Accommodations Act of 1953 which outlawed discrimination in public places on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. Burdine Rutherford also spent much of her live chronicling the history of the Black community in Portland. Her historical collection is available for research at the PSU library.

The updated park has more than a historic new name. With funding from the 2014 Park’s Replacement Bond, a series of renovations have revitalized the space. Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park has a new playground, a picnic shelter, updated landscaping, and paved pathways. A celebration of Burdine Rutherford’s life and the park’s renaming will be held at a soon-to-be-determined date. Remember, Portland is great at park events. It is a beautiful space and a huge asset to the neighborhood – definitely a worthy destination for that “we just moved in” walk around.

Photo courtesy of Portland Parks & Rec

Mock Crest – The Real Deal in NoPo

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Hi readers! In today’s installment in my #realestatelife I get to tell you about my personal neighborhood: Mock Crest. It’s nestled between Kenton and St. Johns (NoPo Pro Tip note: it’s St. Johns not St. John’s), between Lombard and the curves of Willamette, down from the University of Portland. It’s a great place to bike/walk/run/wander. It’s also home to the giant blue Victorian that’s currently a U of P rental on Willamette, built by the neighborhood’s namesake, John Mock.

Aside from the Mock House, homes here are mostly traditional, Cape Cod or Bungalows, with the occasional ranch (my jam) peppered in. The streets are lined with Lindens, which are beautiful in fall but kind of pains in the A the rest of the year — they’re year-round producers of pollen, seeds and need TLC. But, they’re great for swings and sure do create a picturesque backdrop. If you’re looking for an awesome place to Trick-or-Treat with the kiddos this year, this neighborhood is a great option. Our neighbor Jeanne at the end of the block gives out full size Snickers bars, which pretty ruined it for the rest of us. 🙂

If you’re a burger fan like me, let me tell you – THE BEST ONES IN PORTLAND can be found at the Mock Crest Tavern. If Linda is on the grill, you’re especially lucky, she’s a burger artist. The tots are perfectly crispy, and there’s great live music/open mic nights.

O.P.I. Nails on Lombard is the place for some pamperin’ if you’re in the area. Tu, the owner, remembers everyone’s name. It’s kind of weird and definitely awesome. Their spa pedicures are legit and they do a great stone massage on your legs. Ahhhhhh. 

Columbia Pool, which is run by PP&R, is a great neighborhood indoor pool. They have terrific instructors and public swim times / lanes. The pool itself can get a little muggy and stuffy since it’s indoor, so be sure to layer if you are going to be a spectator. Be sure to walk around Columbia Park – it’s real pretty and was designed by the same architect as Central Park in NYC.

Every Thursday night on the way home from Parkour at The Playground Gym, we swing by Bong Teriyaki – which is in the Mock Crest Grocery building. Their spicy chicken combo is so good, and the family-run business provides consistently friendly and fast customer service. The servings are ginormous and my boys always eat all their dinners, veggies included. #Winning!

While not technically part of Mock Crest, Harper’s Playground is our family’s weekend stop. We even get to let Roz (our Boston Terrier/Boxer/Pit Bull) run free at the off-leash dog park. The playground was designed with mobility in mind, and features wheelchair- and walker-accessible play areas. There’s a huge baseball and soccer field, tennis courts and restrooms. Basically, a terrific place to picnic and while away a Sunday morning after soccer. We have our son Boone in Soccer Shots, which has regular practices there.

What’s also great, is there are some wonderful homes in the area available now! Take a look HERE and if you see anything that catches your eye, please reach out. It would be my pleasure to welcome you to the neighborhood.

Till then, high fives,

Celebrating a Decade of Living Room Realty

Posted on by Living Room Realty

The first Living Realty office door opened in March 2009 at 1422 NE Alberta Street in the heart of the Alberta Arts neighborhood.

We started small. Adding a few agents at a time—people who were looking for a different kind of real estate brokerage. We were creating a place where we could do the work we loved while supporting each other and the communities we served.

And then a few more agents came. And it was time for another office. SE Portland offered up just the right spot in the Clinton neighborhood.

In 2013, we became the first real estate brokerage on the West Coast to become a Certified B Corp. We were now officially—in a certified way—using business as a force for good.

That brought more agents. And more clients. We were doing something different and word was getting out.

Half a decade in, we opened an office at the coast in Manzanita. Then an office in Vancouver, WA. Then Portand’s westside came calling, and soon we found our spots in the Pearl and Multnomah Village.

And so it went—for 10 years—living by our values every day. Donating 5% of our profits to charity. Launching our Loving Room Fund. Attracting the best agents in the city, and supporting them so they could support their families, friends, and clients.

And then we looked up and it was time. Time to celebrate this important milestone.

We considered having a birthday party where we served cake and champagne and gave speeches and toasts. That would have made for a delicious and enjoyable night, no doubt.

But, instead, we paused and looked around at the 130 agents we work with every day. We considered all the talent they possess beyond expertly negotiating a real estate transaction. And, naturally, our next thought was:

“Let’s put on a show!!”

And we did. And we called it the Decade Party. And it was good. It was really good. Watch the video below while listening to our new theme song, “Make a Move.” You’ll see the joy and fun and talent we swim in. If the video makes you feel good, know that feeling is similar to what you feel when you walk into one of our offices. Try it.

Seriously, come visit us at any of our offices. Come in and say hi. We mean it.

Once you turn 10, you start thinking in terms of decades. We’re thinking about the coming days, weeks, months, and years; and what they’ll look like when they add up to our next decade. We’re asking ourselves, what can we do that we haven’t done yet? What can we do better that we have done before? What can we build on top of the foundation we’ve established over the past 10 years?

We know we want to keep living by our values. We know we want to have an impact on the communities around us. We know we want to keep working with agents who care. We know we want to continue to create space for our agents to tell their own stories and the stories of the buyers and sellers they work with.

Above all, we want to keep fulfilling our company mission to “Develop Vibrant Communities.”