Vernon, Portland, Oregon

Vernon
Neighborhood
Alberta Park entrance across the street from Vernon School
Location in Portland
Coordinates: 45°33′46″N 122°38′48″WPDF map
Country	United States
State	Oregon
City	Portland
Government
• Association	Vernon Neighborhood Association
• Coalition	Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods
Area
• Total	0.29 sq mi (0.75 km2)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,883
• Density	10,000/sq mi (3,800/km2)
Housing
• No. of households	1036
• Occupancy rate	95% occupied
• Owner-occupied	546 households (53%)
• Renting	490 households (47%)
• Avg. household size	2.78 persons

Vernon is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States.

Geography

The neighborhood is small. It is bordered by the Woodlawn neighborhood to the north, Concordia to the east, Sabin to the south, and King on the west.

Features and Culture

Vernon is home to Alberta Park and encompasses a significant portion of the Alberta Arts District, a cultural and commercial corridor along NE Alberta Street that it shares with the King and Concordia neighborhoods. The district is known for locally owned shops, galleries, and cafes. The neighborhood vibe could be described as an "urban suburban mix" that attracts young professionals and families. The commercial activity also extends to NE Killingsworth Street.

History and Demographics

Pre-1900s: Farmland and Indigenous Land

The Portland Metro area rests on the traditional lands of numerous Indigenous peoples, including the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, and Molalla tribes, who have utilized the Columbia River region for millennia. The area that would become Vernon began as farmland in the 1880s.

Early 20th Century (1900–1940s): Development and The Albina District

• Platting and Housing (1903–1908): The Vernon area, along with adjacent subdivisions like Elberta and Lester Park, was platted between 1903 and 1908. These early developments featured traditional 40' x 100' lots and included utilitarian alleys, a feature dropped from new plats (like Alameda) after 1909 with the rise of the automobile.
• Vernon School (1908–1932): The original Vernon School, a center of early neighborhood life, opened in September 1908 on the block bounded by NE 22nd and NE 23rd, between Going and Wygant. It operated until 1932, when it was closed and later burned down, with houses built on the former school block by the mid-1940s. The current Vernon School, located at NE 20th and Killingsworth, opened in 1932.
• Albina District: Vernon is historically part of the larger Albina district, which was the central and predominantly African-American neighborhood of Portland due to restrictive practices like redlining.
• Street Renaming (1931): The original "Vernon Avenue" was officially renamed in 1931 as part of a citywide street readdressing ordinance, though it was met with neighborhood protest.

Mid-20th Century (1940s–1990s): Demographic Shifts and Gentrification

• The Vanport Flood (1948): The catastrophic Vanport flood displaced thousands of residents, primarily African Americans, leading to significant demographic shifts in the city and impacting Vernon and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Challenging Area Perception (1970s–1990s): The Alberta area was historically perceived as "challenging" by the city, often due to crime rates related to gang activity, poverty, and the crack epidemic, as noted in the adjacent King neighborhood.
• Neighborhood Association (1974): The Vernon Neighborhood Association (VNA) was formed in 1974.
• Last Thursdays (1997): The "Last Thursdays" event, an arts-focused monthly gathering, started in 1997, marking a pivotal moment in the emergence of the Alberta Arts District and accelerating the process of gentrification in the area.

21st Century (2000–Present): Modern Neighborhood

• Demographics and Gentrification: The neighborhood has seen rapid change, attracting new residents, including "hipsters, working professionals, and young families". The neighborhood association has publicly acknowledged the lack of racial diversity on its board compared to the neighborhood's overall population, which in 2020 was 68% White and 17.2% Black or African American.
• Real Estate: The area features a mix of craftsman, bungalow, and ranch-style homes, with a median home value of $550,323 in 2020.

According to the 2020 Census data (and 2017-2021 ACS estimates):

• Total Population: 2,969.
• Racial Demographics (alone or in combination): 68% White, 17.2% Black or African American, 8.2% Some other race, 4.7% Asian, 2.0% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.8% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): 8.4%.
• Socioeconomics (2020): The median household income was $110,000. The median home value of owner-occupied homes was $550,323, with a homeownership rate of 67%.

Urban Forest

Based on the 2015 Street Tree Inventory Report, the neighborhood’s urban forest is characterized by a low stocking level and a lack of diversity, which increases its vulnerability to pests and disease.

• Tree Canopy: Vernon's tree canopy cover is estimated at 22% of the neighborhood's area.
• Stocking Level: The street tree stocking level (the number of existing trees compared to the number of available planting sites) is only 61%, meaning nearly half of the available spaces are empty.
• Tree Diversity: The street tree population is over-represented by maples (Acer) and trees from the Rosaceae family (such as plums and cherries).
• Planting Sites: A significant challenge to increasing the canopy is that most available planting sites (84%) are classified as small or medium, limiting the long-term growth and benefits of new trees. The report recommends planting large-form, diverse species, such as deciduous oaks (Quercus spp.), in the few available large sites to maximize environmental benefits.

External links

• Media related to Vernon, Portland, Oregon at Wikimedia Commons
• Vernon neighborhood bylaws
• Vernon Street Tree Inventory Report