OurLaurelhurst.org is a community resource for the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Content on this site is user-contributed and does not represent an official communication of the Laurelhurst Neigborhood Association (that's what http://www.laurelhurstpdx.com is for).

From Our Laurelhurst Wiki

Contents 1 Overview 2 Misspellings 2.1 Gleason 2.2 Pacfic 3 Old Directional Systems 4 Old Street Names 4.1 Buena Vista Avenue 4.2 Coloncy Place 5 Stamps to Find

[edit] Overview

In Laurelhurst (as is common in Portland in general), most street names are stamped into the sidewalk, either on the curb, or in the sidewalk proper. Also, the contractor that poured the sidewalk also stamped in their seal typically including the date the sidewalk was poured.

Here are some stamps of note, and why they are interesting.

[edit] Misspellings

[edit] Gleason

This stamp, found at the corner of NE Glisan Street and NE 32nd Street shows Glisan spelled as "Gleason". This is not the name of the street (at least dating well before this section of sidewalk was poured), nor the spelling of the name of the person that this street was named after (Dr. Rodney Glisan).

This spelling can be found on all four corners of this intersection.

[edit] Pacfic

Another misspelling can be found on all four corners of the intersection of NE Pacific Street and NE Peerless Place. Here, the name "Pacific" seems to have poked an "i" out.

[edit] Old Directional Systems

This stamp, which sits on the corner of NE 33rd Street and probably NE Irving Street, shows an older way of referencing streets in Portland that is no longer used. Rather than "Northeast 33rd Street" the format shown below is "East 33rd Street North".

[edit] Old Street Names

[edit] Buena Vista Avenue

What was once called Buena Vista Avenue is now the upper portion of NE Peerless Place that runs between NE Hazelfern Place and NE Royal Court. There are several stamps along this street that still bear its original name.

[edit] Coloncy Place

Coloncy Place once ran the short distance between NE Royal Court and NE Laddington Court. It has now been subsumed (rather awkwardly) into NE Peerless Place. The image below is the only remaining indication that Peerless was not the street's original name.

[edit] Stamps to Find

There are several other street renamings that have gone on during Laurelhurst, notably being the change of NE Everett Street to NE Flanders Street and the renaming of both of Laurelhurst's alleys. There are probably other interesting naming formats and misspellings to be found as well.

Happy hunting!