Welcome to Willamette

February 7th, 2007

NOTE: This is the first in a series (hopefully) of community profiles I’ll be writing to give readers a taste of some local Portland-area neighborhoods.

If you’ve ever driven south along Interstate 205 past the 10th Street exit (between Oregon City and the Interstate 5 junction in Tualatin), and wondered about that little sliver of land between the highway and the Willamette River, you’ve just whipped past Willamette.

Hemmed in by the Willamette River to the south and bordered to the north by I-205 and west by the Tualatin River (map), the small neighborhood was originally called “Robins Nest” and was formed to house workers employed in the mills along the roaring Willamette Falls. The village merged with the city of West Linn in 1916.

Willamette is also the confluence point for the lazy Tualatin River and the Willamette River, providing the gateway to Pete’s Mountain and the Stafford hamlet. And, despite its proximity to the Interstate and to the cities of West Linn and Oregon City, Willamette retains its small-town feel.

Homes
Active home listings in Willamette (of February 7, 2007’s 26 listings) range from $229,000 for a 2-bed, 1-bath home up to $675,000 for 4-bed, 2-1/2 bath riverfront property. A few new townhomes are available in the $290,000 range.

Willamette’s popular historic district on the south side of Willamette Falls Drive (the main thoroughfare in town) is a showplace of Queen Anne Victorian homes built around the turn of the century.

North of Willamette Falls Drive, you’ll encounter a wide variety of home eras and styles, including some newer, high-end homes. The west end of town is gearing up for new development, with a manufactured-home park soon closing, and a woodsy lot along Dollar St. staked out for surveying.

Commerce
Willamette’s small but healthy commercial district runs along Willamette Falls Drive for about six blocks, featuring charming turn-of-the-century storefronts. Businesses include several restaurants, lawyers, a pet adoption clinic, team sports apparel, an eco-friendly clothing retailer, a couple gas stations–even a ubiquitous McMenamins pub (not to mention my favorite real estate agency ) Looking for an early morning buzz? Visit with the effervescent proprietors of the Willamette Coffee House for highly caffeinated chatter and drinks.

Parks and attractions
The district features 3 parks, all with river frontage. First, there’s the boat ramp and multi-purpose Willamette Park at the mouth of the Tualatin River on 12th Street, plus the hard-to-find Swiftshore Park on the Tualatin, and finally the new Field Bridge park, complete with basketball court, walking trail, play structure, and two ballfields.

Activities
Summer finds the streets teeming with ski- and wakeboard boats heading to the popular river landing at Willamette Park. And the Farmer’s Market (May through September) on Willamette Falls Dr. has been a popular event over the past two years. Willamette’s Old-Time Fair and parade also takes place in July, featuring home-spun ‘floats’ and lots of candy tossed to onlookers.

Technorati Tags: Willamette, Oregon, West Linn, town, city, real estate, homes

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Entry Filed under: Communities