GLENFAIR · PORTLAND

Glenfair

East Portland Coalition of Neighborhoods

1 spot to discover in this neighborhood 5,000 residents · 1.4 sq mi

“Portland's most Latino neighborhood — multicultural, MAX-connected, and community-first on the Gresham line.”

LIVE ACTIVITY

Avg Rating

3.4

Average across 1 businesses

Reviews

166

Across 1 businesses

Open Now

1 Live

Right now

Top Categories

Gas 1

NEIGHBORHOOD IDENTITY

What Glenfair Is Known For

“Portland's most Latino neighborhood — multicultural, MAX-connected, and community-first on the Gresham line.”

— Glenfair, Portland

About

Glenfair

Glenfair occupies a narrow strip of East Portland between NE Glisan Street and SE Stark Street, from 148th Avenue east to 161st — right on the Gresham city line. The neighborhood was formed in 1996 when the Portland Planning Bureau proposed rezoning the area for high-density housing within a quarter mile of the MAX light rail; residents organized and founded the Glenfair Neighborhood Association to push back, protect the area's single-family character, and gain official City recognition. Today MAX serves as the neighborhood's spine, with stops on E Burnside and NE Glisan giving residents a direct connection to downtown without a car.

Glenfair is one of Portland's most culturally distinct outer-east communities: census data shows it has the largest Hispanic population of any Portland neighborhood, at roughly 31% of residents. The neighborhood is also home to a significant Slavic community. Community anchors include Glenfair Elementary School — which hosts a food pantry, family health fairs, and weatherization workshops — and the Glenfair Community Garden on 143rd Avenue and E Burnside. Every August, the Glenfair Neighborhood Association hosts its National Night Out block party at Glenfair Park, drawing hundreds of neighbors to an event that reflects the hood's multicultural makeup.

Boundaries: NE/SE 148th Ave (west), NE/SE 161st St (east), NE Glisan St (north), SE Stark St (south). Adjacent: Wilkes (north), Centennial (south), Hazelwood (west), Gresham (east).

Neighborhood Association

The Vibe

What Glenfair Feels Like

Dense, diverse, transit-connected neighborhood

Glenfair is a compact, densely populated neighborhood with a diverse, working-class community and a high proportion of apartment housing. It has a busy, everyday feel, shaped by nearby commercial corridors and transit connections.

The neighborhood's character is defined by its multicultural population and its position along major east-side routes rather than by a quaint commercial center.

History

How Glenfair Came To Be

Glenfair is a small neighborhood in far East Portland, set among the dense network of residential streets and apartment complexes near the city's eastern boundary with Gresham. Like its neighbors east of 82nd Avenue, Glenfair was part of unincorporated Multnomah County for much of its history and was annexed into Portland during the large-scale annexations of the 1980s and 1990s.

The area grew quickly in the later twentieth century, with much of its housing built as multifamily complexes and modest single-family homes during periods of rapid suburban expansion. As with much of east Portland, the neighborhood was developed before the city's infrastructure investments caught up, leaving a legacy of work to add sidewalks, parks, and other amenities.

Glenfair is a notably diverse and densely populated community, home to a wide range of immigrant and working-class families, and it sits near the MAX light rail line that connects east Portland to the rest of the region.

Character