Alameda is a neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, United States that is located on the Alameda Ridge with views of Downtown, the Willamette River, and the Cascades. Northeast Fremont Street is the neighborhood's main east-west thoroughfare and NE 33rd, its main north-south thoroughfare, makes up its eastern boundary. The neighborhood is adjacent to Wilshire Park, a 14.4-acre (58,000 m2) neighborhood park. The community's side streets wind around the hill, past cottages and expansive Craftsman homes. Alameda is located between the business districts of Beaumont Village and the Hollywood District. Locals informally refer to the neighborhood as the Yarn District for its abundance of yarn-based hobbyists.
The Alameda neighborhood was established on the 1859 land claim of William C. Bowering and his wife, Isabelle. The area became known as Gravelly Hill Road for a gravel pit at NE 33rd and Fremont. In 1909, the Alameda Land Company laid out the Alameda Park subdivision that was then annexed to the city of Portland. The development advertised an extremely broad exclusion in its printed brochure, declaring "no people of undesirable colors and kinds."The name comes from the Spanish word "alamo," meaning a poplar or cottonwood tree. "Alameda" means, precisely, a public walk or promenade lined with poplar trees, and, by extension, a street lined with trees, like the English word "parkway."
Alameda Elementary School of the Portland Public Schools district is located in the neighborhood, as is The Madeleine School, a Catholic K-8 school.
There is also an Alameda Street in the neighborhood, which is the subject of the Elliott Smith song "Alameda" on his Either/Or album. However, the Alameda Street that Smith mentions in his song could also be the street of the same name in Los Angeles.
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