Old Town Chinatown is the official Chinatown of the northwest section of Portland, Oregon. The Willamette River forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District and the Kerns and Buckman neighborhoods. It includes the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been referred to as the "skid row" of Portland.In the Northwest section, NW Broadway forms the western boundary, separating it from the Pearl District, and W Burnside Street forms the southern boundary, separating it from Downtown Portland. In the Southwest section, the neighborhood extends from SW 3rd Avenue east to the river and from SW Stark Street north to W Burnside Street (with the exception of areas south of SW Pine Street and west of SW 2nd Avenue, and south of SW Oak Street and west of SW 1st Avenue, which are part of Downtown).
Despite the name, most Chinese-Americans and Chinese immigrants had already moved out of the area by the time the city officially reworked it as an official Chinatown in the 1980s; the increase in property values following the renovations drove out many of the remaining Chinese immigrants, with a section of NE 82nd Avenue in East Portland becoming the new unofficial Chinatown. Old Town is well known as the primary homeless district of Portland. The Oregonian reports homelessness, open drug use, crime, and the perception of danger and dirtiness that accompanies them were deterring factors to development. One prominent developer told the newspaper "transient activity" is "perhaps the foremost deterrent" to developing in this neighborhood.
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