Mt. Tabor

The Mt Tabor neighborhood gets its name from the 600’ extinct cinder cone volcano, at the top of Mt Tabor Park. Although the land was acquired by the city in 1909, the volcanic cinders weren’t discovered until three years later and have been used on the park roads, which are closed to cars every Wednesday. At the top of the park, is a bronze statue by Gutzon Borglum, the Mt Rushmore sculptor. The park’s reservoirs, also constructed as park amenities were situated in such a way as to provide gravity fed water to the city from the Bull Run watershed as well as planned park vistas. The reservoirs have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. For a descriptive and fascinating history of the reservoirs, and the threats to their continued existence, see the Mt Tabor Neighborhood Association.

The neighborhood itself has been named one of the 30 best places to live by Men’s Journal, June 2009 issue. It was the only Oregon location to make the list. The Journal quote: “Mount Tabor is a low-key neighborhood with acres of trails at the foot of a 600-foot volcanic peak. Right next door is Hawthorne, a funky district with trendy shops, good eats, and lively nightlife. Our advice: Call Mt. Tabor home and consider Hawthorne the fun uncle”

Mt Tabor Neighborhood Boundaries

The Mount Tabor neighborhood lies between SE 49th Ave. (SE 50th Ave. south of SE Hawthorne Blvd.) on the west and SE 76th Ave. on the east, and between E Burnside St. on the north and SE Division St. on the south. It is bordered by Sunnyside and Richmond on the west, the Center Neighborhood on the north and west, Montavilla on the north and east, and South Tabor on the south.

Mount Tabor Park is the neighborhood’s principal feature. The campus of Warner Pacific College (affiliated with the Church of God (Anderson)) is located just south of the park. The neighborhood also marks the eastern end of the Hawthorne District.

Before becoming part of Portland in 1905, Mount Tabor was a rural farming community dating back to the 1850s. It became a city-recognized neighborhood (encompassing a far smaller area than its historical boundaries) in 1974.^[2] (Neighborhood description and boundaries from Wikipedia and used with permission under the Creative Commons License)

Architectural Styles of the Neighborhood

As with many of the older city neighborhoods there is a mix of styles and types of residential houses. Queen Anne Victorians, Colonials, Bungalows and Arts and Crafts homes can all be found on the quiet, tree lined streets

Restaurants and Coffee

Caldera Public House and Cooper’s Coffee, both located in the 6000 block of SE Stark are popular with neighbors as well as visitors from other parts of the city. Pizza, Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Tea shops and numerous locally owned entities are easily found in this walkable and close in neighborh