BROOKLYN · PORTLAND

Brooklyn

Southeast Uplift

134 spots to discover in this neighborhood 3,488 residents · 0.9 sq mi · Founded 1851

“Quietly connected. One of Portland's oldest eastside neighborhoods.”

~3,847 residents · SE Uplift District 3 · MAX Orange Line at SE 17th & Holgate (Stop 13715). TriMet bus on Powell + Milwaukie corridors. Bike-only river access via Tilikum Crossing + Springwater Corridor.

Underrated
Quietly connected
Strong community feel
Industrial edges meet residential streets
One of Portland's oldest eastside neighborhoods

LIVE ACTIVITY

Avg Rating

4.6

Average across 134 businesses

Reviews

25,391

Across 134 businesses

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35 Live

Right now

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Shops 31
Food 22
Health 15

NEIGHBORHOOD IDENTITY

What Brooklyn Is Known For

“Quietly connected. One of Portland's oldest eastside neighborhoods.”

Morning local

Visitor evening

Engaged resident

SE Powell × Milwaukie Town Square

SE Powell × SE Milwaukie Ave

The Original

3560-3608 SE Powell Blvd

Iron Fireman Collective

4784 SE 17th Ave

“Quietly connected. One of Portland's oldest eastside neighborhoods.”

— Brooklyn, Portland

About

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is one of Portland's oldest neighborhoods, settled in 1851 by Giddeon Tibbets, who originally christened the area "Brookland" for the network of streams, creeks, and lakes crossing his land along the east bank of the Willamette River. When Tibbets subdivided his property in 1868 and granted the Oregon Central Railroad right-of-way through it, settlers poured in — and the name softened into "Brooklyn." The rail line that put the neighborhood on the map also defined its character for the next century: by the early 1900s, Brooklyn was a working-class district of German-American shopkeepers, modest single-family homes, and a thriving town square at SE Powell Blvd and Milwaukie Ave.

The 20th century rewrote Brooklyn twice. The 1920s construction of the Ross Island Bridge erased the original town square, and the postwar arrival of McLoughlin Boulevard severed the neighborhood from its Willamette waterfront. The Brooklyn Yard — built up by Southern Pacific and home to the famed SP 4449 steam locomotive — anchored the western edge well into the modern era; the historic 1941 Brooklyn Roundhouse stood until Union Pacific demolished it in September 2012, though its turntable was salvaged for the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. In 1962, residents organized the Brooklyn Action Corps to push back against mid-century decline, and the BAC remains the official neighborhood association today.

Today's Brooklyn is a quietly dynamic SE Portland neighborhood: single-family Victorians and bungalows from the 1890s–1920s sit a block away from the 620-seat Aladdin Theater (a 1927 vaudeville house turned premier indie music venue), the steel-framed Italian Renaissance Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1893), and the 24-hour Original Hotcake House — a Powell Blvd diner serving since 1935. The MAX Orange Line, opened in 2015, gave the neighborhood two new light rail stations and reconnected it to downtown Portland and Milwaukie. With a Walk Score of 82, a Bike Score of 95, and one of the most distinctive industrial-meets-residential textures in the city, Brooklyn punches well above its 0.9-square-mile footprint.

Boundaries: Bordered by SE Powell Blvd to the north, SE Holgate Blvd / Union Pacific railroad tracks to the south, SE 26th Avenue to the east, and the Willamette River (with SE McLoughlin Blvd / SE 99E as the practical western edge) to the west. Adjacent to Hosford-Abernethy (north), Creston-Kenilworth (east), Reed and Sellwood-Moreland (south).

Neighborhood Association

Quick Stats

Walk Score 82/100

Very Walkable

Bike Score 95/100

Biker's Paradise

Transit Score 56/100

Good Transit

Scores from Walk Score® — a 0–100 walkability / bikeability / transit index.

Population: 3,488
Area: 0.9 sq mi
Founded: 1851
Median Home Price: $531,000
Median Income: $100,353

134

Businesses

45%

Verified

3.4

Avg Rating

Services

Top Category

Categories in Brooklyn

Services

44 Health

14 business

13 Auto

10 Bars

8 Community Resource

7 Restaurants

7 Retail

Services 44 Health 14 business 13 Auto 10 Bars 8 Community Resource 7 Restaurants 7 Retail 6 Arts 5 Education 4 Hotels 3 Finance 3 Coffee 2 Community 2 Bakeries 2 Beauty 2 community_resource 1 Grocery 1

Landmarks

Notable Places in Brooklyn

Aladdin Theater

3017 SE Milwaukie Ave

620-seat 1927 vaudeville house, now Portland's premier mid-size live music venue.

Brooklyn Yard

Western edge

Active Union Pacific freight yard; historic SP 4449 was housed here for decades.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

3910 SE 11th Ave

Italian Renaissance Revival church (1893), one of the first U.S. churches built with steel-frame construction.

Original Hotcake House

1002 SE Powell Blvd

24-hour diner, neighborhood mainstay since 1935.

Brooklyn Park

SE Milwaukie Ave & SE Center St

Neighborhood park with playground and open lawn.

Powell Park

SE 22nd Ave & Powell Blvd

Park along Powell Blvd at the neighborhood's northern edge.

Sacred Heart Villa

3925 SE Milwaukie Ave

Adjacent parish hall; home of Brooklyn Action Corps meetings.

Brooklyn Pump Station

Industrial landmark

Historic Portland Bureau of Environmental Services facility.

Johan Poulsen House

Brooklyn neighborhood

1891 lumber-baron mansion on the National Register.

TriMet Center Street Operations HQ

SE 17th Ave

Major TriMet bus operations facility.

Brooklyn School Park

3830 SE 14th Ave

Adjacent green space at Winterhaven K-8.

Ross Island Natural Area

Willamette riverfront

Riverfront natural area on the Willamette.

Getting Around

Brooklyn

MAX / Light Rail

MAX Orange Line

SE 17th & Holgate Station
SE 17th & Rhine Station

Bus Lines

9 Powell Blvd (northern edge)
17 Holgate / Broadway (southern edge)
19 Woodstock / Glisan (along Milwaukie Ave, neighborhood spine)
70 12th/NE 33rd Ave (north-south on SE 11th/12th)
291 Orange Line Shuttle (peak service connector)

Schools

Winterhaven K-8

3830 SE 14th Ave

Portland Public Schools STEAM focus-option magnet, ~315 students, K-8 grades. Built 1930.
Cleveland High School

SE 26th & Powell

Portland Public Schools 9-12 (serves the neighborhood, just outside Brooklyn proper).

Anchor Hubs

Three commercial cores that organize Brooklyn's business life.

SE Powell × Milwaukie Town Square

SE Powell × SE Milwaukie Ave

Brooklyn's commercial heart — historic Aladdin Theater, dining, coffee, retail.

6 tenants

The Original

3560-3608 SE Powell Blvd

2020-22 mixed-use redevelopment with grocery, fitness, food carts.

5 tenants

Iron Fireman Collective

4784 SE 17th Ave

144,000 sq ft maker campus across two historic buildings (1920/1972). Brewery + makers + offices.

3 tenants

Clinton Triangle

1490 SE Gideon St, Portland, OR 97202

Industrial parcel adjacent to Brooklyn at the SE Gideon / SE Powell / SE Milwaukie wedge. Site of the city-contracted Temporary Alternative Shelter Site, operated by Urban Alchemy. Subject to ongoing oversight by the Brooklyn Action Corps Gideon Shelter Working Group (cross-org with HAND + CEIC).

1 tenant

Urban Alchemy Education

Explore

Discovery Paths

Three ways to experience Brooklyn.

Morning local

1 Rose City Coffee
2 TomCat Bikes
3 Springwater path

Visitor evening

1 Iron Fireman tour
2 Ruse Brewing
3 Aladdin show

Engaged resident

1 BAC meeting at Sacred Heart Villa
2 Tool Library
3 Powell Park

Civic Infrastructure

The associations, meetings and shared resources that hold Brooklyn together.

Next public meeting

BAC Board Meeting

Wed May 13, 2026 · 6:30 PM

Sacred Heart Villa, 3925 SE Milwaukie Ave

BAC General Meeting · May 27
BAC Annual Meeting (Elections) · May 27
Brooklyn Yard Sale (Neighborhood-wide) · Jun 27

Active associations

Urban Alchemy operator

Operates the Clinton Triangle / Gideon Shelter parcel at 1490 SE Gideon St — industrial wedge between SE Powell Blvd, SE Milwaukie Ave, and SE Gideon St, immediately adjacent to (but technically outside) the Brooklyn Action Corps core boundary.

Visit
Brooklyn Action Corps (BAC) neighborhood assn

PO Box 42341 (mailing); meetings at Sacred Heart Villa, 3925 SE Milwaukie Ave

Visit
Brooklyn Business Association (BBA) business assn

Service area: W: Willamette River & McLoughlin Blvd | N: SE Powell Blvd | E: SE 28th Ave | S: Steele St

Visit
Greater Brooklyn Business Association (GBBA) business assn

Service area ~1.5 sq mi: W: Willamette River | N: SE Brooklyn St/Powell | E: SE 39th Ave | S: Steele St

Visit
SE Uplift (District Coalition) district coalition

3534 SE Main St

Visit

Nearest library: Sellwood-Moreland Library (sister neighborhood)

Businesses in Brooklyn

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SponsoredBamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille — Authentic Hawaiian Plates in South Portland

All clusters Town Square (9) The Original (3) Iron Fireman (2) Powell Auto Belt (10) Industrial/Maker (1) Food & Bev (21) Family Services (22) Hidden Gems (7)

Boundary BAC core Greater Brooklyn

All Open now (35)

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Community Sponsors

Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille — Authentic Hawaiian Plates in South Portland

EVENTS

Upcoming in Brooklyn

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May 9

Live Music: Local Bands at Hopworks

Hopworks Brewery, 2944 SE Powell Blvd

Community

May 10

Ground Breaker Barrel Release: Sour Series

Ground Breaker Brewing, 2030 SE 7th Ave

Community

May 10

Pint Night: Ruse Mixed Culture Series Release

Ruse Brewing, 4784 SE 17th Ave

Community

Business Associations in Brooklyn

Browse all

BBA

Serving businesses in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Inner Southeast Portland.

PMC

2,200 members

The Portland Metro Chamber of Commerce represents over 2,200 member businesses across the greater Portland metro area.

Brooklyn in Photos

Aladdin Theater (2013) — 620-seat 1927 vaudeville house, now a premier indie music venue.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Aladdin Theater exterior on SE Milwaukie Avenue.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

MAX Orange Line train passing TriMet's Center Street Operations HQ on SE 17th Ave (2019).

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Brooklyn Intermodal Rail Yard (2019) — the active Union Pacific freight yard at the neighborhood's western edge.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Brooklyn Intermodal Rail Yard, second view (2019).

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Brooklyn Intermodal Rail Yard, third view (2019).

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Rails at SE Holgate (2016) — the southern boundary of the Brooklyn neighborhood.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Businesses in Brooklyn

Showing 1–24 of 134 businesses in Brooklyn

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Rose City Bakery

Coffee·Brooklyn· 4.7 (1,036)

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Brooklyn

What Brooklyn Is Known For

Brooklyn

Categories in Brooklyn