A distinctive PDX 'hood

The Ladd Addition is an older Portland neighborhood in the near southeast part of the city. I have always been interested in it because of its unique geography. Whereas most of the streets in east Portland run in a N-S E-W grid, the streets in the Ladd Addition run northeast-southwest...southeast-northwest...and north-south. The neighborhood really stands out on a city map or on Google Earth. As a pup the Old Sloat had a habit of gazing at the Portland map, finding such neighborhoods, and at first navigating my dad to drive there to see what it looked like, and later to ride my bike into the 'hood. The Ladd Addition has one large circular park in a roundabout, and four tidy diamond shaped parks filled with roses. It's all neat and tidy, though without a map it's easy for a newcomer to get lost in the maze of streets.

The architecture in Ladd is eclectic. There are fine craftsman homes as well as mediterranean bungalows. There is one big mansion with Ionic columns...did old man Ladd live there? It's leafy, green, and quiet, and it appears that the residents take pride in their neighborhood...it's quite well maintained.

I don't know much about the history of the area, but it appears that most of the sidewalks were laid in 1907, so many of the homes are probably about a century old. If you look closely, you can spot a few horse rings on the curbs...used to "park" our equine friends in the old days.