Category Archives: Neighborhood

Hollywood Library will close July 22 for important updates as part of Refresh projects

Posted on by

Hollywood Library will close July 22 for important updates as part of Refresh projects

Library will receive new furniture, updated kids’ area from this work

Hollywood Library will close to the public starting July 22 to start on a series of bond-funded improvements. Hollywood’s last day open to the public before construction is July 21. Project teams expect the work to last until winter 2025/2026.

Hollywood Library photo

Multnomah County Library is hard at work to build, expand and renovate library spaces for the public as a result of the voter-approved 2020 Library building bond. This year, the library system will see a dramatic reinvention by building and expanding five libraries and a series of Refresh projects to libraries across the system, requiring a series of temporary library closures.

The work at Hollywood Library is a continuation of the Refresh projects, providing smaller but still important upgrades to 11 libraries on a shorter schedule than some other projects. Similar refresh projects at other locations have taken about four months to complete.

New features will include:

  • Improved shelf height to increase natural light and create more space for people and better sight lines

  • An inviting children’s area with new, movable furniture

  • New reading room chairs (both with and without arms)

  • A Tech Bar which provides an area for patrons to use the copy machine, scanner and computers

  • New meeting room tables and chairs that are easily movable to allow for a flexible space

  • Automated materials handling to increase the efficiency of checking in and sorting holds, freeing up staff time for other work and getting materials to patrons faster

  • Fresh paint and new carpet for an updated, inviting experience

  • New artwork

  • Refreshed restrooms

  • New LED lighting throughout the building

The community is invited to use alternate locations while Hollywood is closed:

Albina Library: 205 NE Russell Street, Portland, OR 97212 (opening July 19, 2025)

Gregory Heights Library: 7921 NE Sandy Boulevard, Portland, OR 97213

Hawthorne Holds Pickup: 3557 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97214

 

For help using the library, please contact us. The library routinely posts closure or schedule change notices at library hours and locations.

Share it!

Sponsor a Rose City Park sign topper on your block! Plus, you can buy one for your home!

Posted on by

The Rose City Park Neighborhood Association is pleased to offer sign toppers again to neighbors for the first time since 2007! Our goal is to blanket the streets to help identify our neighborhood, build some civic pride, and help beautify our community. The neighborhood association has already dedicated some funds to get this work started. Now, we need your help to sponsor a sign for the many blocks in Rose City Park.
Sponsor a Sign On Your Block
You can have a sign installed on your neighborhood street!
  • To have a sign installed on your street, make a donation of $100 to the RCPNA. This will cover the cost of sign production and installation, which must be done by the city.
  • The installation will be coordinated by the neighborhood with PBOT.
Buy One For Home
You can also purchase a sign and have it delivered to your door. Put a sign up in your basement, garage, bedroom — your front lawn, anywhere! A donation of $100 will help with production costs and help offset the cost of installation of the remaining signs throughout the neighborhood.
Business Sponsorships
We are always looking for ways to mutually support our Rose City Park neighborhood businesses. A business donation can help offset our production and installation costs so we can stretch our dollars as far as possible. Consider sharing this opportunity with your Rose City business network. Those who donate will get a sign topper to proudly display!
How to Sponsor
Sponsor a sign using the RCPNA Venmo account below. Or, you can purchase by mailing a check to the RCPNA Treasurer at RCPNA ℅ Crockett, 2214 NE 51st Avenue, Portland, OR 97213. Make checks payable to RCPNA.
  • If you are sponsoring a sign for your block, please enter the cross streets where you want the sign (“NE 55th and Tillamook”) in the purchase notes.
  • If you want a sign for home, please note your home address where we can deliver the sign.
We are expecting sign production to take 2-3 months as we accrue enough funds for a bulk purchase. Installation by PBOT is also expected to take an additional 2-3 months, depending on workload. We are working to try and combine these installations with other work PBOT has planned in the neighborhood to reduce costs.
Questions
If you have questions, please contact Victor Sanders at victor.cmyk@gmail.com.

How to Purchase
Submit payment via Venmo (@RCPNA or scan the QR code), or make checks payable to RCPNA and mail to:
RCPNA ℅ Crockett, 2214 NE 51st Avenue, Portland, OR 97213

Share it!

Please join us at the next RCPNA General Meeting May 27: Vote for RCPNA board members; Halsey Street and RCP Trail updates; Ice cream social!

Posted on by

Hello Neighbors,

Please join us at the next RCPNA General Meeting on Tuesday, May 27 to vote for RCPNA board members, get an update on the Halsey Street project and the Rose City Park trail, and have some ice cream! That’s right—we’re starting with an ice cream social on the steps of the German American Society (5626 NE Alameda St) at 6:45 PM.

Come vote for the RCPNA board of directors! Here are a list of the candidates? Are you interested in serving? You can come to the meeting tonight and add your name to the candidate list! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VMZ0JyLlZRMZ8l5_99qHouf4PUx2A-B4-z_qj8BdcpU/edit?usp=sharing.

Please see the full agenda below:

  • 6:45-7:15 PM: Ice cream social
  • 7:15-7:20 PM: RCPNA elections
  • 7:20-7:45 PM: Update on Halsey Street, and neighborhood street sign toppers
  • 7:45-8:10 PM: Update on Rose City Park trail
  • 8:10-8:35 PM: Human trafficking report
  • 8:35-8-50 PM: Summer activities, committee reports

Thank you to the Hollywood Baskin Robbins for their donation and for sponsoring the ice cream social.

Thank you to our sponsor, St. Rose School.

Share it!

Community Event! Fire Station 28 Tour and Open House. April 6th, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Posted on by

Fire Station 28

Explore the history of Portland’s oldest working firehouse!

April 6. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Fire Station 28
5540 NE Sandy Blvd.

Visiting a fire station is a great way to learn more about our local, everyday heroes and to get an inside look at what being a firefighter is really like.  Join neighbors and families for an open house and tour of the historic firehouse at Sandy Blvd. at NE 56th St. Meet local firefighters, take pictures with the fire engine and look behind the scenes at what happens at the Station House!

Built in 1913, the firehouse once housed a team of horses to respond to fires and underwent extensive renovations in 2005. Be prepared: firefighters will end the event early if they receive a call for service during the scheduled tour. The event is a partnership between the Rose City Park Neighborhood Association and the Portland Fire Bureau.

For more information and to reserve your spot, visit our Eventbrite page:

Fire Station 28 Tour and Open House Tickets, Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

Email questions to Lara Serecin, RCPNA Board Member at laraserecin@gmail.com

Share it!

You are invited: Every Step Preschool open house on Tuesday, March 25, 2:30-5:30 PM

Posted on by

Announcement and invitation from Brian Butler, the Marketing Manager of Every Step Preschool (ESP).

ESP is an exciting new preschool opening in the Rose City Park neighborhood in April 2025. ESP is an inclusive learning environment where we meet children where they are.

On Tuesday, March 25th we are holding an ‘Open House’ for the preschool and would love it if you can join us.

When: Tuesday, March 25th
Time: 2:30-5:30PM
Where: Every Step Preschool
NE 52nd Ave, Portland, OR 97213

Our school is based on the ‘Reggio Emilia’ philosophy:

“A child-centered constructivist approach to early childhood education that emphasizes the child as a capable learner who actively explores and constructs their own knowledge through experience and interaction, viewing the environment as a “third teacher”.

Please visit our website for more information about the school at www.es-preschool.com. We hope to see you at Every Step Preschool on Tuesday, March 25th from 2:30-5:30pm.

 

 

Share it!

Northwest Vocal Arts presents a festive celebration of Hispanic music on March 16 in our neighborhood!

Posted on by

Northwest Vocal Arts (NWVA) – a new nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing choral community to Portland and East County and providing access and opportunity for all – is set to perform its spring concert in our neighborhood.

3 p.m. on Sunday, March 16
Rose City Park United Methodist Church
5830 NE Alameda St. in Portland

Titled Cordillera: Range of the Americas, this concert will feature the NWVA professional chamber choir and the NWVA youth choir performing works in Spanish, Latin and Quechua and celebrating the incredible variety of sounds and rhythms from the Caribbean and South America. Thanks to generous donations from the public and a substantial grant from San Francisco-based non-profit Chance to Excel, all members of the youth choir receive a full tuition scholarship.

The centerpiece of the concert will be Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez. This ground-breaking work, beloved by audiences worldwide, was composed in 1964 (with text in Spanish instead of the traditional Latin and scored for traditional instruments) and based on Argentinian folk genres such as chacarera and carnavalito. Ramírez’s most famous work, it brought the composer international recognition and is “widely regarded as a stunning artistic achievement,” according to the Washington Post. An ensemble of folk instruments led by Lewis and Clark professor Freddy Vilches will accompany the piece.

Other highlights will include works by contemporary composers such as Guido Lopez Gavilan, whose piece El Guayaboso (The Liar) is based on the guaguancó (a subgenre of Cuban rumba) and features an amazingly complex Afro-Cuban rhythm with the voices assuming the role of percussion.

Kasar mie la gaji (The Earth is Tired) is composed by Alberto Grau, who is one of the leading musical personalities in the history of contemporary Venezuelan music. Grau has written this piece to call attention to the ways human activity affects our planet. This moving work features a variety of vocal techniques and body percussion to express its message.

Hanacpachap cussicuinin, by Juan Perez de Bocanegra, is a processional hymn to the Virgin Mary in the Quechua language. Published in 1631, it is the earliest work of vocal polyphony printed in the western hemisphere.

General admission tickets are $30 ($15 for students) and can be purchased at nwvocalarts.org/tickets

We are also proud to have received event sponsorship from Portland Children’s Levy for this concert.

About Northwest Vocal Arts
Northwest Vocal Arts is a non-profit organization based in Portland, Ore., that strives to foster human connection, inspire the next generation of professional and amateur musicians, and positively impact individuals and audiences in the Pacific Northwest and beyond through the universal language of vocal music and innovative community-focused initiatives.

NWVA currently has two ensembles – a professional chamber choir featuring some of the region’s finest vocal musicians, and a youth choir that is open to high school students of all ages.

Thanks to generous donors, every member of our youth choir is provided with a 100% tuition scholarship, regardless of prior experience and without an audition.

With this groundbreaking approach, NWVA removes a significant barrier of entry for young singers and their families.

Learn more at www.nwvocalarts.org.

Artistic Team and Leadership
Portland native Samuel Barbara is Northwest Vocal Arts’ founder and executive artistic director. He has a doctorate in choral music from the University of Southern California and is currently Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus. He previously served as Director of Choral Activities at Westminster College and as Director of Choirs at Cleveland High School in Portland, where his choirs won the 5A Oregon State choir championships three times.

Karen Bohart directs the NWVA Youth Choir. She is Director of Choirs at Wilsonville High School and is past-President of the Oregon American Choral Director Association (ACDA). She has served on the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) Board and previously served on the Oregon ACDA Board as the Treble Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair.

Share it!