Laurelhurst is a historic neighborhood whose curvy streets are lined with trees. If you don˙t know this neighborhood well, it˙s easy to get turned around. The original sales office, once located in the traffice roundabout at 39th and Glisan, tauted Laurelhurst as ´an upscale neighborhoodˇ. By 1935 all but 10 percent of the vacant land in Laurelhurst had been developed. Things have not changed much today. Homes in Laurelhurst tend to be on the more expensive side for an eastside neighborhood. Current inventory consists of homes ranging from $299,950 to 2,800,000.
This desirable close-in eastside neighborhood is about a 10 minute commute to downtown Portland. The bungalow is the most prodominant style of home in Laurelhurst but ranges to stately mansions. The original sales office has long been replaced by a Statute of Joan of Arc as a memorial to WWI soldiers. This statute has been recently restored to it˙s original shiny gold. I have heard that on a clear day in Portland, this statute is visible when traveling by air.
Unlike it˙s more commercial neighbors such as Hawthorne and Hollywood, Laurelhurst is mostly residential with one of it˙s highlights being a 35 acre park. The park is full of trees and has a great duck pond, basketball and volleyball courts, tennis courts, a horseshoe pit and picnic table. However, Laurelhurst is convient to popular restaurants and shops on Burnside and 28th, inclduing the famous Laurelhurst theater, as well as Belmont and Hawthorne.
