Won't You Tell Me How to Get to CENTER? Ride The Train on the G Line

The CENTER neighborhood is located in the central part of Portland's inner eastside. Center is bounded on the west by 44th Avenue and on the east by 68th and 69th Avenues. The southern edge of CENTER is Burnside Street, Except in the area between 44th and 49th Avenues where the neighborhood extends south to Stark Street. The Banfield Expressway (I-84) creates the northern boundary of the neighborhood.

Development in CENTER had its beginnings in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The area was originally considered part of north Mount Tabor, and was predominatley farmland. Development was facilitated by the construction of the Mount Tabor Villa, now Montavilla streetcar line. This line, which ran along Glisan from about NE 28th to east of NE 82nd, was originally developed in 1892. Early development in the area centered along the streetcar line.





The Glisan Street Line ("G" Line) began in 1883 as the first Transcontinental St. Ry. horsecar line. City & Suburban ry. electrified the G Line in 1892. By 1900 it had been combined with the Montgomery St. Line to form the M-G Line. PRL&P merged part of this route with the S (Savier) Line, (which itself would soon become the North and South Portland Line) and the remaining portion had been tacked onto the Mount Tabor Line by 1908. Thus this former horsecar line didn't survive long into the PRL&P era.

The Montavilla Line's downtown loop utilized a portion of two Transcontinental St. Ry. horsecar lines (1883). The route across the Morrison Bridge was also originally a horsecar run, Willamette Bridge Ry.'s pioneering East SideLine. The portion of MV to 28th opened in 1892 as City & Suburban's East Ankeny trolley. The remaining portion of the line, to North Mount Tabor, was built for the Portland & Fairview Ry. During the 1890's cars alternated between East Ankeny and Montavilla destinations. By 1899, when C&S acquired ownership of the both lines, the community of Mount Tabor Villa, and the line it served, had adopted the name "Mountavilla," a contraction that had first appeared on roll signs. An addition was added in 1911 to the Mt. Hood Ry. station at 91st off Glisan. In 1913 East Ankeny was discontinued as a separate line. MV was converted to gas bus in 1948.