City Cast Portland logo

Get to Know Sellwood-Moreland

Posted on January 11, 2023   |   Updated on September 30, 2025
Giulia Fiaoni

Giulia Fiaoni

Sellwood Riverfront Park is a 7.6-acre dog-friendly park bordering the Willamette River with walking paths, boat docks, and picnic tables. (Giulia Fiaoni/City Cast Portland)

Sellwood Riverfront Park is a 7.6-acre dog-friendly park bordering the Willamette River with walking paths, boat docks, and picnic tables. (Giulia Fiaoni/City Cast Portland)

Sellwood-Moreland is known as one of the most family-friendly and walkable neighborhoods in the city — and is home to one of the oldest, continually operating amusement parks in the country, Oaks Park.

(Technically the area is two neighborhoods isolated away from the rest of Portland by 99/SE McLoughlin, with Milwaukie to the south and Brooklyn to the north. Often overlooked, the business districts of SE Milwaukie and SE Bybee are technically West Moreland. But for the most part, they function together, including in their neighborhood association.)

The area was built on the land of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes, but was named after an early English settler — an Episcopal minister named John Sellwood — who claimed the land in the 1800s as an independent, rival city to neighboring Portland.

The sun shone on Southeast 13th Avenue, outside of Grand Central Bakery. (Giulia Fiaoni/City Cast Portland)

The sun shone on Southeast 13th Avenue, outside of Grand Central Bakery. (Giulia Fiaoni/City Cast Portland)

Where to Eat & Drink

The Meddling Lime is a top-rated food cart offering Mexican-inspired fare using traditional Pacific Northwest ingredients and flavors. Tacos range from al pastor to fried chicken, to beet and avocado. The Bible Club is a pre-Prohibition-era-themed speakeasy located inside a home built in 1922 and filled with antiques. Their website reads “PRAISE THE LORD & PASS THE BOOZE.” 

Where to Shop

Sellwood-Moreland is known for its antique shops. Stars Antiques Mall has over 75 dealers. R. Spencer Antiques Inc. has been around since 1967 and features items spanning centuries of world history. Wallace Books is a long-standing independent bookstore located in a 1930s house in the heart of Sellwood-Moreland featuring new, used, and vintage books on floor-to-ceiling shelves. 

Where to Go


Moreland Theater is a single-screen 675-seat cinema built in 1926 offering showings for $8 a person before 6 pm. Cloud Cap Games is a cozy board game, puzzle, and card game shop where you can try out games in-store or rent them for at-home play. They also have gaming events to join throughout the year.

Share article

Hey Portland

Stay connected to City Cast Portland and get ready to join the local conversation.

Can't subscribe? Turn off your ad blocker and try again.
Advertisement image

Neighborhood Guides

See All
Neighborhood GuidesFebruary 3

Your Guide to Oregon City

To Portland, Oregon City may be just a small suburb. (If you don’t even really know where it is, take 99 south past the Goodwill Bins and...

Pink, purple and yellow sunset views of the Willamette River at Willamette Falls
Neighborhood GuidesJanuary 21

Get To Know South Burlingame

Portland's South Burlingame neighborhood is small, but mighty. From lively cemeteries to neighborhood gems, here's everything you need to...

View of autumn trees at a cemetery.
Neighborhood GuidesDecember 8, 2025

Your Guide to an East Portland Neighborhood You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Maybe you’ve never heard of the East Portland neighborhood Russell. But now you have: It’s an affordable, safe, and largely residential n...

trees line a paved path
Neighborhood GuidesNovember 10, 2025

The Neighborhood Hotspots in Family-Friendly West- and Eastmoreland

The charm of the Eastmoreland and Westmoreland neighborhoods is how great they are for the families that live there. Willamette Week’s ar...

people at tables at Monty's Red Sauce, Portland, Oregon
Neighborhood GuidesOctober 20, 2025

Your Guide to Hood River's Fruit Loop

Out near Hood River there’s a cluster of orchards and wineries along a 35-mile stretch of country roads. The area now goes by the attenti...

flowers in the foreground, Mount Hood in the background
Neighborhood GuidesSeptember 10, 2025

The Portland Neighborhood for Living in the Woods

Arnold Creek is a Portland neighborhood that you may never have heard of — maybe because it’s just barely inside city limits in Southwest...

map of Arnold Creek neighborhood. With Tryon Creek at the eastern edge.
Neighborhood GuidesAugust 14, 2025

Sunnyside Has Nickel Arcade Games and Peacock Lane

Sunnyside is a classic inner eastside neighborhood, with tree-lined streets. It’s walkable and bikeable. There’s Southeast Hawthorne for...

a Victorian house at night with red light in the top windows, Foxtrot, Portland, Oregon
Neighborhood GuidesJuly 21, 2025

Finding Old Portland in Foster-Powell's Back Alleys

Foster-Powell has the charms of Old Portland, with a maze of alleys where neighbors hang out. “I like the alleys; I think they're special...

pink tree in bloom on a back alley, Foster-Powell, Portland, Oregon

The latest in Portland

Food & DrinkApril 7

Where To Find the Best Deals for Portland Groceries

For the last year, Stumptown Savings’ Bryan M. Vance has been tracking where to find the cheap groceries in Portland. His one-person medi...

A grocery store aisle.
Portland's BestApril 1

Your Guide to April 2026 in Portland

Out on the Oregon Coast, April means it’s time to celebrate the puffin’s seasonal return to Cannon Beach, which will host an annual Puffi...

A closeup of a tufted puffin.
Portland's BestMarch 16

Where to Find Downtown Portland's Best Hotel Bars

With the opening of Damian Lillard's shiny new bar at the Benson Hotel, I've been thinking a lot about our city's hotel bar scene. For me...

people sitting curved banquettes and tables, at Abigail Hall, Portland, Oregon
Portland, ExplainedMarch 12

How Well Do You Know Portland?

You can tell whether you’re a real Portland resident by how you pronounce local names. Or can you? Today’s quiz tests your Portland stree...

couch street sign
Portland, ExplainedMarch 10

The Portland Area’s Local Income Taxes, Explained

Here’s a reminder on all our local taxes due today: The Portland Arts Tax, Metro Supportive Housing Services, and Multnomah County Presch...

Cropped shot of Asian woman sitting at dining table, handling personal finance with laptop.
Portland's BestMarch 9

Where To Indulge in the Cherry Blossom Bloom This Year in Portland

The yearly cherry blossom bloom along the waterfront is one of the rare times you'll see a crowd in our city outside of a scheduled event...

cherry blossoms at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon, park bench foreground
Urban AlmanacMarch 3

3 Oregon Wildflowers To Check Out This Spring

There are blooms all around us in spring. But here are three local wildflowers to seek out on your next adventure in nature.

white bloom with three petals
Portland's BestMarch 2

What To Do in Portland in March 2026

There’s plenty to look forward to in March in Portland. But to start, here’s something you may not be looking forward to. This Sunday, at...

view from Mt. Tabor onto an empty reservoir, Portland, Oregon