City Cast Portland logo

Neighborhood Guides

Get to Know Slabtown

Posted on October 19, 2022   |   Updated on September 30, 2025

Rachel Monahan

A new walkway among the recently built apartments in Slabtown. (Rachel Monahan/City Cast Portland)

A new walkway among the recently built apartments in Slabtown. (Rachel Monahan/City Cast Portland)

A walk through Northwest Portland’s Slabtown neighborhood features a soundtrack of pounding sledge hammers as new apartment buildings keep coming.

Even though it’s an old section of the city, Slabtown feels new these days. When a New Seasons grocery store opened here in 2015, it kicked off a whole new era. Hundreds of people moved in, for plenty of good reasons. In between the Pearl District and the Alphabet District, the neighborhood has plenty for those living there or stopping by: breweries, coffeeshops, and restaurants a plenty.

Its name, however, is a throwback to the 1870s, when a lumber mill, on Northwest Northrup, cut trees into slabs.

see more:food,things to do

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.
OR BROWSE PAST ISSUES

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

Portland's BestJune 2

What To Do in Portland in June 2026

City Cast Portland contributor Alex Frane has a couple picks:

cyclists out for a group ride on a leafy street in Portland, Oregon
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 31

Where to Get Crafty in Portland

These craft workshops in Portland will certainly help stoke your artistic energy — just make sure to plan ahead, as classes can fill up q...

A top down view shows hands with red painted nails holding a blue triangle-shaped piece of stained glass. In the background there is a cluttered worktable with other multi-colored pieces of stained glass and beads.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 31

Your Guide to Portland’s Laurelhurst Neighborhood

Ornate sandstone arches and palatial century homes announce your arrival to the Laurelhurst neighborhood, one of Portland’s earliest parc...

Hundreds of people sitting on blankets and lawn chairs are packed together beneath the trees of Laurelhurst Park.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 24

Your Guide to Concordia

Wander the Concordia neighborhood, and you’ll always learn something new — like how one of Portland’s iconic gay bars found a new home in...

A colorful mural with a saxophone, rose blossom, coffee cup, and a bridge is emblazoned with the word Concordia. On the right edge, a tree’s swirling roots write the words transformation, integrity, and community on the pages of a book.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 24

Side Quest: Hit the Bricks

It can be mind-boggling to witness how much Portland has changed in just a few years — over decades, that transformation is even more dra...

Water cascades down the angular steps of Ira Keller Fountain.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 17

Side Quest: Porch Power

There’s something magical about gathering on the front steps and jamming with friends. If you’re looking for a way to meet new people or...

People sit in camp chairs underneath pop-up canopies in a driveway while listening to musicians play guitar in the front yard.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 17

Your Guide to St. Johns

Despite being located on the city's periphery, St. Johns is a neighborhood built on connection; to the past — its iconic green-arched bri...

Cars and trucks cross the St. Johns Bridge on a sunny day. Traffic is flowing toward the viewer, and in the distance you can see Forest Park.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 10

Side Quest: Inner Peace

The Vedanta Society of Portland, founded 100 years ago, is based in Mt. Tabor, but the group also oversees the Vedanta Retreat — 289 acre...

A large wooden eagle structure made in a Native American style is nestled among soaring evergreen trees at the Vedanta Retreat outside of Scappoose, Oregon.