Step into Portland’s Alphabet Historic District. The district transitioned from late 1800s mansions to include early 1900s elegant apartment buildings. This transition provided a rare opportunity for independent, professional women to live solo or with female companions, fostering a community of academics, nurses, and office workers who were financially self-sufficient.
Many of the grand residences on NW Hoyt and Irving Streets hosted “parlor meetings.” Here, women bypassed the male-dominated political arenas to strategize for the right to vote, which Oregon women finally won in 1912—eight years before the 19th Amendment.
Woman of Nob Hill Walking Tour
Explore the Alphabet Historic District, from grand merchant homes to early electrified apartment buildings. This tour highlights the neighborhood’s evolution from millionaire’s row walking distance from a hospital cluster to a bustling WWII boarding house district. Learn about the women of the labored in the community and highlighting those who shaped Portland. Highlights: Hazel Hall, Lois Steers, Jean Campbell (Hotel), Women in Hockey, Vera Katz, Sue Lee, Ruth Catlin, Nina Churchman Larowe, women’s hockey and more…
- Start & End Location: Inn @ Northrup Station, 2025 NW Northrup St.
- Length of Tour: 100 minutes
- Distance: 1.5 miles
- Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
- Schedule: Offered mornings Friday-Monday year-round
- Typically this tour is offered on Sundays at 9am -free parking day
- For groups with more than 12 guests reach out for a private tour.
Adults: $32 | Honored Citizens: $20 | Youth: $12
Reservations required
What is Nob Hill?
Originally coined to attract the elite, the name “Nob Hill” is synonymous with high-elevation living and refined taste. What began as “Nobility Hill” in San Francisco found its perfect match here, just west of Portland’s 1880s Millionaires’ Row, evolving into a neighborhood that defines Portland’s architectural soul. The Alphabet Historic District is part of the larger “Alphabet District”.
Neighborhood Fun Facts
Fun Fact #46
Did a cat once own a building on NW 23rd?
Fun Fact #48
Fun Fact #59
by Rose Naftalin
Historic Highlights
- The Esquire Theater: a Classical Revival style building. The theater was originally a dance hall run by Nina Churchman Larowe (1844-1921). It was later converted into a movie palace. The Esquire Theater is now a Salt and Straw ice cream shop on NW 23rd.
- Lois Steers Home: Site of the first woman impresario in the U.S. to manage musicians on a grand scale (1902–1936).
- Site of the largest Prohibition Bust in Portland: Oregon outlawed booze four years before the rest of the country and the city had a number of speakeasies. Decades later the apartment building on Glisan because the home of poet, novelist, boxing reporter Katherine Dunn.
- The site of the World’s Largest Ice Rink in 1914: The Portland Ice Hippodrome, opened in November 1914 at NW 20th Avenue and Marshall Street, was touted as the world’s largest artificial indoor ice rink at the time. It covered two city blocks, featuring a 321 by 85-foot ice surface, and could accommodate 5,000 spectators. Woman’s hockey teams called this arena home.
Important Details
- Wear comfortable walking shoes.
- Use the restroom before the tour begins.
- Bring water and rain gear, depending on the weather.
- Metered street parking is available nearby.
- Public transit options include TriMet Bus 77 and the NS Streetcar.
- Friendly, leashed dogs are welcome.
- All guests must complete a digital waiver before the tour.
- For groups with more than 12 guests reach out for a private tour.