Arlington Heights

The Arlington Heights neighborhood is one of Portland’s finest urban residential areas.  Surrounded by Washington Park in three directions and by West Burnside Road to the north, Arlington Heights has over 300 single family homes.  The stunningly lush neighborhood has a variety of architectural styles.  2023 home prices in Arlington Heights were up 38% compared to with an average price in the prior year, with the average being around 1.3 million.

Washington Park itself is home to abundant attractions such as the Oregon Holocaust Memorial, the Rose Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden, the Oregon Zoo, the World Forestry Center, the Hoyt Arboretum and the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial. Until March 2021, it was home to the Portland Children’s Museum, which was directly south of the zoo entrance.  The Portland Children’s Museum was founded in 1946 and was the sixth oldest children’s museum in the world, and the oldest west of the Mississippi.  Sadly, it was permanently closed due to the financial loss brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are many styles of home architecture found in Washington Park. Among the more common are Cape Cod, Colonial, and Federal styles as well as several modern eclectic designs.

The area, situated in the Tualitan Mountain Range, was once the location of the 160 acre County Farm, where paupers lived.  By 1870 the Multnomah County Poor Farm had been established.  In the late 1880’s a city park and gardens occupied some of the area and the Zoo was first established in 1887.

Eventually the neighborhood took shape and The Portland Cable Railway Company built a cable car line to Melinda Heights in 1892.  In the following years the city reservoirs were built.

The A. H. Maegly mansion, which was built in 1914, was one of the first homes to be built in this area.  It was built for Aaron H. Maegly.  Maegly was a wealthy Portland broker, born in 1854.  The mansion was completed in 1915.  It was designed by Portland architect John Virginius Bennes.  Many believe the architect was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie style architecture.  The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Maegly house sold in December, 2017 for about three million dollars.  As of February 2024, the median home price was approximately one million dollars in Arlington Heights, down about 28% from the previous year.