Alberta Arts District

Northeast Alberta Street has become one of Portland's most funky and creative neighborhoods. Shops of handcrafted items and artsy boutiques mix with older stores and import goods. Food choices range from trendy pubs and hip cafes to traditional taquerias. Though there are only a few dedicated galleries, the area is perfused with art, much of it being of the outsider variety. Most of the shops and restaurants adorn their walls with rotating shows of local artists. Rebelling against the pretense of the tony Pearl District's First Thursday Art Walk, Alberta Street celebrates on Last Thursday, with an art walk that is also a raucous street fair.