Guide to the Bridlemile Neighborhood in Portland, Oregon

This is a neighborhood of "Can Do" people, so if "involvement" is your motivation, you will fit right in. The best proof of the neighborhood involvement is to visit the Bridlemile Web site by clicking here. Note all the activities in the community.

The Bridlemile Community Outreach Committee is dedicated to bringing neighbors together through social events such as picnics and potlucks and by helping promote neighborhood communication, projects, and a sense of place and history.

The photo above is from a community picnic where the local fire station personnel were invited (to include partaking in the picnic dinner) to explain their jobs and responsibilities. The firefighters made certain that every kid received a fire hat.

A few years ago, some of the Bridlemile neighborhood residents got concerned about their environment and formed Bridlemile Creek Stewards. The Stewards have successfully initiated and carried out a number of restoration projects. They have cleared over four acres, including more than 2000 feet of stream bank, and saved over 200 trees from ivy infestations. They planted over 7,700 native plants, installed erosion control and held four annual Southwest Portland Neighborhood Stream Festivals in 1999-2002.

Because of the success of these projects, they received a Community Service award from SOLV and were nominated for the Tualatin Riverkeepers Green Heron Award in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Origin of the Name Bridlemile

Jack and Ruth Powell were early land owners of the area. Ruth Powell explained that in 1947 her husband, Jack, was looking for property in Portland with enough acreage to build a home and garden. They planned to develop the property and needed a name for it. One night, before they moved to the area, Ruth Powell was brushing her teeth and thinking about the land. She thought, "Bridlemile, that is it."

Bridlemile Home Styles

Many of the homes in Bridlemile were built in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s and the styles include ranch, split levels, and contemporary. A number of new homes were built in the 2000s. If you're looking for a single level home in the woods, you're sure to find one in Bridlemile.

¹Bridlemile 2008 Home Prices

Number of homes sold in Bridlemile in 2008: 49.
Average price for homes sold in Bridlemile in 2008: $510,800.
Median price for homes sold in Bridlemile in 2008: $460,000.
Average sales price change in 2008 from 2007 in Bridlemile: -8%.
5-year average sales price growth in Bridlemile: 31%.
2008 metro area average home price: $330,300 (-3.7% sales price change from 2007).
2008 metro area median home price: $278,000 (-4% sales price change from 2007).

Please be aware that the above figures are subject to error and are intended as guidelines only. View Bridlemile homes currently for sale by clicking here.

Parks in Bridlemile

The neighborhood has two parks within its boundaries.

Albert Kelly is a 12-acre park that has paths for hikers and runners along with a soccer field and playground. In 2003, thanks to the efforts of the Bridlemile Creek Stewards, volunteers cleared out the blackberries, ivy and holly from the creek area in the northeast area of the park, and replace them with more appropriate native trees and shrubbery. They planted of hundreds of seedlings to include ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, grand fir, western hemlock, white alder, Oregon white oak and pacific willow. In addition, several varieties of roses, Oregon grape, flowering currants, a Chilean strawberry and other shrubs were planted along the banks of the creek.
Hamilton Park (10 acres) has paths, a soccer field, a softball field, and a tennis court.

Bridlemile Elementary

The Bridlemile neighborhood has one of the best elementary schools in the Portland District as judged by their annual report card. The Bridlemile Elementary School has consistently received an "Exceptional" rating on the Oregon Report card rating system.

The school grounds, because of the large size, function as a neighborhood gathering place. It has two baseball diamonds which serve as an extension of Hamilton Park, a 10-acre park with green space and a renovated play structure.

The photo above was taken by Victor von Salza and shows kids playing soccer at Hamilton Park. VIctor has more community photos at the Bridlemile Flickr Web site.

Walking in Bridlemile

The SW Trails Group is a committee of Southwest neighborhoods that uses volunteer efforts to make trail improvements, lead walks, work with Safe Routes to School, plan and advocate for pedestrian and bicycle safety and other improvements in Southwest Portland. Their walks are the second Saturday of each month. You can pick up a free a Southwest Portland Walking Map at the local SWNI Office or download it at PDF format.

Below are a few tours to get you started. The "Browse through Bridlemile" walk with its detailed notes about particular things to see along the route is a winner.

Walk Score ranks 2,508 neighborhoods in the largest 40 U.S. cities to help you find a walkable place to live. Below is a Walk Score for an address in the center of the Bridlemile neighborhood.

Map of Bridlemile Neighborhood

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More About Bridlemile

Neighborhood Association Web Site Bridlemile has one of the most informative neighborhood Web sites in the Portland community. Neighborhood residents have close to a 100 photos at their Bridlemile Flickr site.
Location Southwest of downtown. Close enough to downtown but still out of the traffic and noise.
²Drive Time to Downtown 12-13 minutes.
Topography Gentle rolling hills all in a wooded setting.
Sidewalks and Streets It's easy to get lost in Bridlemile as the winding streets often lead to dead-ends. Very few sidewalks.
2005 Livability Study 97% of the Bridlemile residents rated their neighborhood "good" or "very good." See Livability Study.
Public Transportation Bridlemile does not have access to MAX light rail or the streetcar line. It does have numerous bus routes in the neighborhood. See TriMet for schedules.
³Demographics Population: 5,698. Area size: 955 acres. Average population density: 6 persons per acre. Number of households: 3,397. Percent of home owners: 68. Percent of renters: 32. Diversity: 12% non-Caucasian.
Crime Stats 2008: Six violent crimes, 11 residential burglaries, and 2 auto thefts. Total crimes per 1,000 residents was 16. For the latest crime statistics for the Bridlemile neighborhood, click here.
Sex Offenders Click here for the State of Oregon Sex Offender Inquiry System. After agreeing to the "Conditions of Use Statement" you will be redirected to a "Enter Search Criteria" page. Insert a zip code in the "Zip" field and click on the "Query" button. Bridlemile zip code(s): 97221, 97239.
⁴Shopping and Services Number of supermarkets: 1. Number of health clubs: 1. Two large supermarkets exist on the south border of the neighborhood on the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway: Safeway and Albertsons. The road is a busy one with numerous commercial establishments along it. You can get your car service, hair cut, and meet with your realtor if it is a Windermere agent working out of the Raleigh Hills office.
Eating Out The Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway has a couple fast food places and also two note worthy restaurants. One is the Pepper Tree Thai. An Irish pub sits in the far southwest corner of the neighborhood.
Public Library The neighborhood does not have a public library - the closest one is the Hillsdale Library.
Who Lives in Bridlemile Active people who want to contribute to their community.
Autos in the Neighborhood I would venture to say that this community has more small cars (including hybrids) per capita than any other neighborhoods in Portland (maybe even in the entire country).
Schools Elementary school: Bridlemile Elementary. Middle school: West Sylvan Middle. High school: Lincoln High School.
School Report Card Grades Elementary school: A. Middle schools: A/B. High school: A. Click here for report card details.

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¹Real Estate Values Data on real estate values provided by Graphical Data, Homequest, and RMLS™.²Drive Time to Downtown Estimated commuting time obtained from Yahoo Maps and Google Maps. Drive time was calculated from a central intersection in each neighborhood to Pioneer Courthouse Square during the morning peak commute time.³Demographics Data Numbers were obtained from Census 2000 and www.portlandmaps.com.⁴Shopping and Services Numbers were determined from local directory listings and county/municipal library systems.