Property Watch: This Cottage on Portland’s Peacock Lane Got Snapped Up

For many Portlanders, Peacock Lane needs no introduction. Dubbed “Portland’s Christmas Street,” every year the entire four-block stretch between SE Stark and SE Belmont Streets gets decked out in twinkly lights in celebration for the holiday season. During the second half of December, it’s a popular draw for thousands of visitors, who come enjoy the sights, sip cocoa, maybe get engaged in front of one of the displays.

Is it any wonder that the residents, so-called Peacock Laners, measure their tenure by the number of Christmases they’ve been there? Funny, because back in the day, the street was apparently known for its summer shindigs.

It all started around 1923, after developer R. F. Wassell decided to fashion a neighborhood that feels like an English village, finishing up the 31 houses by 1930. Each was given a unique design, loosely grouped between a few popular styles of that decade, including English Cottage, Tudor Revival, Spanish Revival, and Colonial Revival. This was also part of an early automobile suburb, and the street (essentially a renamed section of SE 40th Avenue) has been referred to as the first in the city where every house had its own garage.

And so, with a picturesque setting like this one, early residents liked to gather, and they established a popular summer block party in 1939, eventually called the Peacock Lane Street Dance. By 1947, The Oregonian was calling it “Portland’s friendly street,” and the summer street dance went on so long that, 50 years later, Mayor Bud Clark declared August 12, 1989, “Peacock Lane Day.” As for the annual lighting event, per the Historic Register nomination form, that started as early as 1924 with a handful of neighbors, then became organized as a whole street contest in 1948. By 1950, residents were inviting fellow Portlanders to drive up the street to appreciate the handiwork.

Located just about halfway between Stark and Belmont, this cute-as-a-button 1925 cottage was one of the first wave of builds. Vintage features, like diamond-pane windows and half-timbering above the front door, call back to the lane’s roots. They continue inside, with hardwood floors, arched doorways, and leaded glass built-ins flanking the tiled fireplace in the living room.

More modern is how there’s a full bathroom on every floor, although two of them still retain a vintage sensibility, thanks to a clawfoot tub and subway tile. Also updated is the kitchen, with its stainless appliances, solid surface counters, and a windowed, sun-filled eating nook. Four bedrooms round out the 2,158-square-foot plan, with a sizable deck accessible to the upstairs rooms, overlooking the leafy backyard.

Just as all the seasonal celebrations might imply, Peacock Lane has been popular from the start, and a 1925 magazine article reported that two-thirds of the houses on the street were sold before they were even finished. A hundred years later, the popularity hasn’t waned, as this particular home changed hands after only five days. We hope the new buyers have their twinkly lights ready.

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. Contact Dalton here. 

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].