Beverly Cleary home - 2924 NE 37th Ave

Whether you walked or drove, you hopefully enjoyed seeing the beautiful trees and homes in this neighborhood of northeast Portland. And right now you should be standing in front of Beverly's home on 37th Ave. (Just a reminder, this is someone's residence so please be respectful and admire the home from the sidewalk.)

Beverly's family bought this home when she was in the 7th grade. Her parents gave her a used bike to ride to and from Fernwood school, though I bet the ride to school was a little easier than the ride home!

Beverly's mother was especially fond of the large plate glass windows at the front of the house. If you look closely, you might see a fun surprise placed in the front window by the current owners of the home. Do you see Ribsy smiling back at you from the front window?

There are a few other things to look for in the neighborhood. Do you see any iron rings set in the conrete along the curb? Those are remnants from the days when horse drawn carts used to make neighborhood deliveries and the horses needed to be tied up. There should be one not too far from Beverly's house! What do you think her family had delivered to their home?

One of the items they had delivered was milk. If you look at the side of the house by the driveway, you may see a small door halfway up the wall. That is where the milkman would leave full glass bottles of milk and take away the empty ones. It's also where a young Beverly wiggled through one day when her family was locked out of the house!

At the beginning of the tour, I said you may want to bring a book with you to leave somewhere along the route. Well, now is your chance! A few houses down, you should see a Little Free Library. Open up the libarary and slip your book inside for the next Beverly Cleary tourist or neighborhood walker to find. And feel free to take a book for yourself! I think Beverly would not only have approved of a library on her very street but also taking a book as a souvenir.

When I was last there, I saw one of Ramona's very favorite books in the little library. Can you guess which one? I'll give you a hint - I still want to know how Mike Mulligan went to the bathroom!