Beverly Cleary Walking Tour

3-mile walking tour of Beverly Cleary sights designed for children. Points of interest are both from Cleary's life and also her beloved books. Come along and catch a glimpse of Ramona and Beverly as we walk the streets of Northeast Portland!

Tour Information
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Beverly Cleary Walking Tour

Portland, Oregon 97204, United States

Created By: University of Wyoming

Tour Information

Welcome to the Beverly Cleary Walking Tour! You are about to enjoy a beautiful walk through some of Portland's oldest neighborhoods and will catch glimpses of both Beverly and her characters along the way.

A few things before we start:

  • make sure you have some good walking shoes and a water bottle, especially if it's summer time. The tour is about 3 miles and can get warm on a summer day.
  • please remember that residents live at some of the sights we'll see today. Please be respectful and admire the homes from the sidewalk.
  • you will see several Little Free Libraries along the way. There is even one located right at Beverly's house on 37th Ave. Bring along a favorite book to leave behind for the next Ramona fan, and feel free to take one in return. Beverly would think a library book is the best souvenir.

Are you ready? Put on those walking shoes (hopefully not made out of paper towels), grab your water bottle and your grown up, and let's get started!

Many thanks to Laura Foster and her wonderful book Walking with Ramona: Exploring Beverly Cleary's Portland. Her book inspired my interest in this tour and provided some excellent facts included here. Go buy a copy at Powell's Books to make the tour even better!


Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

The first stop on our tour is the Hollywood Library. A library is a great place to begin because not only did Beverly love libraries as a little girl, she eventually became a librarian! And while she never checked out books from this librar... Read more
The RiteAid across the street was once a sprawling grocery store opened by Portland grocer Fred G. Meyer in 1931. He remodeled an auto garage and built a giant storefront that took up an entire block! There was even parking on the roof. Thi... Read more
You don't even need to move your feet to see the next stop. Turn your head to the right and look past the busy traffic on Sandy Boulevard. You should see the beautiful and impressive Hollywood Theatre, built in 1925. Nearly 100 years of mov... Read more
You thought you were going to a library but you're looking at a bakery! The Fleur de Lis Bakery was once the home of the Hollywood Library from 1959 to 2002 before it moved to it's new location at the start of our tour. And before 1959, it... Read more
You are about to walk several blocks down Hancock Street to Beverly's childhood home. This is is also the neighborhood she patterned Klickitat Street after and where Ramona and Henry and all their friends lived. Beverly would have walked do... Read more
After they left the farm in Yamhill, Beverly's family rented several homes in Portland, moving into this one when Beverly was in 4th grade. She loved to rollerskate, bike, or walk up and down Hancock St. She also loved to sit on the littl... Read more
Can you believe you are standing in front of Glenwood Elementary? So many of Beverly Cleary's best stories happened on the campus of this school! This is where Henry sold his boxes of ill-gotten bubblegum, where Ramona "boinged" Susan's cu... Read more
You should have enjoyed a nice little walk through Grant Park, past the back of Grant High School (where teenage Beverly attended school), and are now standing in the Grant Park Statue Garden. A little history: the bronze sculptures were de... Read more
Keep walking through Grant Park, past the playground that somehow still manages to have a metal slide. Take a minute to slide down it. Imagine how fast you'd go if you sat on wax paper like Henry and Beezus! Follow the trails through the pa... Read more
You should now be standing on 36th Avenue in front of Grant High School where Beverly attended high school. She wrote several stories during her time here and even co-wrote a play that was performed at the school. This is a good moment to p... Read more
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 someo... Read more
Walk a few blocks up the hill and you'll find yourself standing underneath the sign to Klickitat Street. Isn't it great to see it up close and in person? While Beverly borrowed characters from kids she knew on Hancock Street, she changed th... Read more

 

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