Hillsboro, Oregon

Hub of Washington County, Industry & Harvests

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A city of contrasts,  Hillsboro has one foot inside the Urban Growth Boundary and the other foot planted on nearby farmland.  Home to giants such as Intel and Mentor Graphics,  Hillsboro offers small town pleasures on Main, and sophisticated shopping nearby.  Portland’s light rail named MAX ends its run in southern Hillsboro, and scoots back downtown to Portland city center and PDX airport.

A mere 40 minutes from downtown Portland via Portland’s light rail, “Max”, Hillsboro Oregon still retains the small town feel when it was mainly known for the county “seat”  of the Washington County, with its historic Washington County Courthouse and known also as the center of the rich surrounding farmlands.  Yet today Hillsboro has grown to over 90,000 population, and is home to an incredible number of high tech companies like Intel and newer enterprises such as Solar World and Netflix, along with new data centers.  Far reaching foresight enabled Hillsboro to set aside land for industry, as Oregon’s Silicon Forest expanded from Beaverton to Hillsboro.

Anchoring this growth are the icons from Hillsboro’s past–the Washington County Fairgrounds,  the Hillsboro Airport with its annual International Airshow, the beautiful block of the Washington County Courthouse, and its accessible & charming downtown area.

Washington County Courthouse Entrance

As businesses have located in Hillsboro over the past few years,  and with the advent of Portland’s light rail,  planned communities have sprung up to accommodate a growing population.  Perhaps the best known one is the community of Orenco Station, with its

Orenco Station's Central Park

Oenco Station Sidewalk Dining

commercial area of cafes and shops & offices & condo’s above flanked by brownstone homes and Central Park.  The area’s name was inspired by the Oregon Nursery Company which closed in the late 30’s.  Work on the Orenco project began in about 1997 with careful design to take advantage of the Oregon Station stop of  Portland’s light rail.  The Orenco design was inspired to reflect older neighborhoods with garages not visible from the front.  Today the newer areas of Orenco, built by a variety of  development companies are still lovely but have departed from some of the original concepts.  A New Seasons Grocery serves the neighborhood, and there’s a Farmer’s Market on Sundays.

Venetian Theatre Hillsboro

Today downtown Hillsboro has been revitalized and is a lively area.  Most stunning is the renovated Venetian Theatre, home to the Bag and Baggage Theatre Company and the neighboring bistro. With seating for 300, the beautiful theatre is one of the larger venues for theatre in the greater Portland area.

Dowtown Hillsboro is a lively place, and offers cute shops, cafes,a pharmacy soda fountain, and an independently owned bookstore. A large newer Civic Center and Performing Arts Center with extended venues in the Hillsboro downtown area  have enhanced the cultural opportunities.

 A contrast to the newer developments and high tech facilities is the historic Washington County Fairground, where each summer,  there is still a display of farming, cooking, and crafting skills, FHA competitions with the children sleeping in tents with their parents near the horse stables  ( I was one of these parents), a fairway of carnival rides, and outdoor concerts.

Flag Drill

Bucking Bronco

From the stands in the rodeo,  you can watch the horses race, while Portlands light rail “Max” glides silently by, and airplanes come and go from the airport across from the fairgrounds.  This view of cars, planes, and lightrail, new and old, urban and agrarian, is symbolic of Hillsboro itself, an appealing mix of old fashioned city center, shiny high tech complexes all surrounded by rich soil, vineyards, horse facilities, berry fields, and Christmas tree farms.  Hillsboro has a neighborhood waiting for your family–or perhaps a small acreage or farm nearby.

Search all Hillsboro Homes here, and call me for a quick tour of the town–even the fairgrounds if you want!