Credit: Kyler Martz/PSAA
A new mural on the vestibule glass celebrating local author Beverly Cleary greets patrons at the entrance of the newly reopened Hollywood Library. The artwork, created by Kyler Martz, is an homage to Cleary and the library’s place in her world. It replaced an older wall map of streets referenced in Cleary’s books that was created by architects in 2002. We worked with Portland Street Art Alliance, Beverly Cleary’s estate, and HarperCollins to envision this artwork. It’s one of the many new pieces of public art that was created for your updated libraries.
Cleary was born in McMinnville and raised in Northeast Portland. Roughly half of her books were based in Oregon. There are many places within walking distance of Hollywood Library where you can celebrate our town’s connection to Beverly Cleary and the worlds she created. Here’s a route you can take to explore and celebrate Cleary’s world.
Please note: some locations below are private homes. If you do take a walk, please don’t disturb the people who live there.
1. Hollywood Library, 4040 NE Tillamook St.
No great surprise but we recommend starting your journey at the refreshed Hollywood Library! Stop in and see all the updates — plus, check out some books to read after your walk.
After you’re done at Hollywood Library, start walking south on NE 41st Ave.
2. NE 41st and Hancock St. (plus Hollywood Theatre)
The building at the cross-roads of NE 41st Ave. and Hancock St. is a former grocery store and the site of Colossal Market in Cleary’s books, where Henry Huggins’ mother buys clippers to give him a haircut. Hollywood Theatre, where Henry and his friends catch movies, is just a block further down the road.
After checking out the Hollywood Theater, return to NE 41st Ave. and Hancock St., and start heading west down Hancock St.
3. Old Hollywood Library, 3930 NE Hancock St.
Currently home to the Fleur de Lis Bakery, this is where the former Hollywood Library stood before relocating. This is the library Cleary visited as a child, and it’s where Cleary had the library in Ramona’s world located.
Stop in, grab a treat, maybe pause to read a chapter or two of your book, and then keep heading down Hancock St.!
4. One of Cleary’s childhood homes, 3340 NE Hancock St.
As you’re walking west down Hancock St., you’ll pass by one of Cleary’s childhood homes. This is a private residence, so we recommend simply continuing to walk down the street and enjoying a moment of literary history!
5. Beverly Cleary School, 1915 NE 33rd Ave.
At the corner of NE 33rd Ave. and Hancock St., find two spots of note. First, on the southwest corner is the parking lot where Ramona got her boots stuck in the mud in Ramona the Pest. Second, the northwest corner is the Beverly Cleary School. Originally called the Fernwood Grammar School, Cleary attended this school and called it Glenwood in her books. It was renamed to honor her in 2008. In the past there were multiple campuses of the school, but was reduced to a single campus in 2022.
After admiring these two spots, take a right and start heading north down NE 33rd Ave.
6. Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden
As you’re walking on NE 33rd Ave., you’ll find yourself at the entrance to Grant Park. Walk along the path west of the track and find bronze statues of Ramona, Henry and Ribsy. These were created by local artist Lee Hunt. Cleary and her husband attended the dedication ceremony for the statues in 1995.
This is another great spot to take a break for a read. And if you visit in the summer, the statues become a wading fountain for the family to splash around in!
7. Ulysses S. Grant High School and the former Beverly Cleary School, Hollyrood Campus
When you’re ready, keep walking northeast along the path. Pass through the playground where Beezus waxed the slides to make them faster, and through the lawn north of Grant High School. Cleary attended this school and Henry Huggins dug for nightcrawlers in the lawn. A building that was once the Beverly Cleary School, Hollyrood Campus became an annex for the high school in 2022. Keep following the path past the basketball courts, and then north out of the park.
8. Another Cleary childhood home, 2924 NE 37th Ave.
Head onto NE 35th Pl. Then, take a right onto NE Hollyroot Ct., a left on NE 36th Ave., a right on NE Stanton St., and a left on 37th Ave. You’ll walk by another one of Cleary’s childhood homes in Portland. She lived in this home from ages 12 to 18.
9. Klickitat St.
Keep heading north on NE 37th Ave. until you hit NE Klickitat St. — where the Huggins and Quimby’s fictional homes were located! Cleary never lived on this street, but preferred how the name sounded over the streets she’d lived on. In 1995, on the same day Cleary attended the dedication of the Grant Park Sculpture Garden, she told a reporter from The New York Times that the name of the street “reminded me of the sound of knitting needles.”
Beverly Cleary was a beloved Oregon writer. It’s a gift to have been her local library for a chapter of her life — we’re thrilled to honor her world at Hollywood Library!
Reading list
If you like Beverly Cleary
One day when Beverly Cleary was working as a children’s librarian in Yakima, Washington, a boy asked her, “Where are the books about Kids and family like us?” So she created Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and more. Here are some other books with Kids and family like you. P.S. most of these books are first in a series.
