Voicebox can accommodate up to 20 members of your entourage with pay-by-the-hourprivate suites at its Northwest and Central Eastside locations. Decadent '80s | Portland OR Instead of Fellini, dolled-up rockers and living ghosts from Old Town's street scene jostled around a gyros counter oh-so-accurately named Eat or Die. Owner Jack York was blind, but in a 1951 Oregonian feature said he remembered regular customers by the sound of their voices. This flourishing town is also blessed with so many exciting places for outdoor activities. Patty's Retreat, a downtown dive that lost its liquor license after numerous patron arrests for drunkenness, drug use and dealing, and serving alcohol to minors. [20][34] Bands included Big Daddy Meat Straw, the Dandy Warhols (with original drummer Eric Hedford, playing songs from first two albums with some original guitars), Pond, Poison Idea, and Napalm Beach,[35] with the final concert taking place on October 31, 2010. It opened in 1975, and was located across Southwest Alder Street from the old Meier & Frank downtown loading dock. People came here for the bar, which was a popular after-work drinking spot, that became on of the citys best places to hear live jazz and blues later in the evening. Portland comes to life after hours with open mic nights held throughout the city, nationally acclaimed karaoke spots, delicious late-night eats, adult-friendly gaming spots, and plenty of alcohol-free fun. Sanctuary Club hosts a wide variety of several sex-themed parties with even private rooms provided. Tight jeans, strong drinks and disco queens: A visual history of Portland nightclubs. Touhouliotis reshaped the tavern into a nightclub, and named it after the 1969 Federico Fellini film of the same name. Today it houses a plastics company, but in its heyday half a century ago it was Portland's premier jazz venue, the Dude Ranch. The songbook is packed with selections not available anywhere else, including some wild mashups.If you ever wished you could front a real, live rock band then Karaoke From Hell is for you. PDXLX was first hosted in 1999. It also has a robust food menu, nightly drink specials and occasional art openings. Visit our events calendar to discover even more things to do in Portland. With the PDX Jazz Festival starting this month, we have declared February Portland Jazz Month. The Ambassador Restaurant and Lounge meanwhile, embraces everything that a Chinese food restaurant-cum-karaoke bar should be and raises the bar with a light-up stage and a fog machine. Embers was originally locatedon SW Parkand Morrison next tothe Virginia Cafe. This North Portland bar had a remarkable 53-year run before closing abruptly in 2007. [4] At the time, the surrounding Old Town Chinatown neighborhood had a seedy and dangerous reputation. James Hemphill, an Embers long-time staff member of 26 years, contacted City Home looking for a buyer for some of the clubs memorabilia. Although the neighborhood's a bit down-at-heel, the club is a beacon of gentility and an unparralled post-hippie hangout.". Satyricon became a prominent music venue in the city, and hosted various local and touring punk and alternative rock bands throughout the 1980s and 1990s. "[7], In 1990, a benefit LP record was put out for the club called "Satyricon the Album". The space would later be rechristened Wanigan Lounge, and the drinks continued flowing until 2004, when the Greenwood Inn was closed and torn down. In this 1989 photo, Steve Brausen and Smitty enjoy a couple of cold ones. The building was demolished in the late 90s to make way for the downtown Marriott hotel. Nightlife in Portland doesnt mean just hitting the club. To say Portland has changed a lot in the past 30 years is a bit of an understatement. This fantastic jazz club combines the classic feel of its historic building location with a modern mix of new school sounds and vibes. This bar in the Uptown Shopping Center in Northwest Portland was a hot-spot for live blues and folk music in the 1980s and early '90s. The City of Roses boasts one of the best tango communities outside of Buenos Aires, with dances and lessons available almost every night. Rather keep your singing voice between friends? Part 3: The Mid 80s. In his weekend best pulled together from Material Objects, 25-year-old Sid Tripp locks the door of his Exchange Street apartment at the Old Port Arms and heads down to see what the rest of Portland has been doing since Friday. Hearty, home-style dishes like chicken-fried steak smothered in gravy, meatloaf and deep-fried fish and chips await at this diner, which stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 1999 Portland Gay History Walking Tour. The law was short but inclusive of just about everyone a . The O'Callahan's chain filed for bankruptcy in 1989, though the Beaverton location continued operating as Paddy O'Callahan's under different ownership. It closed in 1952 after lease difficulties and battles with City Hall over its liquor license. Biddy McGraw's, a Northeast Irish pub that's now home to The O'Neill Public House. With its impressive features, including a large, spacious dance floor, live DJ performances every night, weekly drag shows, daily happy hour drinking, drag queen bartenders, and one of Portlands most popular hosts Queen Bolivia Carmichaels. Instead of a sedate old folks' home, Satyricon's neighbors included a shady grocery store (later bombed) and a corner dive bar longtime Portlanders still remember with a shiver. Portland may be best known for its indie music, but with a wide variety of dance clubs, the city has a rhythm that'll get just about anyone moving. Site design by Click Marketing + NomadicCopyright 2021 City Home. Sanctuary is a booming, safe, and clean club for interaction with free-minded people. The year was 1985 when King Kong took over the Portland Building to market the Oregon Lottery. Now, it's time that we enter the inner sanctum, the stage area. According to The Oregonian, materials from seven different countries were used to decorate the club, which cost $25,000 to build. Movie stars, white and black, came there to shop for records. Heres a brief look in photos and videos at what life in Portland Oregon was like in the 1970s. But the building that housed the Harbor Club is still around, and is home to Paddys, Portlands oldest Irish bar, and is one of the most-popular drinking spots for sailors from the U.S. and Canadian navies when the Rose Festival Fleet docks here every spring. 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Fourth Ave., are closed to cars, transforming the area into a pedestrian-friendly party zone.Set within walking distance of a number of popular nighttime destinations, The Society Hotel, a newly revived 19th-century sailors boarding house, provides a perfect weekend basecamp. The club offers a relaxed and fun environment for people that believe in alternate lifestyles, LGBTQ+ communities, and sexually empowered and curious individuals to party, meet up, and even hook up. Last week, we took readers down memory lane with a gallery of vintage photos of 28 long-gone Portland bars and taverns that we wish were still around. Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian/OregonLive. Holocene has an impressive building fitted with hand-built modern furnishings, state-of-the-art sound system, fantastic video projecting lighting, and a performance area. The wheel is a last vestige of one of Portland's first gay bars. requires no physical fitness program: Everyone gets enough exercise jumping to conclusions, flying off the handle, running down the boss, knifing friends in the back, dodging responsibility and pushing their luck. '' The Blow Fly would continue to operate into the 1990s. [23] Mark Arm of Mudhoney would later claim the story to be apocryphal, and that two in fact met while Mudhoney was touring with Love's band Hole in Europe in 1991. In Portland, Sidney's nightclub features not only one of the hottest combos in town but the singing of bartender Wayne Keith and waitress Barbara Helzer. In its final decades, it became a popular karaoke spot. For 15 years, chef Ron Paul helped define Pacific Northwest cuisine with this small group of restaurant, which first opened in Northwest Portland in the 1980s before moving to Northeast Broadway . In this 1985 photo, Carcy Flatch, a waitress at the Beaverton location, sported a special T-shirt to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in 1985. While Portland has many venerable watering holes that still have cold beer on tap and cocktail shakers ready to rumble, many taverns and lounges have had their last call. It closed in 2008, later becoming the Pope House Bourbon Lounge. After suffering a series of strokes, owner Steve Suss became incapacitated and unable to speak or write. Cocktails are $2 off during happy hour. Northwest Portland's trendy Slabtown neighborhood boasts walkable streets, plentiful shopping, coffee, restaurants and art galleries -everything you need can be found in this lively, friendly neighborhood. This environmental-friendly town in Oregon is a bubbling place of quality eating, drinking, and shopping. In the 1970s, this downtown nightclub billed itself as "Portland's Original Environmental Tavern." The bar lost its lease in 1993. Portland boasts many stages to bring you fresh, up-and-coming, and touring comedians. It closed in 2008, and now is home to the Commodore Lounge. These Portland bars and restaurants keep their kitchens open late, serving high-quality food into the night. After a 3-year hiatus during the pandemic, its back to keep going strong, promoting Vintage Jazz Music and Dance. Its corned beef hash was a weekend brunch favorite. We have date night ideas, activities and adventures for couples with all sorts of interests. They were booking national and international acts, and people were coming from all over to see artists like Oscar Peterson. The first floor of the building housed Slaughters pool hall, where many people got their first taste of jazz. Anybody who was anybody who came to town, who wanted some after-hours action, they came to the Chicken Coop., The small record store on North Broadway was the meeting place around Williams Avenuea social center, if you will, Dietsche says. 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