A Hootenany Windig Art Unveiling at Erickson’s Saloon (NW 2nd between Burnside & Couch) takes place on Thursday, 23 July 2015 from 4 PM to 7 PM – with the unveiling at precisely 4:47 PM.

Join the artist team of James Harrison, David Laubenthal, and Evan Holt – with historian Doug Kenck Crispin and guest artist Natalie M. Ball – to celebrate a grand unveiling of Works of Art for the newly renovated Erickson Fritz Apartments.

Erickson’s Workingman’s Club, also known as Erickson’s Saloon, was a Portland landmark opened in the 1880’s by August “Gus” Erickson. Taking up most of the block between Burnside/Couch and Second/Third Avenues, Erickson’s was legendary for its 684-foot bar and free smorgasbord lunches with a five cent beer. It boasted five elegant entrances, a grand pipe organ, and 50 bartenders. When the river rose in 1894, Erickson’s served patrons from a barge at NW 2nd and Burnside. Fred Fritz operated several of his own establishments in Old Town, including Fritz’s Theater and Saloon, a grand theater known for its cabaret performances. Fritz was an early investor/partner of August Erickson and eventually took over ownership of Erickson’s in 1907.

Innovative Housing (IHI) has transformed the historic saloon and hotel into 62 mixed-income apartment homes.

After the unveiling and grand opening, IHI will hold its 2015 FriendRaiser from 5 PM to 7 PM – guaranteed to be the best progressive party in Portland this year! Join us as we celebrate IHI’s friends and supporters, the future of two historic buildings, and the vibrancy of present-day Old Town.

The combined event is all ages, free, and open to the public.

Bombs, Vice, and Little Beirut, the latest installment of the venerable Stumptown Stories series, kicks off at 7 PM on Tuesday, July 14 at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder).

Join us for a night of kabooms, vice raids, and protests at the Jack London Bar. Our squad of history nerds has a full night of factoids and stories for you for July such as: . . .

–Heather Arndt Anderson (Breakfast: A History, and Portland: A Food Biography) on the Vice Clique Scandal, which rocked Portland’s gay underground.

-Host Joe Streckert (Interesting Times) on why this city was once called “Little Beirut.”

Stumptown Stories, batshit crazy stories from the murkiest, weirdest, and nuttiest corners of Portland history, takes place the second Tuesday of every month at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder).

Update: Heather Arndt Anderson informs me that Finn J.D. John (Offbeat Oregon History) has stepped in for J.B. Fisher, who is unable to attend this month’s Stumptown Stories.