Dave Knows Portland

June 19, 20: Sweet Cakes, Long Journey: A Walking Tour of Portland’s Chinatown

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Sweet Cakes, Long JourneyJoin the Dill Pickle Club on either Saturday, June 19th or Sunday June 20th for Sweet Cakes, Long Journey: A Walking Tour of Portland’s Chinatown.

The tours offer a unique opportunity to learn about the neighborhood through its architecture, oral history and little-known cultural heritage. A rare lecture by visiting scholar Dr. Marie Rose Wong offers a broader sociological and historical view of the area.

Highlighting many of Chinatown’s lesser known landmarks, the walk encompasses Yat Sing Music Club, New Market Theater, historic Chinese association buildings, as well as the original Chinatown on the south side of Burnside. Along the route, elders will meet the tour to share their memories. The walk will stop at sites more familiar to most, including Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Portland’s Chinatown gate and Lan Su Chinese Garden.

The Saturday tour goes from 3pm to 6pm, and the Sunday tour 2pm-5pm. Tickets are $15 ($10 for members). Visit the club’s events page for information on how to get tickets.

Here’s a preview:

Preview of Sweet Cakes, Long Journey: A Walking Tour of Portland’s Chinatown from dill pickle club on Vimeo.

The Dill Pickle Club is a Portland creative cultural club, which organizes educational tours, lectures, and publications. For more information visit the website, and consider becoming a member.

Portland Chinatown Gate photo (only visible when post is “featured”, or as thumbnail on front page), by user Cacophony at Wikimedia Commons.

Bar Fly’s Portland Bar Graveyard Makes Me Sad

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Bar FlyStumble drunkenly with me down memory lane.

Bar Fly‘s Portland Bar Graveyard is an impressive (183 bars!) list.

Many bars have come and gone. For some, it was a miracle that they lasted so long. Some were destined for an early death. And most importantly, some truly great establishments will be sorely missed.

There are some I’m kinda glad to see pass on – Bettie Ford Lounge, Greek Cusina. But I shan’t speak ill of the dead.

But some of the dearly departed were old friends, and I will miss them:

Jasmine Tree (formerly at 401 SW Harrison): In the late 90s I enjoyed quite a few evenings here after work (my first “real” job) drinking bottles of Henry’s and chatting with coworkers. Another regular was an honest to god Goombah, always dressed sharp and wearing a giant pinky ring, that held court at the bar. I don’t miss the job, but I do miss the (mini) catamaran hanging from the ceiling.

Jockey Club (formerly at 1001 N Killingsworth): The Jockey Club was a cinder block bunker right off the freeway on Killingsworth. From Saraveza (1004 N Killingsworth) you can now wistfully observe the bulldozed spot down the street where, in the late 90s and early oughts, my brother Steve often dominated Portland Pinball League tournaments. I drank $1 pints of PBR and inhaled copious amounts of second hand smoke. And usually came in 6th place. I think I came in 4th once.

Medicine Hat Gallery (formerly at 1834 NE Alberta): Another former Portland Pinball League location, I also saw my friends’ band play here a few times. The space was amazing; a huge disheveled warehouse with a large mezzanine and sprawling basement.

Rose and Raindrop (formerly at 532 SE Grand): This wasn’t one of my favorite places, but they had a great beer selection and the interior was beautiful. The plush booths transported you to a different, and better, era. Occasionally my indoor soccer team would come by after late night games for beers and oyster shooters. I think Bar Fly’s analysis of it’s demise is perfect: Sadly, the Rose & Raindrop has closed down to make way for a bank. A fucking bank.

And one that was not on the list, probably due to it’s disappearance before the Bar Fly website was launched:

Sam’s Hof Brau

Sam’s was a divey old-school chain restaurant; cafeteria-style roast beef buffet with a full bar and a pool table. On Sixth, where that damn McDonalds is now. There were no windows then, so no natural light was shed on the sedate subterranean setting. [more]

You are all missed.

Happy St. Unicorn’s Day!

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Unicorned Beef

On St Unicorn’s Day, we drink to remember, instead of our usual reason, drinking to forget.

With these inspirational words from esteemed film director Mike Vogel, I wish you a fantastic St. Unicorn’s Day.

Naturally Portland is a hot bed of unicornaphilia. Evidence suggests that it is not merely legend that this great city was built upon an ancient unicorn burial ground. In Mike Vogel’s treatise on St. Unicorn’s Day, he has confirmed there are archeological bones and horns in dirt type of evidence.

Besides drinking to remember, it is traditional also to feast on [uni]corned beef and boiled cabbage and root vegetables on this day (if some of this sounds familiar, it is because, like so many religious holidays, St. Patrick’s Day is actually based on an old pagan celebration: St. Unicorn’s Day). Once again this year, Heather and I have made our own [uni]corned beef, but you’re in luck too if you stop by plenty of other places around town.

I invite you to share your St. Unicorn’s Day traditions, musings and reflections below!

And once again, to all Portlanders everywhere, I wish you a fantastic St. Unicorn’s Day.

Explore the Past at Vintage Portland

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Vintage Portland ScreenshotIf you’re interested in Portland’s history, and fond of vintage photos, the blogs Cafe Unknown and Lost Oregon are probably already familiar to you. You’ve probably also perused the fantastic archive of post cards and ephemera at PdxHistory.com. But you may not yet be aware of another photo-rich Portland history blog, the nascent Vintage Portland: Exploring Portland’s Past.

Created by the author of another blog that features images that speak to the history of the Rose City, Portland Building Ads, Vintage Portland‘s stated goal is to document some of the city’s past through photographs, postcards, illustrations, advertisements, etc.

The inaugural post on November 19th features a 1917 photo of the North Bank Passenger Station, a building that still stands today at NW 11th and Hoyt.

A post on December 3rd, including an 1886 photo of the Knapp, Burrell & Company evoked a mystery that appears to have been solved in the comments.

It’s an excellent blog, with something for almost everyone: the historian, the detective, the student of architecture, and the amateur aficionado of vintage Portland.

December 29: Charles Phoenix Retro Holiday Slide Show

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charles_holiday2009R2I had the privilege last year of attending Charles Phoenix’s celebration of atomic living at the Clinton Street Theater, where he presented a live comedy slide show performance celebrating 50s and 60s, theme parks, space age style, car culture, roadside attractions and more! He even had a special presentation about Oregon’s own Enchanted Forest, with creator Roger Tofte, and family, in attendance.

He returned in December last year for another, holiday themed, show, but alas – I missed it.

So I was excited to see that Charles Phoenix is bringing his Retro Holiday Slide Show to Portland once again this year. From an email I received from the Portland’s Mid-Century Modern League:

After a sell-out performance in October 2008, Pop Culture Humorist and Author Charles Phoenix brings his live Holiday slide show performance to The Hollywood Theater one night only, December 29th. This laugh-out-loud celebration of Mid-century Holiday style is being presented by The Mid Century Modern League.

Charles Phoenix super-charges the classic living room slide show by reinventing it into a hip and high octane celebration of classic and kitschy Mid-century American life and style. His informed and often hilarious narration of the very best of his massive collection of flea-market found Kodachrome slides will inspire your imagination and make your spirit soar!

In this hilarious Holiday show you’ll see how Americans decorated, dressed up, dined, and drank to celebrate- New Years, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in the 50s and 60s.

Audiences from coast to coast are delighted by Charles’ stylish suits, friendly personality and infectious enthusiasm as he puts his unique spin on kitschy and classic American holidays in “Charles Phoenix’s Retro Holiday Slide Show”.

(Alas, I’m going to miss this show too because I’ll be in Los Angeles – but I’m going to Disneyland, so it’s kinda a wash, no?)

MCM LeagueThe show takes place Tuesday, December 29th at 7pm at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy). Tickets are $15 (the show benefits the MCM League’s Crown Motel sign restoration project) Visit Mid-Century Modern League for details, including how to buy tickets.