A fire broke out at the Magic Gardens last night. So far all I've been able to track down is this fairly vague story over at KATU's website. It doesn't go into the extent of the damages but it's safe to say the place will be out of commission for a while.

If you've never been, the Magic Gardens is a fairly infamous strip club in Chinatown that draws a mix of blue collar types and hipsters. It's a dive but the draw(s) are the music, the staff, the location, and, yeah, the boobs.

My first visit was in January. When we walked in a dancer was rolling around on the stage while Ween's "Mutilated Lips" blarred overhead. Unlike most places like this, the jukebox is filled with incredibly random indie songs. The Magic Gardens could very well be the only strip joint in the world where you'll find a dancer strutting her stuff to an Arcade Fire song.

The last time I went the bouncer working the door was huge guy with a ponytail. Throughout the night he burped up random sex jokes. At closing time he yelled at the remaining crowd, "HURRY UP AND GET OUT! I'VE GOT TO GET HOME TO SPANK MY MONKEY!"

They also sell t-shirts.

UPDATE: Good news, everyone. I was in Chinatown on Friday and poked my head into the Magic Gardens. I expected to find a contractor running around with a tape measure. Instead, the bouncer was in his usual spot and "Jumping Jack Flash" was pouring out of the bar's sound system. It looks the fire gutted the second floor but left the Magic Gardens untouched. The club was closed on Wednesday but was back up and running by Thursday afternoon.