The McMenamins empire has never shied away from the colorful and sometimes sad histories of the buildings they renovate to house their restaurants and hotels. The Edgefield is filled with portraits of people who lived there when it was a poor farm. The upper floor of the White Eagle has a
painting of Rose, the prostitute who was murdered in one of the saloon/hotel's
rooms (and reportedly haunts the place). The Chapel Pub contains similar tributes to its former history as a mortuary.
But now that the family-friendly "kingdom" is set to
take over the old Club Portland, I wonder how they'll handle the building's former status as a, well, gay bathhouse with a reported military-themed "play area" in the basement.
Even weirder: they're planning to keep the steam baths.
Labels: McMenamins