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december 9, 2011
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It was a busy year in, well, business, as local
entrepreneurs held their footing in still
shaky economic times, took new steps and,
on occasion, departed altogether. For her
part, Jill Nelson, president of the Portland
Area Business Association, said that despite
an “interesting” year of changes, the LG-
BTQ business community unite for one of
the organization’s most successful scholarship
awards events ever, in what is a testament
to the population’s commitment to
supporting future leaders.
“We have seen our community come together
in many important ways this year and
our membership, more then ever, is committed
to supporting our community,” continued
Nelson, who voiced her optimism for 2012.
Poison Waters performs
at the grand opening of
the Crystal Hotel.
THE YEAR IN
business
bY AmANdA sCHuRR
“We have been able this year to work even
more closely with the Q Center, in particular
working with them to develop a joint LGBT
tourism initiate that will launch next spring.”
On that note, McMenamins added to its
local empire this year with the Crystal Hotel,
a SW Stark and 12th offering steeped in LG-
BTQ history. Set in the space most recently
occupied by Club Portland, a longtime bathhouse,
the project was a “research-driven” effort,
McMenamins’ senior historian Tim Hill
told Just Out in February.
The building opened in 1911 as a hotel,
featuring ground-level businesses, primarily
auto-related. It emerged as an integral structure
to the city’s Gay Triangle (also called
the Burnside Triangle) in the late ‘60s—
which saw the arrival of ground-floor gay
www.justout.com
clubs like Silverado and Flossie’s, along with
early Portland Pride celebrations.
The 51-room Crystal Hotel was designed
to pay tribute to that rich queer heritage, with
wall panels throughout the accommodations
“depicting various historical connections and
people tied in with the property,” Hill shared.
“Paintings, as well as numerous photos and
posters, will permanently exhibit the people
and events that gave life and personality to the
property during the era of the Gay Triangle.”
The hotel opened with a three-day celebration
in early May, when McMenamins showed
off on-site eatery Zeus Café and basement bar
Al’s Den (which hosts regular drag happy
hours with Poisons Waters and friends), along
with its primary function, to provide lodging
for concertgoers at the neighboring
Crystal Ballroom.
And in other hospitality news, Jupiter
Hotel general manager Al
Munguia kept the former motor inn,
also neighboring a music venue (the
Doug Fir Lounge), a source of local
Pride, hosting everything from Bear-
Town to Latino Gay Pride and the
Rose City Softball Association.
Some businesses made their debuts:
Aparaphilia, a leather and
fetish-apparel shop, opened in May,
just in time for preparations for Oregon
Leather Pride. Others marked milestones.
Buckman neighborhood mainstay Crush
memorialized its 10th anniversary with a
Sunday afternoon block party, Dr. Craig
Quirk celebrated 100 years of his Rose City
Veterinary Hospital and, along with Bill
Dickey of Morel Ink (formerly Witham
and Dickey), was honored at DoveLewis
Emergency Animal Hospital’s annual My
Wet Nose Soiree in October for their continued
support of the clinic.
Others closed after valiant efforts to stay
afloat. Vancouver’s Northbank Tavern,
Southwest Washington’s only gay bar and
often referred to as the “gay Cheers,” closed
its doors for good on Sunday, June 12. Owners
Darrell Spoon and Brent Bartling sent a
mCmENAmINs.Com