Address | Portland, Oregon United States |
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Coordinates | 45°32′19″N122°40′05″W / 45.538621°N 122.668024°W |
The Cotton Club was a nightclub located in North Portland, Oregon, United States. Located at 2125 N. Vancouver Avenue (and N. Tillamook Street), the club gained attention during the 1960s as the "only nightclub on the West Coast with wall-to-wall soul." [1] Celebrities such as Cab Calloway, Sammy Davis Jr., Cass Elliot, The Kingston Trio, Joe Louis, and Archie Moore would visit the nightclub when they were in town. [2]
The Cotton Club, located within the Albina area of North Portland, was a jazz nightclub that rose to fame in the 1960s after being purchased and renovated by Paul Knauls. [3] Paul Knauls moved to Portland, Oregon in 1963 in order to purchase the club. [4]
The jazz club was one of many black owned businesses that occupied the area at the time. It was located in a neighborhood where African-Americans settled after Vanport was destroyed by flooding in 1948 and Interstate 5 and the Memorial Coliseum uprooted a number of black-owned business. By the 1960s, it was part of a thriving area that included the Blue Ribbon Barbecue, Lew's Men's Shop, and the House of Fortune Cafe. [3]
Paul Knauls was born in Huntington, Arkansas in 1931. He joined the Air Force in 1949 just 17 days after graduating from high school, [4] and was the first African-American to be stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington. [5] Knauls worked up to three jobs at a time in order to save up enough money to fulfill his goal of owning a business. In addition to working as a typewriter repairman, he also worked as a dishwasher in a hotel and ski instructor on weekends. [6] Knauls decided to pursue his dream of owning a nightclub in the Portland area due to the city's proximity to the skiing areas at Mt. Hood. [7] He discovered the Cotton Club while visiting the Portland area, and learned the nightclub's owner was willing to sell. After 12 years of saving, Knauls had $17,000, which was enough to begin the process of purchasing a nightclub. After securing a loan of $50,000, Knauls purchased the Cotton Club in 1963. [4] A photo mosaic [8] of Paul Knauls was created for his 90th birthday honoring his life by community people who love, admire and appreciate him [9]
The Cotton Club was named after a famous nightclub located in Harlem, New York. The Cotton Club was initially an unpopular and rundown location under the ownership of a man named Mr. Thompson, who owned the nightclub leading up to 1963 when it was purchased by Paul Knauls. [4]
The Cotton Club was part of the Chitlin' Circuit, which was a network of venues on the West Coast that were safe for African American performers to play their music. [10] Many of the celebrities that came to the Portland area to perform would finish their evening at the Cotton Club. [4] In addition to being a popular spot for celebrities on the Chitlin's Circuit, the club gained traction among white community after being featured in the column “Baker’s Dozen” written by Doug Baker of the Oregon Journal [4] . The club was successful for about seven years until its doors closed in 1970. [4] Notable performers included:
The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940). The club operated during the United States' era of Prohibition and Jim Crow era racial segregation. Black people initially could not patronize the Cotton Club, but the venue featured many of the most popular black entertainers of the era, including musicians Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Willie Bryant; vocalists Adelaide Hall, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Lillie Delk Christian, Aida Ward, Avon Long, the Dandridge Sisters, the Will Vodery choir, The Mills Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney, Billie Holiday, Midge Williams, Lena Horne, and dancers such as Katherine Dunham, Bill Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers, Charles 'Honi' Coles, Leonard Reed, Stepin Fetchit, the Berry Brothers, The Four Step Brothers, Jeni Le Gon and Earl Snakehips Tucker.
Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music.
Eliot is a neighborhood in the North and Northeast sections of Portland, Oregon. It is approximately bounded by the Willamette River on the west, NE Fremont Street on the north, NE 7th Avenue on the east, and NE/N Broadway on the south.
KXRY is a non-commercial class D radio station in Portland, Oregon, United States, operating under the name XRAY.fm. It is a mixed-format progressive, independent radio station which broadcasts progressive talk radio, cultural programs, and music of a wide variety of genres played by its disc jockeys. Its broadcast license is owned by Cascade Educational Broadcast Service. KXRY streams online at xray.fm.
Jefferson Smith is an American former radio personality and politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 47 in east Portland, from 2009 to 2012. He was one of two candidates for Mayor of Portland in 2012 to advance beyond the primary election, but lost to Charlie Hales in the November general election. He also founded Bus Project.
CC Slaughters is a gay bar and nightclub located in Portland, Oregon, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Portland bar is located in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, and the Puerto Vallarta bar is located in Zona Romántica.
The Roseland Theater, sometimes called the Roseland Theater and Grill, is a music venue located at 8 Northwest Sixth Avenue in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The building was originally a church, constructed by the Apostolic Faith Church in 1922. In 1982, Larry Hurwitz converted the building to a music venue called Starry Night. In 1990, the club's 21-year-old publicity agent was murdered in one of the theater's hallways; Hurwitz was convicted for this murder ten years later. Hurwitz sold the club in 1991, claiming he had lost support from the local music industry. The venue was given its current name during the 1991 ownership transfer. During the 1990s, Double Tee acquired control of the hall's operations, then purchased and renovated the building.
LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon is an important part of Pacific Northwest culture.
New Copper Penny was a nightclub located at the intersection of Southeast 92nd Avenue and Foster Road in Portland's Lents neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Alexis Restaurant was a Greek restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. It was established in 1981 and closed on November 7, 2016.
Albina is a collection of neighborhoods located in the North and Northeast sections of Portland, Oregon, United States. For most of the 20th century it was home to the majority of the city’s African American population. The area derives its name from Albina, Oregon, a historical American city that was consolidated into Portland in 1891. Albina includes the modern Portland neighborhoods of Eliot, Boise, Humboldt, Overlook, and Piedmont.
Geneva's Shear Perfection Barber & Beauty Salon was a barber shop and salon in northeast Portland, Oregon's King neighborhood, in the United States. The shop was located along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and has been described as a "cornerstone" of the city's African-American community. Geneva's closed in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Liquor Store was a bar, restaurant, and music venue in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2015, the business operated in a space previously occupied by the Blue Monk, a jazz club and restaurant, in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood. It was named the city's best new bar in Willamette Week's annual readers' poll in 2015 and 2016. The Liquor Store's upstairs had a bar and the owner's large vinyl record collection on display. The downstairs venue hosted live music and disc jockeys, playing a variety of genres, especially electronic music.
Louisa Flowers was a civic leader and property owner in Portland, Oregon where she was a resident for 45 years.
Berbati's Pan was a Greek restaurant, bar and music nightclub in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was located at 231 Southwest Ankeny Street and operated from 1985 to 2010.
Victoria Bar is a bar and restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Lonesome's Pizza was a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon. Co-owners Noah Antieu, Nic Reddy, and Nik Sin started the delivery-only business in 2010. In 2012, Lonesome's began operating from a window at the nightclub and music venue Dante's. Known for its quirky pizza names and for including artwork and music with deliveries, the pizzeria closed in 2017.
Clyde's Prime Rib is a steakhouse in Portland, Oregon.
Radar was a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. The bar served Modern American, Pacific Northwest, and Scandinavian cuisine from 2012 to 2022.