Crystal Hotel (Portland, Oregon)

Last updated
Crystal Hotel
Crystal Hotel from NE - Portland, Oregon (2017).jpg
The Crystal Hotel (formerly Hotel Alma) in 2017
Downtown Portland.png
Red pog.svg
Crystal Hotel
Location within Portland, Oregon
General information
Location Portland, Oregon
Address1201-1217 SW Stark St
OpeningMay 3, 2011
Other information
Number of rooms51
Hotel Alma
Location1201–1217 SW Stark Street
Portland, Oregon
Coordinates 45°31′22″N122°41′00″W / 45.522803°N 122.683439°W / 45.522803; -122.683439
Area0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built1911;112 years ago (1911)
ArchitectHans Hanselman
Architectural styleEarly Commercial
MPS Downtown Portland, Oregon MPS
NRHP reference No. 09000706 [1] [2]
Added to NRHPSeptember 9, 2009 [2]

The Crystal Hotel (formerly Hotel Alma) is a hotel located in downtown Portland, Oregon. Originally named the Hotel Alma, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2] The property is operated by McMenamins. [3]

Contents

History

Built in 1911 as the Hotel Alma, the building housed a hotel above and auto-focused business on busy Burnside. After World War II hosting the Club Mecca and later the Desert Room, which became a hallmark of vice within a US Senate hearing. By 1978, the building housed a gay bathhouse (Club Portland), and a gay bar, later known as Silverado. [4]

After an extensive renovation and restoration, McMenamins opened the hotel on May 3, 2011. [5] In 2023, the Zeus Café was renamed Hal's Café. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMenamins</span> Oregon company

McMenamins is a family-owned chain of brewpubs, breweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs in Oregon and Washington. Many of their locations are in rehabilitated historical properties; at least nine are on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the Brewers Association, McMenamins is one of the top 50 largest craft breweries in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy School</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Kennedy School, originally the John D. Kennedy Elementary School, is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain. The hotel has 35 guestrooms, a brewery, four bars, and a restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Hotel (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland, historically known as the Imperial Hotel and also as The Plaza Hotel, is a historic hotel building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. It was completed in 1894 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as "Imperial Hotel". Since 2015, the building has been in use as the Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland, and prior to then it had been known as the Hotel Vintage Plaza since 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flatiron Building (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Flatiron Building, also known as Ringlers Annex and Espresso Bar is a historic two-story building in downtown Portland, Oregon. Since 1989, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Previously, it had been designated a Portland Landmark by the city's Historic Landmarks Commission in 1988. This small building has a triangular footprint, as it sits at the end of a triangular lot bounded by West Burnside, SW Stark, and 12th Streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Alder</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Hotel Alder, is an historic five-story building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. In 2004, it was named to the National Register of Historic Places. It has also been known as the Hotel President, the Jack London Hotel, and Century Plaza. The ground floor is occupied by the popular Rialto Poolroom Bar and Cafe and an off-track betting parlor which was sold to new owners in December 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Ballroom (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Crystal Ballroom, originally built as Cotillion Hall, is a historic building on Burnside Street in Portland, Oregon, United States. Cotillion Hall was built in 1914 as a ballroom, and dance revivals were held there through the Great Depression. Starting in the 1960s, the hall has also been host to many popular pop, rock, folk, blues and jazz artists, as well as beat poetry and other entertainment.

Brian McMenamin is an American businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he and his older brother Mike McMenamin founded the McMenamins restaurant and brewpub chain in 1983. He serves as general manager and vice-president of the company which operates more than 50 locations that include music venues such as the Crystal Ballroom, movie theaters such as the Bagdad Theatre, historic buildings converted to brewpubs like the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, and several hotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Virginius Bennes</span> American architect

John Virginius Bennes was an American architect who designed numerous buildings throughout the state of Oregon, particularly in Baker City and Portland. In Baker City he did an extensive redesign of the Geiser Grand Hotel, designed several homes, and a now-demolished Elks building. He moved to Portland in 1907 and continued practicing there until 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelius Hotel</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Cornelius Hotel is a hotel building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by John V. Bennes's firm, and constructed in 1907–08. Its original period of use as a hotel had ended by the 1950s. A fire in 1985 left the top three floors uninhabitable. By the early 1990s the building had been vacated, and it then stood out of use for more than two decades. In 2016–2018, it was joined to the adjacent Woodlark Building, extensively renovated, and converted into a hotel. Named Woodlark House of Welcome, the hotel was scheduled to open on December 15, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake's Famous Crawfish</span> Seafood restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Jake's Famous Crawfish is a seafood restaurant in downtown Portland, Oregon, founded in 1892 by Jacob "Jake" Lewis Freiman. It is housed in the Whitney and Gray Building, completed in 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Hood Masonic Temple</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Mount Hood Masonic Temple in Portland, Oregon is a Masonic building from 1923. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Vacant since 1981, it was purchased by the McMenamins brewpub chain in 2007. Plans for renovation of the building were still being formulated in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elks Temple (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Elks Temple, also known as the Princeton Building and as the west wing of the Sentinel Hotel, is a former Elks building and historic hotel building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Built in 1923, it is one of two NRHP-listed buildings that make up the Sentinel Hotel, the other being the 1909-built Seward Hotel. The Seward was renamed the Governor Hotel in 1932, and in 1992 it was joined with the former Elks building, and thereafter the building became the west wing of a two-building hotel, an expanded Governor Hotel. The hotel's main entrance was moved to this building from the east building in 2004. The Governor Hotel was renamed the Sentinel Hotel in 2014. Use of the building as an Elks temple lasted less than a decade, ending in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elks Temple (Tacoma, Washington)</span> United States historic place

The Elks Temple in Tacoma, Washington is a historic Beaux Arts Fraternal building built in 1916 for the Fraternal Order of Elks, now housing the McMenamins Elks Temple hotel, restaurant and event space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multnomah Hotel</span> Hotel and historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Multnomah Hotel, located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States, is a historic hotel building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently operates as the Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Downtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roosevelt Hotel (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Roosevelt Hotel was a hotel located in downtown Portland, Oregon at 1005 SW Park. It was built in 1924 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000–2001 the building was converted to condominiums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevens Building (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Stevens Building is a commercial and office building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 12-story building was designed by Whidden & Lewis. The design is similar to the Failing Office Building (1907) and Wilcox Building (1911), also by Whidden & Lewis. Construction began in August 1913 and was completed in 1914, with the building opening on May 1, 1914. The total construction cost was $375,000. The building is approximately 152 feet (46 m) tall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hryszko Brothers Building</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Hryszko Brothers Building is a building located at 836 North Russell Street, in the historic Albina District of north Portland, Oregon, United States. It was established in 1905 by Polish immigrants as a meeting hall and aid station, later hosting meetings by the St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and the Polish Library. It is now operated by McMenamins under the name White Eagle Saloon & Hotel, or simply White Eagle. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club Portland</span> Defunct gay bathhouse in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Club Portland, previously known as Club Baths or Continental Club Baths, was a gay bathhouse in Portland, Oregon, United States. In its place now is a hotel and a bar by McMenamins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway Exchange Building (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Railway Exchange Building is a historic building in Portland, Oregon, also known as the Oregon Pioneer Building. The structure houses the restaurant Huber's.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  3. Saker, Anne (April 27, 2011). "McMenamins offers sneak peek at new Crystal Hotel in downtown Portland". The Oregonian . Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  4. "Crystal Hotel, Crystal Visions: Bathhouse turns McMenamins hotel".[ permanent dead link ]
  5. Skinner, Marjorie (January 19, 2011). "McMenamins Crystal Hotel Announces Opening". The Portland Mercury . Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  6. "McMenamins Zeus Café Has a New Name to Honor a Beloved Employee". Willamette Week. 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2023-06-25.