On a walking tour of Portland, crime, corruption, vice and the infamous Shanghai Tunnels show off a different side to Oregon’s hipster city.
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Erickson’s Nine Bar Saloon
“Men outnumbered women 16 to one,” says tour guide Conor. “And they were looking for the three Bs – beds, booze and beauties.”
These days, Portland in Oregon is the high command of hipsterism – a city of microbrewers, coffee roasters, cyclists and locavores. But this is a fairly recent phenomenon. For much of its history, Portland has been a slightly seedy backwater.
Along 2nd Avenue, the city’s initial main drag, Conor points to what was once Erickson’s Nine Bar Saloon. “It was famous across the seven seas and took up an entire city block. There was 700ft of bar space and it rented out rooms by the half hour.” No prizes for guessing the real occupation of the “seamstresses” who spent a lot of time in said rooms.
Prohibition in Portland, Oregon
Erickson’s finally closed with the dawn of prohibition, but that didn’t stop others. By the river, Conor tells the tale of an enterprising landlady who ran a bar-cum-brothel on a houseboat. Back then, East Portland was a separate city, and every time the police from either side came to shut her operation down, she’d simply head over to the opposite bank. Eventually police got so annoyed that they cut her boat’s anchor on the sly, sending the boat tumbling down towards the rapids. However, just before the rapids, it was rescued by a friend and patron of the landlady, then towed back into position. The next day, the police were baffled to see their nemesis back – and the two cities eventually merged.
The Vortex I Festival and Richard Nixon
The skulduggery wasn’t just limited to bar owners. By the waterfront, there is Tom McCall Waterfront Park, named after the former Governor of Oregon, who implemented many progressive environmental policies but wasn’t averse to a bit of conniving. The best story involves the state-sponsored Vortex I festival, which was held at the foot of Mt Hood, about 18 miles away.
Fearing massive protests at Richard Nixon coming to Portland, McCall thought the best way of making sure hippy protestors ruin the visit was putting on the festival at the same time, and putting on free buses to get people there. Curiously, the advertised headliners – Jefferson Airplane and Santana – never showed up.
And, outside the courthouse, there’s the spot where confiscated barrels of alcohol would be ostentatiously smashed. When it was due to be demolished, a discovery was made – a few holes in the ground drained to a secret cellar where fresh barrels were kept. The booze would simply drain down into them, then get resold by the police on the sly.
The Shanghai Tunnels of Portland
The most notorious tunnels, however, were the Shanghai Tunnels, where rumour has it that press-ganged sailors would be smuggled onto boats. As Conor takes us down to one, the truth is more mundane – they were used for quick movement of goods, not people.
But that doesn’t mean the Shanghai-ing didn’t happened. In fact, it was rife. In the late 19th century, ‘crimps’ would look out for fresh, illiterate arrivals from the Oregon Trail, loan them a couple of dollars and make them sign a contract. Said contract stated the money wasn’t a loan, but a pay advance that would have to be worked off. “Basically, you suddenly belonged to a burly sea captain,” says Conor.
Visitors are treated a little better these days, and 2nd Avenue is undergoing a resurgence. There are now seven bars on the block where Erickson’s once stood – all serving local craft beer. Just the two more to go…
More Pacific North West travel ideas
For a range of Portland tours and activities, hunt here.
Other Pacific North West articles on Planet Whitley include a review of the Klondike Goldrush National Historical Park in Seattle.
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