McMenamins Hotels, Pubs and Breweries — a Portland-based company with a penchant for rescuing, renovating and repurposing historic buildings — is working to transform a 1911 structure in downtown Portland into a full-service hotel. Called the Crystal Hotel due to its close proximity to McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, the new property is scheduled to open in early 2010.
The hotel's triangular footprint will encompass 50 guest rooms; a restaurant offering breakfast, lunch, dinner and outdoor seating; a heated saltwater soaking pool; spa-like massage rooms; and the subterranean Cellar Bar, which will connect to McMenamins' existing Ringlers Annex Pub next door. Through artwork and historic photographs, McMenamins will commemorate the property's evolution from pioneer residence to tire shop to live jazz club to — most recently and significantly — part of Portland's “gay triangle.”
In addition to adjoining Ringlers Annex, the new hotel is just one block from McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, a historic venue that has presented live national music/dance acts since the 1920s, ranging from Rudolph Valentino to the Grateful Dead to Modest Mouse. With its location in Portland's Burnside Triangle/West End district, the hotel will be adjacent to the Pearl District, two blocks from Powell's City of Books, and a five-minute walk from Portland's downtown city center.
www.mcmenamins.com
