One hundred years ago, a special train traveled east from Portland, filled with passengers of remarkably diverse backgrounds, all bound for the same destination: the poor farm. They had been "rescued" from conditions deemed deplorable at Multnomah County's original poor farm, located where the Oregon Zoo is today. Now they were being placed in the just-completed, comparably plush accommodations of the county's new facility in Troutdale, accommodations that were in fact a far cry better than what could be found in most homes elsewhere in Troutdale at that time.
That's how the first residents of McMenamins Edgefield arrived in 1911. As mothers have warned us over the years, though, there were many ways one could end up at the poor farm.
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Miss Olevia Ireland arrived in Portland around 1909 and first worked as an actress. By 1913, she had given up the theater, taking a position as a dance instructor at Montrose Ringler's Dreamland Academy (located at SW 2nd and Morrison).
Read MoreMaxine Brooks Telephone Interview
February 24 and March 8, 1999
Maxine Brooks was born around 1912. In 1923, when she was about 11, Maxine started taking ballet lessons at the Hotel Elberton [now McMenamins Hotel Oregon] in McMinnville...
Read MoreIn the early 1970s, the reunion at Centralia of two talented friends fueled a wellspring of creative energy that resulted in intimate, unapologetic portrayals of two infamous Centralia subjects steeped in secrecy and intrigue-- the 1919 Armistice Day Tragedy and the Olympic Club.
Read MoreRoom 301 honors Joseph E. Penney, an iconic figure of early-day Portland, whose lifetime of peaks and valleys was the stuff of legend – so much so, Edgefield Distillery named a fine American Dry Gin after him.....
Read MoreWelcome to the cyber catacombs of McMenamins history. It's a wondrous, multi-layered and lyrical realm brimming with life, from the day-to-day to the extraordinary.
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At the Grand Lodge, the mosaics in the basement hallways were inspired by the work of Spanish artist Antonio Gaudi. “Wine is bottled poetry.” -- Robert Louis Stevenson Which beer is our best-selling ale? Hammerhead, of course. Have a pint or two today! Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII, was said to be able to drink any man under the table. You show ‘em, Betsy! How many McMenamins are there in the Seattle area? Three – Mill Creek, Six Arms and Queen Anne. McMenamins has a full-time historian on staff. He collects stories, photos, anecdotes and more about McMenamins spots, past and present. Give it up for St. Arnold, the patron saint of brewers! His miracle was a tankard of ale that never ran dry… Put him on the invite list. “We borrowed golf from Scotland as we borrowed whiskey. Not because it is Scottish, but because it is good.” -- Horace Hutchinson What’s the name of the Kennedy brewery? The Concordia Brewery, named for the surrounding neighborhood. “Give me a woman who truly loves beer and I will conquer the world.” – Kaiser Wilhelm II Does each McMenamins pub brew beer? Nope – only our brewpubs and breweries do. They supply our other spots. What was the very first McMenamins pub, opened by Mike and Brian McMenamin? The Barley Mill on SE Hawthorne in Portland. The Centzon-Totochtin (“Infinite Rabbits”) was an Aztec group that represented the ways humans are affected by intoxication. “Wine is bottled poetry.” -- Robert Louis Stevenson
