McMenamins
The Boiler Room Bar!
There is a restaurant, bar, music venue and hotel chain up here in the Pacific Northwest that is quite unlike anything I have ever seen before. The company is called McMenamins and they have some very impressive places to relax and have a good time.
Before I moved up here to Oregon… my brother had told me about them and what he described was pretty wild. They are known for renovating old spaces and giving them a second life. With 62 locations spread across Oregon and Washington… you can almost throw a rock and hit a McMenamins… in the best way possible! They also make their own wine, liquor and beer! Plus… their food is excellent!
Close to me there is one called the Ram’s Head and it used to be a speakeasy back in the day! When you go in there… you can really feel the history of the place. One thing that they do really well is create great ambience in their locations. Sometimes their design can be a bit psychedelic but it gives the places a fun quirkiness that is endearing.
I just recently went to one of their locations that I’ve been meaning to go to for a long time. It is called Kennedy School and is an old elementary school that opened in 1915 that has been turned into a hotel with six bars inside of it! I can’t believe I held off going here until recently. It is amazing as you can imagine. They even have a salt water soaking pool for the people that stay the night there.
Out of the many bars that are in the school… I have to say that the standout is the Boiler Room bar. It is a multi-story bar that used to be… surprise… the boiler room for the school! The aesthetic is incredible with railings that have been sculpted into pipes and valves and this is just one small aspect of the place… everywhere you look there is something to see. And I don’t know how they did it… but they even have a pool table hidden away in one of the side areas on the ground floor of the bar. When you are sitting at the bar you are definitely having an experience because the bar is telling a story and for me… that is something that I wish more places did.
Picture Courtesy of McMenamins
After visiting that bar… I had to move on to one of the other numerous bars that the school is host to. Hilariously enough… I decided to put myself in Detention. This is a very small bar that only has two seats at the bar with more seating on the sides of the room but… that alone gives it a vibe unto itself. It is more intimate and has a very different feel from the Boiler Room. There is even a wood burning stove pipe tucked into the corner that will keep you toasty as you are getting toasty. Needless to say… their Old Fashions are quite nice.
Overall… I cannot praise this place enough. If you are looking for a destination to have a great time at… this place should be on your list. It is kind of like an adult Disney World. Albeit a little smaller but somewhere you can roam the halls with a drink in your hand and just… explore this old school. I can tell you that the artwork in the hallways… is definitely weird but fun. Lets just say that I will be heading back here sooner rather than later because there are more bars to visit and I have to see what else this place has to offer. This place just seems like it has hidden wonders just waiting to be experienced.
