The Evolution of the Ash Street Saloon

You may have wandered by it. May have even caught a band playing there any night of the week. To me this place epitomizes your typical local bar for bands, loud, old, grungy, and full of people downing beer after beer.

But there is a history to the place. Before the Ash Street Saloon started in 1994, it was a Korean Restaurant, before that a Mexican joint, and long before that it was a bookstore, and sometime around that era a barbershop as well. The place has worn many faces.

There was a restaurant called Hesse’s Café in the 1915 and 1930s next to it, they used to pass out tokens for meals to all the sailors and port workers. It also had a card room in the back that few knew about.

But it all started as the Bickle Building, built in 1885. This was where the Portland City Council would meet up stairs... below was a confectionary (candy store).

Small Anecdote to all this history -- Across the street is the Multnomah Hotel (now an Embassy Suites)… in 1905 a bi-plane took off from the roof (that was a 60 foot runway they say)… in 1996 (likely at the opening of the Embassy suites) the stunt was re-enacted.