Tag Archives: McMenamins

Thompson Roadhouse

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About The Thompson Roadhouse

The Thompson Brewpub and Public House is another establishment in the vast McMenamins empire of old historic buildings in Oregon. the building was built in 1905 by former cival war soldier Franklin Thomspon. The building operated as numerous businesses including a German restaurant, a real estate office, and a day care before it was purchased by the McMenamins and refurbished.

Ghost Stories

The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of Franklin Thompson. We interviewed the employees that were working at the time, but they had no personal stories. John the bartender, who had worked there for years at the time of our visit, has been told that strange things happen in the room at the top of the stairs, but he had no specific examples of what those strange things were.

Our Review

By this point on our trip we were getting a little tired of eating at McMenamins pubs. Not that their food is not very good, but that it gets bit tiring. The food was good, and the staff was very friendly. It was mostly empty when we visited with only two people working the front including the bartender. There were two people at the bar and when we came in we were the only people sitting at a table.

Hotel Oregon

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About The Hotel Oregon

The Hotel Oregon, currently operated by McMenamins, was originally opened in 1905 as the Hotel Elberton. Once bustling, the building went into a steady decline until the building was renovated in 1998 and the fourth and top floor was finally finished. The building’s rich history is documented in artwork on the walls. The hotel hosts an annual UFO convention each may due to the 1950 UFO sightings and photographs in the town by a local farmer. The hotel has 42 European style rooms, two bars, and a restaurant. The walls are decorated with art celebrating not only the buildings history and former occupants, but the town of McMinville’s famous UFO sighting in 1950.

Ghost Stories

The ghost of the Hotel Oregon is known as John and is said to probably be a long term resident of the hotel that died. Cold spots have been felt on the first two floors and in the cellar bar.

None of the employees with whom we talked had any personal experiences. One did mention that the doors to “Matties” room (a conference room) would lock and unlock themselves, and that the cellar was creepy. We investigated the conference room, but we were unable to explore the cellar.

While we were investigating the fourth floor before dinner, my wife distinctly detected the smell of lavender, but I did not.

Our Review

The Hotel Oregon, like many McMenamins hotels, does not have bathrooms in most guest rooms, has multiple places to imbibe libations, has numerous murals and canvas paintings adorning the walls. The rooftop pub afforded wonderful views of the area, and was a nice place to get a drink at the end of the day. It was a little cold up there, even in July, but well worth the visit. We enjoyed our steak and salmon dinners in the main restaurant. We went up to the Rooftop bar for drinks and deserts afterwards, which was very nice. We were unable to visit the Cellar Bar because it was not open on the days that we were there (it was only open for the weekends.)

Kennedy School

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About Kennedy School

McMenamins Kennedy School is a former elementary school in northeast Portland. The school was originally opened in 1915 and closed in 1975. Refurbished and converted into a hotel and restaurant by the McMenamins as part of their extensive empire of converted old historic buildings fused with extensive paintings and murals, historical photographs, and relics of the buildings former life. The walls and doors are decorated with images giving tribute to the education that thousands of students received in the schools rich history. There is a restaurant, a movie theater, and a soaking pool.

Ghost Stories

There are reports of a ghost haunting a women’s restroom on the premises, and the story of a suicide in one of the classrooms. While we found references to its being haunted from several sources, all of the explanations are vague, and none of them were even slightly confirmed by any employees that we talked to. We are glad we checked the place out, but disappointed that we did not get anything more interesting as a result.

Our Review

We did not get an opportunity to stay at this hotel on this trip, but we did wander the halls and eat in the restaurant. The menu in the restaurant was more extensive than typical McMenamins pub fair, but not as upscale as you would find in their restaurants like the Black Rabbit Restaurant at Edgefield.

White Eagle Tavern

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About The White Eagle Tavern

The white eagle tavern is a small bar and hotel in an industrial neighborhood in North Portland. It was opened in 1905 by polish imigrants and catered to the eastern Europeans who worked in the local docks and factories. The second floor of the building was once used as a brothel along with the basement. Starting in the 1970s the tavern began its live music tradition, earning it the nickname Rock n’ Roll Hotel. The modern White Eagle Tavern continues this tradition. The Hotel is convinient to the Arena and the Convention Center.

Ghost Stories

There are reports from various sources of two different ghosts that haunt the building. Rose, a prostitute who was killed by a jelous customer/lover, and Sam, a resident who died in room 2, “Midnight in Paris.”. None of the employees who worked there when we visited had any interesting ghostly experiences. We stayed in “Midnight in Paris” during our trip, but did not encounter anything otherworldly ourselves.

Our Review

With only eleven rooms and no night staff, I would hardly consider this to be a “hotel,” which is not to say I did not enjoy the stay or that I would not stay there again. It, like most McMennamins, does not have private bathrooms or showers, so if that is something that you value in accomadations, this hotel is not for you. The stay was pleasant, and the food was typical McMennamins. I really enjoyed the White Eagle Burger which is signature to this McMennamins, although some of the others do have it under a different name. The menu is filled mostly with “Pub Food,” but it is very good quality for that. The staff was very friendly, and it did have a nice feel. The music the night that we stayed there was two DJs mixing Reggae, not exactly what I would call a continuation of the venues reputation for “live” nighly music, and despite the music being played in the tavern below us, I was able to sleep soundly. Parking is a bit of an issue, the lot immediately next door is not a parking lot for the hotel, and the one that it does have seems to fill up very quickly. We found a metered spot on the street that was not enforced due to the Independence Day holiday.

McMenamins Edgefield

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Originally Built in 1911 to function as the Multnomah County Poor Farm. Residents ran a self-sufficient community, with a farm, laundry, kitchen, and hospital wing. In 1962 it was renamed Edgefield Manor and operated as a nursing home until 1982 when it was closed. In 1990 the McMenamin brothers bought the property and slowly began renovating and restoring the buildings and grounds. McMenamins Edgefield now has a Winery, Distillery, Brewery, Pub, Golf Course, Restaurant, Banquet Facilities, and European style lodgings. Murals and artwork by local artists adorn the walls, doors, and even the pipes. There is something new to see or do around every corner.

Ghost Stories

There are two places at Edgefield that are supposed to contain ghosts. In the old hospital wing over what is now the winery, people are suddenly come over with sadness, and a nurse has been seen wandering the halls. In the administrator’s a young girl (said to be the old administrator’s daughter who died young) has been seen wandering, guests have had their ankles held in the middle of the night, and a black man in tattered clothing has been seen.

Our Review

Accommodations: The decor is a contradiction. Very sparse rooms. Ours had a fairly hard bed, a desk & a sink. We had to share a bathroom. (which based on the information for the 2 other McMenamin’s hotels nearby, is pretty par for the course.) However, there is very little wall space that is not painted with some fantastical scene, or of a person who used to live at the poor farm. So in that sense, there is an abundance of style.

If you like spirits of the liquid kind, this is the place to come. There are at least 7 places to drink.

The Black Rabbit is the in-house restaurant. If you look up at the sprinkler pipes there, you can see the figurine of a little boy trying to feed a black rabbit a carrot.

The food is good, the artwork is phenomenal, but we missed having a private bathroom.

We stayed here are part of our “Haunted Honeymoon.” You can get more information about our stay on our honeymoon pages day 6 and day 7.

Official site for McMenamins Edgefield