Benson Hotel

About The Benson Hotel

Simon Benson, a local lumber magnate, had a vision of building a world-class hotel in Portland Oregon. He commisioned a prominent area architect, Albert E. Doyle, to design this vision. The lobby of the hotel was lavishly appointed with imported italian marble and russian walnut. The hotel was originally opened in 1913 as an annex to the Oregon Hotel, but after some financial problems Benson took over management, and the hotel was renamed. In 1959 an 175 room extension was built on the site of the former Hotel Oregon, almost doubling the number of guestrooms.

The hotel has gone through many management changes; the first was in 1919 when Simon Benson sold the hotel after he had proven that it could turn a profit. It has changed hands many times since then, and it is currently owned by Coast Hotels and Resorts.

The whole hotel was extensively renovated and modernized in 1980 at the cost of three million dollars. Five concealed doors were added at the time of this removation. There are two in the restaurant, one behind the front desk, one for the concierge, and one for the hotel manager’s office.

The hotel’s elegant restaurant, the London Grill, was opened in 1955 and occupies the basement. One of the hotel’s secret doors leads to a small private dining room that doubles as a wine cellar. The room conviniently enough, is called the Wine Cellar, and can be reserved for private parties of up to twelve people.

Ghost Stories

There are a couple of ghosts that are said to haunt the benson. An elegantly dressed man is sometimes seen on the lobby’s grand staircase, and the ghost of a woman in white has also been seen wandering the halls. The activity seems to peak when the hotel is undergoing renovation or modernization. Our waiter for dinner at the London Grill, who had worked there for 28 years, had never personally experienced any phenomena, but did mention that several guests had mentioned encountering the supernatural. Unfortunately, he could not give any specific examples of stories from guests..

Our Review

We thouroughly enjoyed our stay at the Benson. We were torn between staying here or at the Heathman Hotel down the street. Ultimately we went with the less expensive of the two options to help our bank account, but were wonderfully satisfied. The Benson was not only the less expensive, but was also more classy and elegant. We ate dinner and breakfast at the London Grill. Both the service and the food were phenomenal. The breakfast buffet was excelent. We could hardly believe the vast amount of food that was spread out for the patrons.

Pittock Mansion

About The Pittock Mansion

The Pittock Mansion was built as the private residence of Henry Pittock, and early resident of Portland and owner of The Oregonian newspaper, and his wife Georgiana. The 20 rooms mansion is located in the hills overlooking Portland. Although Henry Pittock only occupied the house for a few years, the decedants of the Pittock family remained in the house until 1958. Because the building was extensively damaged in a 1962 storm, the family considered demolishing the building. Local residents raised over $75,000 dollars to help buy the property. In 1964 the city of Portland, recogizing the significance of the landmark, purchased the estate for $225,000. After eighteen months of restoration, the mansion and grounds were opened to the public.

Ghost Stories

There are only a few reports we came across mentioning the house as being haunted by the ghosts of Henry and Georgiana Pittock. They are both said to have been seen by guests and employees alike, although we did not get any confirmation of this from the employees that we interviewed.

Our Review

A beautiful example of the many mansions and estates formerly owned by a prominent member of the local communities past. The building was gorgeous, and we definately recomend that anyone visiting Portland take some time to check out this local treasure.

Heathman Hotel

About The Heathman Hotel

The Heathman Hotel was originally opened in late 1927 as the New Heathman Hotel by George Heathman Jr. The hotel was the centerpiece of Portland’s entertainment district. When residents moved from the city center to the suburbs following World War II, Portland’s Great White Way went into decline. Bouyed by the construction of the nearby Portland Center for the Performing arts and the revitalized former Portland Theater, now known as the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the hotel underwent a $16 million renovation in the middle 80s. The building has come full circle; once again becoming a modern presitigious hotel in the midst of Portland’s bustling entertainment mecca.

When the hotel was modernized, it was truly modernized. Contemporary design and modern artwork was incorporated into the buildings historic facade.

Ghost Stories

The Heathman is said to be haunted by the ghost of someone who committed suicide by jumping out of room 1003. While the concentration of ghostly activity is said to come from room 703, all of the rooms that the person past on their way down are said to be haunted. Some of the manifestations include: cleans towels being used when no one was in the room, full glasses of water becoming empty, and desks and chairs being moved.

Our Review

While we did not stay or eat at the Heathman during our visit, we did explore it and listened to the live music, we did not enjoy it as much as the Benson Hotel down the street. The lobby felt closed in, and while we do enjoy elements of modern design, the lobby felt sterile and uninviting.

Toys R Us, Eugene

About The Toys “R” Us in Eugene, OR

The second haunted Toys “R” Us that we have investigated. The first was the Toys “R” Us in Sunnyvale, CA.

Ghost Stories

Deb, who has worked in the store since 1993, says that the store is definately haunted. In the stock room above the electronics section banging noises can be heard and things seem to move out of the corner of your eye. Once she was standing in the electronics section and heard magazines flipping, she went over to the racks and saw them just falling off of the rack. No one else was around.

She originally lived in San Jose and worked at the Toys “R” Us on Winchester Boulevard; she said that that Toys “R” Us also had strange happenings.

Jill, who has been working there since 2001, was closing up one night with a coworker named Ben. They heard the overhead making beeping noises with music playing. They both left wuickly afterwards.

She heard a story about three women working as an overnight crew, they heard voices coming from the womans bathroom, but there was no one in there.

Our Review

We were surprised when we read that there was another Toys “R” Us in the world that was supposed to be haunted. We were always familiar with the one in Sunnyvale. We didn’t really get to explore much, but who cares, it was an excuse to go into a Toys “R” Us!

Thompson Roadhouse

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.

Mission Mill Museum

About The Mission Mill Museum

The Mission Mill Museum is a collection of historic buildings from Salem’s past, including houses, a church, and the mill itself. The museum celebrates two parts of Salem’s past, the methodist missionaries that founded Salem, and the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill that operated in Salem from 1889 until 1962. In the wearhouse building where the self guided tour starts, there is a collection of small shops, a cafe called Tucker’s at the Mill, a small museum, and a small theater that shows the pre-tour video. The fourth floor of the mill is home to the Textile Learning Center; there members of the Salem Fiberarts Guild operate the looms and answer questions about weaving from 10:00 to 2:00. They also have meetings on the premises and offer classes to those interested in textiles.

Ghost Stories

There are reports of a former employee of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill named Wayne Menzter who still wanders the area, and the form of a woman who can be seen running across one of the bridges in the area. Wayne Mentzer was the millwright and, according to the story on the tour, used to leave food out for the mice that lived there. After the mill closed he kept all of the machinary and tools from the machine shop in his basement at home, upon his death his widow donated it all to the museum. When we entered the machine shop we were given a bit of a fright, because all of the machinary is set to turn on when someone enters the room and triggers a photocell. We quickly realized the true reason all the machines kicked on, but it did give us a fright for a second.

Our Review

We discovered the Mission Mill Museum quite by accident. We got a little turned around while exploring Salem Oregon and came upon it. Recognizing that we had encountered the name while looking for haunted places in Oregon, we decided to stop in and take a look. The first place we stopped was the small restaurant/cafe, and we were greatly impressed by the quality of the food. The service at Tucker’s at the Mill was restaurant style, meaning there was a wait staff, and the food was not fast food quality hamburgers and hot dogs but really nice sandwiches, pastas, salads, deserts, and a quiche of the day. The museum tour was self guided, first leading you to some out buildings from the mission that occupied the land and others from the same time period. We were then lead to the mill. Very clean and well laid out. We spent a good deal of time at the Textile Learning Center talking to the ladies who were weaving there. The cost of the tour was reasonable, and the food was excelent.

Hotel Oregon

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

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.

North Portland Library

About North Portland Library

The North Portland Library is a branch of the Multnomah county library system located in northern Portland. The building was constructed in 1913 and refurbished in 1999. In addition to the general collection the library houses the Black Resource Collection, a selection of materials relating to the black experience. The Library is close to the Portland Community College Cascade campus.

Ghost Stories

The second floor meeting room is said to be haunted. In the early nineties the figure of a man has been seen on the second floor on security cameras. According to one website on the subject, the second floor is closed and locked when it is not in use, but we were able to walk up there and look around without any hinderances.

Our Review

We did not experience anything unusual in the library during our brief visit. The library seemed nice and clean, if not a little small compared to the branch libraries in our area, but it was bustling with much activity.

White Eagle Tavern

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.