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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2000)
august ta. 2000' If the smaller establishments did close or move, he says his business still would be affect ed. “Sure, the synergy in the neighborhood is really important.” Other Stark Street bars did not return calls from Just Out. Wilson says the bars along Stark Street prob ably can hold on as rents increase in the area. But he wonders if they will. “I personally think it would be too bad,” W il son says about the possibility of Stark Street los ing its gay bars. “Most of us probably feel that »» way. But Club Portland is another story. Wilson says someone likely will try to force the build ing’s ownership to turn over. If the bathhouse is perceived as a detriment to market a project, Wilson says, something will happen sooner or later. He guesses a deal already might he in the works because the Brewery Blocks are within a stone’s throw of the front door. Club Portland’s management and landlord could not be reached for comment. P rogress or P olitics .7 lthough numerous planning documents mention the Burnside Triangle through out, none mention the fact the area is frequent ed by the gay community— particularly men. Not only that, officials claim not one disparag ing comment has been made during community meetings and workshops. Multiple gatherings with people from every walk of life, and nobody mentions a bathhouse, two bars with nude dancers, public sex acts or young male prostitutes? Clark says it simply hasn’t come up. “It may come up between (com m ittee) members, but not in the larger forums,” he says. “Yes, it does surprise me.” Clark thinks the lack of controversy might be because people don’t know what is on the street. Wilson thinks the neighborhood is more subtle than one might think because of its mixed crowd. “It’s not just gay men,” he says. You might start hearing a little more about the issue though, he says. When he first heard about the city’s desire to make a development plan for the Burnside Tri angle, Wilson thought the aim was to drive many of the gay businesses along Stark Street \ out, but he now says that is not his impression. Others aren’t so sure. Dave Haysom has seen Portland’s bar scene ebb and flow through the years, sometimes growing and sometimes diminishing. Change can be good, he says. But Haysom thinks Stark Street’s days are numbered. He says he’s felt it for a long time. “My fear is that it’s just going to completely go away and no one is going to care,” the long time Portland resident says. “I’ve had the impression for several years that they wanted us out of this area.” Haysom hits heard many people express their disenchantment with the Burnside Triangle. “They be risky, Wilson says, because there is strength in numbers. T he P atrons f the bars do relocate, forced out because of skyrocketing rents, Tom and Oscar might not follow. The transplanted couple from California say they usually go to straight bars. But when they do venture out looking for gay night life, they always come to Stark Street. They say they like to park and visit a number of establishments, which is the appeal of the area. If drink and food prices went up to accom I "A fy fear is that it's just going to completely go away ana no one is going to care. I've had the impression for several years that they wanted us out of the area." — Dave Haysom are bored,” he says, seated at the Red Cap Garage. He wouldn’t be surprised if the goal is to quietly force gay bars out of Southwest Portland. “I’m very jaded when it comes to government.” Haysom says that it doesn’t matter who the mayor is and that such an action wouldn’t nec essarily be a vendetta. He thinks some people are afraid the neighborhood and its bars will keep people from coming and spending money. But Haysom doesn’t expect Stark Street’s bars to disappear. They’ll just be in a different location, he says. Although some patrons expect another neighborhood to emerge as “the new Stark Street,” others predict the bars more likely will be dispersed throughout Portland. This would nearby development actually might draw more in, Terry expects. That concerns him. These days, the bars are not filled with just gay men, he says; they are filled with heterosex ual patrons as well. He expects increased devel opment would bring more foot traffic, more straight people and higher drink prices. “It would affect me,” Terry explains. He likes to go to gay bars because he feels at home and surrounded by his community. John, also a patron at Scandals, says he doesn’t expect anything to change. He thinks that all of the bars have long leases and that there is little else anyone can do to remove them. At least one area har, the Eagle PDX, has lost its lease and is operating on a month-to-month agreement with its landlord. It has not announced if or where it will move, although some speculate it might be headed for Old Town near the company’s other establishment, C.C. Slaughter’s. The Eagle’s management says it will remain in its current location at the comer of Burnside and Southwest 13th Avenue at least through the end of the year hut declined to pro vide any additional details. “Portland is an open-minded town,” says John, a native of the city. “We can accept exchanging of cultures and lifestyles.” John says change hasn’t affected Jake’s Famous Crawfish, one of the city’s most popular eateries, so why would it affect anything else.7 “T hat’s why we are in the city!” T he F uture he Bureau of Planning will be taking public comment for one more month before final izing the proposal and publishing it. PABA members will continue to gather information and consider formulating an action plan, although the group is uncertain whether it will move forward in the end. The Portland Planning Commission will review the proposal at a public hearing, tenta tively set for Oct. 24- The Portland City Coun cil is expected to hold hearings on the recom mendations early next year. Despite differing opinions about the future of the Burnside Triangle and what is best for the area’s residents as well as the city as a whole, dra matic change is certain to be on its way. Portland’s gay community only can guess whether the insti tution of gay Stark Street, draped in its seediness and rich history, will be a part of that change. Some will watch from afar, while others will move forward, have their say and exert their influence. In the meantime, if you see a rainbow flag fly ing along Stark Street, you can assume that the party still is going and that it’s not closing time— at least not yet. So park your Jaguar and stop in for a beer— you even might meet a stripper. T ■ Contact Graham C b r k o f the BUREAU OF PLANNING at fprcbrk@ci -Portland,or.us fo r m ore information. modate increasing rents, the couple of eight years still would travel from their Clackamas County home to the Burnside Triangle. But they say they likely wouldn’t go to bars scattered all over town. Terry, sipping a beer at Scandals, says finding new spaces in Portland for the bars might be difficult. “Some parts of the community don’t want a gay bar at all,” he says. “There are limited areas where a gay bar cap be. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the bars were forced out. If the city had its way, (the bars) will all be divided up.” Rather than forcing businesses to move out of the neighborhood, the JONATHAN K i r r is a Just Out staff reporter who can be reached at jkipp@teleport.com. 23
