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.
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