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March 21, 2012
Candlelight Blows Out
encing a num ber o f late night
fights, Diloreto explained they
began to provide music and en
tertainm ent, which has becom e a
staple o f the neighborhood.“We
were prim arily blues for the first
10-years, and then we added R&B
and funk to keep the crow ds
cornin’ in,” he said.
And coming in, they did.
Listed on their bar website,
good reviews o f the Candlelight
Room are not hard to find.
“Am using as it may seem that
the C andlelight Room yet exists
downtown, it’s not really a stop
for tourists. In an age where blues
b a rs la rg e ly e n d u re as c h ic
c o n t i n u e d f r o m front
borhood grocery, wasn’t anything
special, but for many residents the
Candlelight Room has been a home
away from home since the doors
opened nearly three decades ago.
“It draws in quite a crowd,” said
Diloreto, adding the live music and
the intimate small setting are why
individuals visit the most. “There is
music seven nights a week with no
cover,” he said. “And it’s comfort
able."
During the day, he said students
from the neighboring Portland State
University come in for a break. At
night, however, regulars from all
walks of life fill the room in south
west, downtown.
Diloreto, who has worked at the
bar for 25-years, said there was time
when the only music came from an
old juke box available for customer
use.
The Candlelight Room, which has
become a staple for many residents
since the music began, has been
passed through multiple owners
with an eclectic mix of names since
1954, when Lester Beckman pur
chased the building and leased the
space to a young man who con
verted the store into a restaurant
known as Mogal’s.
In 1963, the restaurant was sold
to Sydney Porter, who was a tal
ented and well-known pianist, and
changed the name to Sydney's,
which hosted guests such as Ella
Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.
But after P orter’s death, the
bar, which residents have grown
to know today, was created when
signifiers, The C andlelight in
dulges a dirty, grimy R&B groove
so sham elessly drunken and ag
gressively lewd that ironic detach
ment sh an ’t stand,” wrote one
custom er.
“It’s perilously close to PSU,
and w e’ll buy a drink if you can
spot a student - or anyone under
forty beyond the occasional bass
ist likely press-ganged by uncles
for bar-band service.”
Another custom er said, “No
m atter what, the music is going to
be great. Totally reliable that way.
Always danceable.”
Although the bar will be clos
ing its doors, the announcem ent
Day time bartender Mark Diloreto, who has worked at the Candle
light Room for 2 5 years, serves customers inside the building
near Portland State University, downtown. The café and bar,
known for attracting a diverse clientele with live blues, soul and
R&B, closes its doors at the end o f the month to make room for
construction o f light rail mass transit.
passed along to Bill Hills, who
tore out the stage and made room
for the dive bar.
Although the space was soon
sold to Ron Mead, the ownership
only changed once more in 1984,
when Joe Shore bought the local
spot.
When Shore was on vacation,
the bartenders decided it was time
to have some live music again.
W e a r e W O M EN S HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATES.
For Diloreto, however, he re
m em bers the bar before music
sounded through its walls each
night, and the main clientele were
m ostly middle easterners travel
ing through the city. “This place
is probably known throughout the
w orld,” he said.
‘Boogie Cat’ Norman Sylvester will host a ‘Wrecking Ball Jam, ”
“W hen I first started working
celebration on Saturday, March 31, to mark the end o f an era for
here, we didn’t have bands,” he
live blues, soul and R&B at the popular Candlelight Room,
said. But over time, after experi downtown.
w w w . w h a llc .c o m
RECOMMENDED BY BABIES ALL OVER THE PORTLAND METRO AREA.
that the bar is in its last days has
catalyzed an increase in business
for the well-known dive. “It’s been
getting’ busier,” said Diloreto.
Chris Bradshaw, a local resi
dent of Portland, brought his cam
era with him on his first visit to the
bar, last week. “I wanted to see it
before it’s gone,” he said. “It
seems like the way Portland was
before the hipsters took over.”
W hile many are sad to see the
new location go, others are hope
ful the candlelight room, with its
rich history o f sustaining change,
will open for business in a new
location, which will bring the same
vibe and variety of custom ers.
Diloreto said, however, the new
place will be inevitably quite a
change from what they have now.
Coming up on Saturday, March
31, starting at 5 p.m. the C andle
light Room will host its final live
music event with featuring artist
Norm an Sylvester who will draw
the crow ds together to celebrate
63-years o f the location where the
bar w elcom ed anyone and every
one through its doors.