September 4, 2019
The
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INSIDE L O C A L N E W S
Week in Review
M ETRO
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photo by b everly c orbell /t he p ortland o bserver
Fred Ryan feared the worst when a fire caused damage to his historic Grand Avenue Boxing Club
at 8333 N.E. Russell St., but now must await a full inspection of the building before he knows if it’s
possible to move back in at some point. The club has been a community resource for generations.
Awaiting Word on Damage
Historic Grand
Avenue gym
hopes to reopen
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
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by b everly c orbell
t he p ortland o bserver
Fred Ryan was very grateful
when his Grand Avenue Boxing
Club appeared to be spared from
last week’s northeast Portland in-
ferno where an intentionally-set
fire destroyed two large commer-
cial buildings next door as well as
two townhomes down the street,
but Ryan learned Tuesday, there
may be damage to the gym’s
building that’s not easily seen.
He said the fire department will
have to inspect the building before
any repairs can be made.
“If it rains before then, the place
may have to be condemned,” he
said.
The fire came within inches of
the club at 8333 N.E. Russell St.,
but the building sustained water
and smoke damage in the effort to
keep flames at bay.
Ryan hopes to open in the near
future and at the same site if at all
possible.
It’s important to reopen soon,
Ryan said, because it’s vital to the
kids who come there to work out
and learn to box, a skill that serves
them well, he said.
“If it weren’t for amateur box-
ing, there would not be any nor-
mal kids today,” he stated firmly.
One bit of good news is that
the gym recently was approved
as a 501c3 nonprofit and will start
fundraising soon. In the meantime,
anyone who wants to help with
cleaning up or making tax-deduct-
ible donations can call Ryan at
503-286-3597 or 503-235-9559.
The gym has had a lot of ups
and downs over the years, but
thousands of young people and
many boxing champions have
passed through club doors. Ryan
said the club has been especially
important to Portland’s African
American community because not
all kids want to play basketball,
football or track.
Until 2008, Grand Avenue
sponsored Golden Gloves tourna-
ments, but it became too expen-
sive, Ryan said, because he bought
everything, including jackets and
trophies, out of his own pocket.
Now that the club is a nonprofit,
he hopes to look at Golden Gloves
tournaments in the future, but
right now he just wants to open his
doors to his young boxers, many
of whom came to check on the
gym even while firefighters were
battling the blaze next door.
The young people who come
to the Grand Avenue gym learn
much more than boxing tech-
niques, Ryan says, and boxing
gives them the recognition and
sense of accomplishment that
many of them crave. Many kids
are from single-parent homes, he
said, and some are homeless, but
many have achieved more success
in their school and personal lives
from the discipline they learn at
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All Set for MLK Dream Run
New location for kick off
celebration and races
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
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With three new race courses all set, and econom-
ic and social justice for all once again the theme, the
8th annual MLK Dream Run, honoring and inspired
by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a
Dream” speech, is set for its return this weekend.
Sponsored by the Soul District business Asso-
ciation of inner north and northeast Portland, both
this year’s 5K, 10K and 15K races and kick-off
celebration will be held on the beautiful Cascade
campus of Portland Community College, 705 N.
Killingsworth.
“PCC Cascade Campus is thrilled to serve as the
host for this year’s MLK Dream Run,” said Cas-
cade Campus President Dr. Karin Edwards. “We’re
always happy to welcome the community to our
campus, and we share a common goal with the Soul
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