Crystal Ballroom (Portland, Oregon)
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Crystal Ballroom, originally built as Cotillion Hall, is a historic building on
Burnside Street Burnside Street is a major thoroughfare of Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon, and one of a few east–west streets that runs uninterrupted on both sides of the Willamette River. It serves as the dividing line between North Portland and South ...
in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, United States. Cotillion Hall was built in 1914 as a ballroom, and dance revivals were held there through the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Starting in the 1960s, the hall has also been host to many popular pop, rock, folk, blues and jazz artists, as well as beat poetry and other entertainment.


History

What is now known as the Crystal Ballroom was constructed in 1913–1914 and opened in early 1914, as Ringler's Cotillion Hall. Originally owned by Montrose Ringler, the ballroom fell victim to heavy persecution of jazz and dance and Ringler lost the ballroom in the early 1920s. The ballroom was bought by Dad Watson in the mid-1920s, and largely held
square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...
s during that period. After Watson's death in the 1930s, Ralph Farrier bought the ballroom and renamed it the Crystal Ballroom. He continued in Watson's footsteps, holding square dances through the 1950s. In the early 1960s, due to flagging revenues, new acts were brought in, such as gypsy brass bands and R&B performers, such as
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
,
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
, and
Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...
. In 1967, largely psychedelic acts such as the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
,
Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...
, and
The Electric Prunes The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." T ...
performed in the ballroom. This was cut short in 1968, due to concerns about what such music was doing to the youth of Portland. From the 1970s through the mid-1990s, the ballroom was not used for any public events. It became a residence for squatters, artists and bohemians, who used it as studio space, and occasionally private invite-only parties were given. In 1979, the building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
as Cotillion Hall. In 1997, the ballroom was re-opened by
McMenamins McMenamins is a family-owned chain of brewpubs, breweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs in Oregon and Washington. Many of their locations are in rehabilitated historical properties; at least nine are on the National Register ...
, featuring Ringlers bar/restaurant on the first floor, the little sister of the historic Crystal Ballroom,
Lola's Room Lola's Room is a venue operated by McMenamins inside Portland, Oregon's Crystal Ballroom, in the United States. Description Lola's Room is operated by McMenamins as a "secondary venue" on the second floor of the Crystal Ballroom, a historic bui ...
, is located on the second floor, and the restored Crystal Ballroom on the third floor. The main ballroom features a mechanical "floating" dance floor, thought at the time of its building to be the only one on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
, and is potentially the only one still in existence in the United States. Following the reopening of the Crystal Ballroom in 1997, McMenamins expanded the nearby Crystal Hotel to reflect the historical significance of the Ballroom's memorable performances. The fifty-one guest rooms at the Crystal Hotel are named after songs or performances from the Crystal Ballroom's last one hundred years. The hotel also offers pre- and post-show concerts in conjunction with the Ballroom. In 2000 or 2001 a large 20'x20' square opening was cut into the center/middle edge of the main ballroom floor to make additional fire exits in order to sell more tickets for live music events. This is potentially the only hole of its kind in a "floating" dance floor still in existence in the United States. During the early hours of April 14, 2014, the ballroom was evacuated during a show by Schoolboy Q due to a possible crack in a support beam. Oregon bands that have played at the Crystal Ballroom include Portland's Everclear in '01,
Cherry Poppin Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its ...
in '02, Portland's
The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy ( lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...
in '14,
Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...
(originally from Seattle) in '04,
The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...
(originally from New Mexico) in '05, and Portugal. The Man (originally from Alaska) in 2017.


Urban legend concerning Jimi Hendrix

An
urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
in the Portland area purports that on April 5, 1965,
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
fired guitarist
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
onstage during a concert at the ballroom, allegedly for lack of skill. This alleged incident has been played up in marketing literature for the ballroom published by
McMenamins McMenamins is a family-owned chain of brewpubs, breweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs in Oregon and Washington. Many of their locations are in rehabilitated historical properties; at least nine are on the National Register ...
. It is known that Little Richard did play the Crystal on that date, and that Hendrix was in his touring band for much of 1965. In addition, the two men did have a rocky relationship, with Hendrix leaving and rejoining the tour several times. However, there is no documented evidence that Hendrix played with Little Richard on that particular date, or that Little Richard fired any musicians onstage that day (Hendrix or otherwise). In addition, Hendrix would appear with Little Richard at shows in other cities later that same month, and he had a well-established reputation as a guitarist by that point in his career.


Facilities

The Crystal Ballroom—the third floor of the building—has high ceilings, a balcony, grand chandeliers, murals, and wide floor-to-ceiling arched windows. The room can be rented for group meetings of up to 1,000 people or, in concert configuration, up to 1500 standing persons or 850 seated.


See also

*
List of music venues in Portland, Oregon Following is a list of notable music venues in Portland, Oregon: * Aladdin Theater * Alberta Street Pub * Antoinette Hatfield Hall * Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall * Crystal Ballroom * Dante's * Doug Fir Lounge * Hawthorne Theatre * Holocene * J ...


References


External links


Venue website
{{Authority control 1914 establishments in Oregon Ballrooms in the United States Culture of Portland, Oregon Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon McMenamins Music venues in Portland, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon Portland Historic Landmarks Nightclubs in Portland, Oregon Southwest Portland, Oregon