The Escape Nightclub, also known as Escape Club or The Escape, was an all-ages

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-friendly

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

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 ...

, in the United States.

History

In 2016, it was announced in the ''

Portland Tribune The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched in ...

'' that the space formerly occupied was going to serve as a homeless shelter to temporarily house transients with expected opening by Thanksgiving day in 2016. On February 1, 2017, ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Willame ...

'' reported that Escape had closed four months prior to the news story publication after operating for fourteen years. Jerick Hoffer, the drag performer who uses the stage name

Jinkx Monsoon Jerick Roman Lamar Hoffer (born September 18, 1987), better known by the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag performer, actor, comedian and singer best known for winning the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the seventh seas ...

, stated, "The very first time I performed in drag on a large scale was at the Escape."

References

{{LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon 2000s establishments in Oregon 2016 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct LGBT nightclubs in Oregon Defunct nightclubs in Portland, Oregon LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon Southwest Portland, Oregon