Lola's Room is a venue operated 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 ...

inside

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 ...

's Crystal Ballroom, in the United States.

Description

Lola's Room is operated by

as a "secondary venue" on the second floor of the Crystal Ballroom, a historic building on West Burnside Street. The space is named after

Lola Baldwin Aurora "Lola" Greene Baldwin (1860 – June 22, 1957) was an American woman who became one of the first policewomen in the United States. In 1908, she was sworn in by the City of Portland as Superintendent of the Women's Auxiliary to the Pol ...

(1860–1957), one of the first policewomen in the United States. Covering the Crystal Ballroom's history, David Greenwald of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' called Lola's Room "the downstairs space named after the purity-minded policewoman from decades before". In 2017, the newspaper's Grant Butler wrote, "The little sister of the Crystal Ballroom opened in 2000, and became (and remains) a popular destination on Fridays... A big-screen TV shows vintage videos, while the 'floating' floor offers plenty of bounce. The space has room for 350 people, making it an intimate venue to hear live music."

History

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 ...

2002 performance at Lola's Room funded the group's debut EP '' 5 Songs''.

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...

's last appearance prior to a hiatus was at the Crystal Ballroom in August 2006; the group hosted a private party at Lola's Room. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

forced the venue to close temporarily, reopening in August 2021.

Recurring events

Lola's Room hosted a monthly Bollywood dance event called Jai Ho!, as of 2011. Butler said in 2017, "For a while, Lola's also was home to the twice-monthly Bhangra dance party, hosted by DJ Prashant. The music was

Indian pop Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema, such as the music of Bollywood, which tends to be more popular. Indian pop is closely linked to Bollywo ...

, and featured dance lessons where people could learn the latest Bhangra moves." The venue hosted '80s Video Dance Attack weekly for more than a decade, as of 2016, along with special additions such as a Halloween Party in 2021 with shared access to Crystal Ballroom. The venue continued to host weekend '80s and '90s nights in 2017. Lizzy Acker of ''The Oregonian'' said the Come As You Are '90s Flashback Dance was "like an older Millennial's best high school dance, but with better booze and music videos playing on screens throughout Lola's Room".

References

External links

Lola's Room
at

Lola's Room
at ''Vortex Music Magazine'' {{Music venues in Portland, Oregon 2000 establishments in Oregon Event venues in Oregon McMenamins Music venues in Portland, Oregon Southwest Portland, Oregon