Hoyt Hotel
| Hoyt Hotel | |
|---|---|
|
Hotel Hoyt | |
| General information | |
| Location | Portland, Oregon |
| Opening | 1912 |
| Closed | August 2, 1972 |
| Owner | Harvey Dick (1941–1972) |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 175 |
| Number of restaurants |
1 Barbary Coast Lounge |
| Number of bars |
1 Roaring 20's Room |
The Hoyt Hotel was a 175-room hotel located in Portland, Oregon. Harvey Dick purchased the hotel in 1941. In 1962, he renovated the hotel and added the Barbary Coast Lounge and Roaring 20's Room, a nightclub that attracted celebrities such as Johnny Carson, Duke Ellington, and Anne Francis. Dick closed the hotel in 1972 due to declining business.
History
The hotel was built in 1912 at the southwest corner of Hoyt and 6th Street, directly facing Portland's Union Station, situated to attract train passengers and crew.
Harvey Dick, part-owner of Columbia Steel, purchased the Hoyt Hotel in 1941 primarily as housing for war-time steel workers. In 1962, he renovated the hotel and added the Barbary Coast Lounge and Roaring 20's Room, a nightclub that attracted celebrities such as Johnny Carson, Duke Ellington,[1] and Anne Francis.[2][3]
Dick closed the hotel on August 2, 1972 due to declining business in recent years; the Roaring 20's Room was closed three weeks earlier.[2] The building was demolished in 1977, the same year as Harvey Dick's death.
As of 2014 the block which the hotel occupied is a fenced, gravel-covered empty lot.
Description
Walter Cole, the Portland resident and female impersonator better known as Darcelle XV, recalled the Roaring 20's Room in Sharon Knorr's book, Just Call Me Darcelle. According to Darcelle, the ladies' restroom had a full-time harpist; the men's restroom included a 12-foot (3.7 m) long trough urinal decorated like a rock grotto, featuring miniature forest animals that served as targets. Darcelle recalled, "[There was also a] life-sized replica of Fidel Castro... If a gentleman could hit that open mouth, lights would flash, sirens would go off and a huge waterfall would flush the entire urinal."[4]
References
- ↑ Vail, Ken (2002). Duke's Diary: The Life of Duke Ellington. Scarecrow Press. p. 413. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Hoyt Hotel closes". Eugene Register-Guard 105 (285) (Eugene, Oregon: Guard Publishing). August 3, 1972. p. 3A. ISSN 0739-8557. OCLC 9836354. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
- ↑ Marshall, Cathy (May 3, 2012). "'Gracie Hansen' musical honors Portland legend". Portland, Oregon: KGW. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
- ↑ Clarke, Kelly (February 16, 2011). "Walter Cole Just Call Me Darcelle". Willamette Week (Portland, Oregon: City of Roses Newspapers). Retrieved June 3, 2013.
Coordinates: 45°31′38″N 122°40′36″W / 45.52732°N 122.676714°W
External links
- "The Barbary Coast at the Hoyt Hotel", Lost Oregon (John Chilson, 2008)
- "The Roaring 20's Room at the Hoyt Hotel, StumptownBlogger.com (2010)
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