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Kelly's Olympian was established in 1902.
The name was derived from the name of one of the original owners,
"Kelly", and the Olympia Brewing Company, which was involved in the
inaugural opening so that it could sell its product, Olympia Beer. It
was originally called "The Olympian Saloon". The name "Kelly's" was
added a few years later.
Kelly's Olympian is Portland's third oldest continuously opened and
operated bar/restaurant. It has gone through a number of evolutions
throughout the years, and has consistently been one of the locals
favorite gathering places. It is truly a colorful part of Portland's
history.
In the early days, it was a popular gathering spot for locals as well as
visiting timbermen, sailors, shipyard workers, longshoremen and others
passing through. In addition to being a popular bar, it had the
reputation for having one of the most well known card rooms in all of
Portland...and was truly a landmark.
Legend has it that there used to be several secret entrances to the
Shangai Tunnels, where Chinese immigrants and dockworkers lived and made
their way about the underground of Portland. The Shangai Tunnels are a
unique part of Portland's history and the connection to Kelly's
Olympian adds to its colorful past.
In one section of the basement is a peculiar patching of the wall and
remnants of an old tile floor, from a rumored "speakeasy" that existed
during the Prohibition years of the 1930's.
There are stories of supernatural sightings of some of the past
customers and employees that still come back to visit periodically...in a
friendly way.
For many years Kelly's Olympian had a tobacco store/smoke shop and one
of Portland's finest shoe shine stands located at the front end of the
bar. Many prominent locals were regular customers that came in for a
quality shoe shine and good tobacco.
At one point in history, Kelly's Olympian had the second highest liquor sales in the state of Oregon.
Kelly's Olympian was family owned and operated for three generations by
the Powers family of Portland for the majority of its existence. Greg
Powers, recently retired has now passed on ownership to Ben Stutz and
Jeff Mincheff, two local business partners.
The new owners have invested time, money, energy and a lot of elbow
grease...demonstrating their passion for keeping this piece of
Portland's history alive. As stated, Kelly's Olympian has gone through a
number of evolutions throughout the years and continues to do so.
By day, it is a comfortable neighborhood bar and diner, that happens to
be located in the heart of downtown Portland. By night, Kelly's
Olympian evolves into a live music or DJ hosted bar, popular with people
of all ages and walks of life.
The crowning glory is the collection of a dozen vintage motor cycles
hanging from the ceiling and about, each restored to perfection. One of
the owners is a motorcycle enthusiast and finally found a home for his
impressive motor cycle collection. Complementing the motor cycles are
other motor cycle accessories, combined with museum quality neon signs,
antique gas pumps and historic photos of Portland and motor cycles.
The combination of the motor cycles, accessories, neon, photos and more,
within 102 year old Kelly's Olympian...make for a museum-esque like
environment, paying tribute to Portland's history and the world of motor
cycles. There is truly nothing quite like it in the Portland metro
area.
One does not have to own a motorcycle or even be a motor cycle
enthusiast to appreciate the decor and ambience that Kelly's Olympian
offers.
As stated, Kelly's Olympian is now in its 102nd year of operation. It
is proud to be Portland's third oldest (continuously operated)
bar/restaurant and enters the twenty first century retaining its history
while making its mark as one of Portland's most unique and entertaining
social gathering landmarks.
Kelly's opened its music venue on June 2008.
Welcome to Kelly's Olympian Bar & Diner. |
