The main attraction to the McMenamins sites is the history. They take old, usually run down buildings and estates, renovate them and them incorporate the history of the place and the people into the artwork that covers every square inch of the property. Every guestroom is named after a person and their history is painted onto the walls inside. Edgefield was a poor farm in the early 1900s and later a rest home.
This is part of the story of our room… a black man who fought in the civil war, lived in Tombstone at the time of the OK Corral shooting, and arrived in Portland to work at a renowned, black owned and operated hotel before ending up at the Edgefield poor farm.
Bloody Marys with breakfast then down to the pool hall for some pool, shuffleboard and pinball (now that is had cooled off a bit over night). Notice the egg the chicken has laid.
After checking out I wandered the property and gardens and explored.
Our next check in wasn’t until 3pm so we decided to hit a couple locations in downtown Portland (and the likeliest air-conditioned ones!). We made it into Ringlers Pub and the Ringlers Annex (the best part of the Annex is the Cellar, an awsome tiny spot with a European feel. Second photo below)
Unfortunately the Crystal Ballroom upstairs (an historic music venue) was closed for a wedding. The temperature downtown was intense to say the least. After a late lunch we continued across town to the Grand Lodge, our final destination.
The heat of the day and last night’s drinking caught up with us so we all checked in and decided to take a nap to recharge for the evening. But I’ll save that for later!
Many more pictures here… http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_hbic/
The heat of the day and last night’s drinking caught up with us so we all checked in and decided to take a nap to recharge for the evening. But I’ll save that for later!
Many more pictures here… http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_hbic/
