Bars, Restaurants, & Taverns

THE HELM

There was a bar on NE Broadway [14 and N.E. Broadway] called The Helm. BELOW ad from The Oregon Journal March 27, 1959, page 14. Another ad appears in the Portland Reporter, on Friday, February 21, 1964, with an address 1329 NE Broadway. It does not appear that these two “Helm’s” bars are related. However, in the NW Fountain/June 1981 Bar listings it does state that the Helm has been in business for 28 years which would have put the Helm in business since 1953. Unknown if they moved from one location to another or that the addresses on the buildings changed during that time.

1301 NE Broadway
Years: 1981 -1982

Photo above is from 2022 via website Loopnet.

History/Story: Per NW Fountain/June 1981 Bar listings, Per NW Fountain/June 1981 Bar listings, “bar has been a NE Portland landmark for 28 years as a music and jazz center. Hosts Bob, Jerry, and Norm,  Full food service includes the same quality as in the past 28 years. Excellent buffet: lunch every day plus dinner from 10 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. Free parking lot, close to Lloyd Center, a block from the Black Hawk Tavern and Hamburger Mary’s East. The Helm will close for two to three days in mid-June to install Portland’s most outstanding sound system, designed by two of Oregon’s few acoustical engineers. An all-new lighting system and D booth are on tap. Dance floor, Intimate dim dining and drinking area. Interested in having you drop by with suggestions about what you would like to see in a bar. 

Ad below is the NW Fountain, May 1981.

citations & references:

  • Cited in The Portland Scribe, June 23-29, 1977 LIVE MUSIC – Northeast Jeff Lorber - Fusion

  • Possibly 1980/81 Listed on Darcelle’s “PATRONS – Round Trip to Lake Tahoe – Courtesy of ‘HELLO RENO” Miss Terri, Darcelle XV and Directors Furniture]

  • Cited in Counseling Center for Sexual Minorities Referral and Resources Book Revised April 1, 1980, under Mixed Bars penciled in

  • 1982 – NW Fountain, February, page 19, CLOSED. A Northwest Portland landmark for many years, it went the gay route last year but has gone straight again.