Left: Unknown sources Right: Cascade Voice newspaper, November 1, 1984 “IS OPEN AGAIN.”

Article in NW Fountain, October 1980, page 11 EASTSIDE BAR CLOSED

One of Portland’s first gay bars on the east side of the river, Aaron’s, closed last month. For a while it   opened (in April ‘79), it was one of Portland’s busiest bars, certainly the busiest Southeast which was the city’s first eastside gay bar.

Several other bars on the east side went gay during that summer: the Sunnyside (35th and Belmont),  Close Encounters (9th and Morrison), JR’s Saloon (45th/Hawthorne) and The Other Side of Midnight (Hawthrone and Grand Avenue). Several of them closed after finding that a gay bar needs a gay consciousness to make it successful - straights who see busy gay bars making  money are too often tempted to jump to money are too often tempted to jump into the  pile and try for the “faggot money.” The Fountain takes exception to this type of scene and the paper won’t support a straight-owned gay establishment until it has a proven record of working for and with the gay population- gay employees, sponsoring gay charity events, active supporter of the gay community, 100 percent gay management. [article continues] The Sunnyside Tavern and Close Encountrers closed soon after they opened; Varsity is now opened; “sometimes,” and the daytime  business, though the owners sat it is still gay, 3 applears to be more retired/neighborhood type. And now Aaron’s joins the list of closed  eastside bars. For a good time on the eastside, join some of the winners. JR’s is one of Portlands friendliest and busiest – and it’s a successtul, - pleasant mixture of men and women. The newly-opened Black Hawk, at 14th and Broadway, near the Irvington Theatre and Lloyd Center, is a winner. Also, Other Side of – Midnight (open after 6p.m,weekdays, earlier weekends) is the city’s busiest women’s on weekends) is the city’s busiest women’s bar. All of these are popular with gays; they’re 11 gay-owned and gay-managed, and they support our community with frequent charity events.  [part of the article is listed here]

In the November 8, 1982 Oregonian, Metro/Northwest section on page B1 of Section B Columnist Jonathan Nicholas took a “tour of Portland”. He visited many locations and two gay ones- The Family Zoo and The Otherside of Midnight. Here are his thoughts:

Renee LaChance, the Editor of the Cascade Voice newspaper had her response,

The article was brought to my attention by the owners of the Otherside of Midnight, Bonnie Blumenthal and Mary Gunderson.  The details of Nicholas’ actual visit to the bar, as relayed by Mary, are a tad bit different than his account.

 It was a Thursday late in October. Mary was behind the bar, and a group of woman were watching a baseball game on the big screen television. Five men walked in, wearing business suits and ties. One of the men, who Mary acquainted with, introduced the other four men, Jonathan Nicholas being acquainted with, introduced the other four men, Jonathan Nicholas being brought to her attention as a writer for the Oregonian. They ordered five Millers. 

They stood at the end of the bar and asked Mary a couple of questions. The last one, directed to Mary by Nicholas, queried about the owners of the bar. He was shocked to find out two gay women owned it, Mary being one of them. Mary informed me that she was wearing 501 Levi’s that evening but considered herself far from overweight.

 To his “nobody every dared cross the threshold in a dress” comment, Bonnie remarked, “when we first opened, I used to wear a dress in here every Saturday night! Heels, too! That remark was totally unjustified.” 

Jonathan Nicholas’ main interest seemed to be to experience the bar just to be able he had experienced a gay women’s bar.  [part of the article]

Cascade Voice newspaper, November 1, 1984 A NEW SHOW BREAKS FOUNG AT REOPENED OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT  Friday, November 9 at 9:30 p.m., an innovative combinational form of live entertainment “talk and talent” show premieres at the Otherside of Midnight…Richard Biddlecome, owner of the Otherside of Midnight says, “This will be the first live showing women’s bar-the greatest damn thing that’s ever happened to the Gay community.”

A paper written Lucas Gamlin with an interview with Ann Mussey and Rev. Susan Leo for the fall class of Gay and Lesbian Archives

  The Magic Garden: Real Gay Bar?

The Magic Garden is located at 217 NW 4th Ave. in the Old Town/ Chinatown area of Portland Oregon. The bar still runs by as it did in 1973, the year in which the owner changed the Northwest. Club Northwest was owned by James S. Cleve changed ownership to Mrs. Carmelita Swearingen. Carmen felt that some changes were in order at her newly acquired bar and in 1973 name to the Magic Garden. Carmen as she was known to her clientele did not herself identify as lesbian however, she did cater to a gay crowd, many bar owners in this area catered to marginalized crowds. Old town was known by the community as skid row and I am sure in the area would appreciate any business be it gay or straight. As  early as 1972 this bar had become known for being a meeting place for the gay and lesbian community. While not being able to contact Carmen herself I have identified a few people that frequented this bar in the 1970s and am attempting to recreate the importance in this location in creating a community for gays and lesbians searching for a place to meet others.

The earliest recollection of this bar as a meeting place for gays and lesbians was in the first years of the 1970s when the bar was still known as Club Northwest. In 1973there were only a small number of bars that were meeting places for gays and lesbians, all located in Old Town or just outside of Old town in the downtown. These bars included Tasha’s and Dema’s (now known as Darcelle’s XV)  as well the bar Rising Moon; there was a well-beaten path between these four bars to be sure. Tasha’s was more of a bar for a younger lesbian crowd, Demas’s was a location for all the gay community. As the change over from Dema’s to Darcelle’s XV the lesbians that I have spoken with remember feeling displaced and Darcelle searched for more tourist appeal. The Magic Garden was a bar that was catering to a different clientele others; the women who enjoyed the Magic Garden were a working-class lesbian crowd. This crowd presumably having been out longer have and were seen as rougher than the young politically optimistic lesbians I have interviewed. The working-class lesbian clientele stuck to more of the “traditional” roles that were created in the years between 1940 and 1970 in the bar scene. This bar culture developed norms of behavior and the tradition of utilizing masculine behavior to identify in lesbian culture culminated into the butch and fem dynamic.  Although this bar was known namely the lesbian clientele, those I have interviewed remember that in this bar – there were always a mix of men amongst the women here.

The Magic Garden was not the most frequented bar of Susan Leo’s group of friends, instead feeling that Tasha’s was more certainly “their” crowd.  These young just out of college lesbians who “felt that the sun rose and set on them, according to Susan who only on occasion venture out to the destination of the Magic Garden. Whereas Ann Mussey and her friends frequented the Magic Garden more often, they still felt the Rising Moon to be their hangout. One of the draws of the Magic Garden ws that they served not only beer but mixed drinks as well.  The Magic Garden was felt to be a gay bar that “your parents would worry about you if they saw you” according to Susan. These types of locations are seemingly where the idea of a gay and lesbian community were first formed in the bars, those of the post-Stonewall age being already the second generation of this now semi-visible community. The Magic Garden then began to change slowly to the strip club now standing. In around 1975 the change had begun.

The clientele of the Magic Garden while being primarily lesbian, certainly had no stakes in being a meeting place As far as I know the owner Carmen did not herself identify as a lesbian and could have possibly had a husband and kids. The changes and strip club was a gradual one. Beginning first with strippers only once a week. Those that I have talked to did not discuss going to these strip nights and the only information I have is that this began to drastically change the make up of the clientele. By the early 1980s, the clientele was primarily straight men. It was around this time that there were other bars popping up around the city such as 927 Burnside, Judy’s on NE Broadway, and the Other Side of Midnight. Some of these were drawing away the crowds from the old town area. The bars had moved from the skid row area of downtown to the neighborhoods of the east side of Portland. The decline of the Magic Garden as a lesbian hangout certainly had to do with the change to a strip club but I would imagine that it also has to do with the new bars were becoming options for the community. The lesbian community still being so small as to only support two or three bars according to Ann Mussey. It was not until the after 1976 that this bar had switched over to being strictly a strip club. The bar has remained a strip club until present day and in 1992 changed ownership was again. The bar was bought and is still owned by Everett Moore.