·         City of Portland Directory, page 230, 1964 – Eleven Twenty-Five Tavern 1125 SW Stark

Per a paper called Chronology of Portland’s Gay Bars – author unknown, “1969-1993, became gay in the mid-70s.”

Three Sisters Tavern, sometimes abridged as Three Sisters and nicknamed "Six Tits", was a gay bar and strip club in Portland, Oregon, United States. The bar was founded in 1964 and began catering to Portland's gay community in 1997 following the deaths of the original owners. The business evolved into a strip club featuring an all-male revue. Also frequented by women, sometimes for bachelorette parties, Three Sisters was considered a hub of Portland's nightlife before closing in 2004.

Three Sisters Tavern opened in 1964 as a family business. John P. Katchis and his wife Georgia owned and operated the business until his death four months later (1964) and her death in 1997.[2][4] The couple were survived by their three daughters, one of whom, Sotiria "Sandra" Katsavopoulos, along with her husband Athanasios "Saki" Katsavopoulos, acquired ownership and began catering to Portland's gay community, eventually turning Three Sisters into a gay bar and strip club. [see Gay strip]

Undoubtedly my favorite bar in Portland, Three Sisters offers one million percent fun. Hot men perform theatrical and acrobatic stripteases on stage, then get naked and wag their penises in your face. My favorite stripper, the extremely acrobatic and well-hung Tarzan, isn't around anymore (rumor has it he left on the Playgirl tour), but the tavern still employs plenty of sculpted eye candy. Whatever your fetish, the strippers deliver, dressing up like construction workers, angels, businessmen, and more. Make sure you stuff your pockets with singles, 'cause you'll be spending at least a good hour at the rack. https://www.portlandmercury.com/food/vaseline-alley/Content?oid=33869

The bar was located at 1125 Southwest Stark Street and featured an all-male nude revue, a dance floor, and shows.[6] The Portland Mercury described it as an "institution of stiff drinks and stiffer male dancers",[7] where "hot men perform theatrical and acrobatic stripteases on stage, then get naked and wag their penises in your face".[8] Dancers often were costumed as angels, businessmen, construction workers, cowboys, police officers, or United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery men.[8][9] After Three Sisters closed in 2004, some of the featured dancers began performing at other Portland venues, including Jefferson Theatre.[1]

Three Sisters catered both to gay men and to women,[9] who sometimes attended as part of bachelorette parties. The Oregonian described the "bachelorette bunnies" who used to frequent this bar as well as two others: Silverado and the Viewpoint. The paper's Lee Williams wrote:

Hippoty-hoppity they go – these fuzzy, suburban-soft little critters jump all over Stark Street and the Viewpoint running wild to celebrate one last night of 'Sex in the City' singledom. They crowd downtown's male strip club stages holding dollar bills up to get a glimpse of a few last carrots before hopping down that wedding trail home. They are particularly agile small mammals, able to hold a drink and a friend's hair while she's throwing up.[10]

Article in the October 1982 Cascade Voice “Three Sisters Goes Gay” with a full-page ad on page 41 “NEW TO THE STARK STREET FAMILY!”  by Bonita Richardson

Sandra and her sisters took over The Three Sisters bar in 1980. Their mother, since 1963, retired and left the bar to *Saki and me, my sister (Saki) and her husband run the store, and my other husband run the store, and my other sister teach. “We’ve already done a few changes in the bar, remodeling and so forth; of that because they weren’t in there before, so they can’t see the changes”, Sandra said, indicating the recent addition of a dance floor and basic remodeling. [portion of the article] Photo below is from the article.

• Cited in Cascade Voice October 1982 under Taverns – Lounges

Above ad is from Cascade Voice newspaper October 1982

citations & references:

·         Listed in Orange folder FALL 1983 and revised in 1987– Answering Service – possibly like the resource directory developed by the Counseling Center for Sexual Minorities Referral and Resources Book and what has been used with their revised April 1, 1980, edition. This place was cited under Men’s Bars with notes: beer, wine, pool tables, mixed crowd, rowdy at times.

·      Cited in handout Majestic Hotel and Club Baths of Portland presents PORTLAND 1983 phone number 228-0486 with connotations T – beer and wine

·      Cited in City Week newspaper Feb 14, 1986, page 5, “Beer & Wine, Food, Pool, Dancing.

Gay Nightlife in Portland, Oregon: Best Bars, Clubs, & More (tripsavvy.com) 1/10/2020

Progressive Portland, Oregon, offers numerous clubbing, bar-hopping, and late-night restaurant ventures for the LGBTQ+ crowd all over town, with a couple of clusters in the traditional downtown gay nightlife hubs of Stark Street and a few blocks away in Old Town Chinatown. You'll also find plenty of popular gay-friendly hangouts elsewhere, from mixed places on the diverse and hip East Side to trendy restaurant-lounges downtown, in the Pearl, and in the leafy Northwest/Nob Hill area. Several top Portland locales frequented by the gay and lesbian community include cruising venues.

Also, with the city boasting so many microbreweries and hundreds of bars, there is an abundance of places to sip on a cocktail or craft beer. Festive events range from the big Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade to Black and Latinx pride events to a queer documentary film festival.

It's easy to move about Portland by using its public transportation options, including the MAX light rail system, streetcars, and rideshares. While the city is safe overall, it is wise to take typical precautions, such as avoiding isolated and dark streets at night and being aware of your environment.

From underwear nights at a bear bar to karaoke and live music, visitors will find Portland's gay scene full of excitement

·      Cited in The Yellow Pages –November 1991-November 1992 page 1736 under Taverns

·      listed in Damron Road Atlas 1994 Under Bars

·      listed in Damron Address Book 1995 Under Bars

·      Cited in The Yellow Pages –November 1996 page 1727 under Taverns

·      listed in Ferrari Guides Men’s Travel 1999 Under Bars

·      listed in Damron’s Men’s Travel Guide 2000 Under Bars “Closed Sun, DJ and strippers Wed-Sat”

·      Cited in THE GUIDE Magazine  www.guidemag.com October 2005 in article PORTLAND Oregon’s little gem page 30 Three Sisters (1125 SW Stark) with nude male dances, is expected to close soon.

Per  Ann Carroll Burgess’ book: Secret Portland, Oregon: The Unique Guidebook to Portland's Hidden Sites written in 2003 cites:

Above ad is from the Mercury newspaper June 16, 2005.

When Three Sisters closed, Scandals moved to this location.