In 1929, after prohibition was repealed, the back room became a private bar frequented by city and government officials. They would gather for food and drinks at lunch and until late at night. Rumors abound that some patrons would then sneak up the concealed staircase to the Lotus Hotel, which had an underground reputation as a brothel. During the ’20s and ’30s, the Lotus was a gathering place for
loggers, shipyard workers, and laborers. Every morning a job site board was posted with the work assignments for the day. The Lotus was a destination after hours as well. With the first gambling license issued in Portland, the Cardroom was open most nights to card players. A few “good old boys” were still playing gin rummy until 1990, when gambling in the Cardroom was closed. The antique thirty-foot cherry wood bar was made in the late 1800s by Brunswick Company. The bar was purchased by catalog, then shipped to Yakima, Washington. In that time period before the Panama Canal, the bar was shipped around most of two
continents, past Cape Horn in South America to arrive in the Northwest. In the 1950s, the owner of the Lotus spotted the unique bar in a run-down local tavern in Yakima. He purchased it for $1500 and had it hauled to Portland for another $1500, then installed the bar in its present-day home. One of the oldest and most unique bars in the state, it is valued at over $100,000. Concept Entertainment took ownership in 1990, preserving the Lotus as a long-standing Portland destination, and hosting the largest Mardi Gras celebration on the West Coast. Lotus has welcomed stars and celebrities., including the Portland Trailblazers. Several feature films have used the Lotus as a setting, including Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho, as well as other motion pictures Payback Actors, and Brain Smasher. Performing artists that have appeared at the Lotus include: Sugar Hill Gang, Dazz Band, Tone Loc, Coolio, Evelyn Champagne King, Midnight Star, City High, and Portland’s own Storm Large. The Lotus complies with federal equal employment opportunity laws.
