Erickson Saloon

Erickson Saloon once occupied a block between Northwest Second and Third Avenues, where it anchored the social life of Portland’s transient laborers. Finnish immigrant August Erickson opened the establishment in the eighteen eighties, eventually creating a destination that drew miners, sailors, and loggers from across the Pacific Northwest. The saloon became known for its sheer scale, highlighted by a six hundred eighty-four-foot bar where dozens of bartenders served drinks beneath ornate fixtures.