Recognizing Portland's LGBTQ+ History
Jan. 23, 2024
By Fred Leeson
Former Majestic, Now Crystal, Hotel (National Register form)
In its quest to recognize Portland’s historical diversity, the city is proposing to add to the National Register of Historic Places two sites frequently used by the city’s LGBTQ+ residents in an era between 1948 and 1985.
One is the former Majestic Hotel – now known as the Crystal Hotel at 1217 SW Harvey Milk St. -- which from 1969 to 1985 offered baths, hotel rooms, a bar and restaurant aimed at serving LGBTQ+ customers. The area came to be known informally known as Portland’s gay triangle. One of its enterprises was the Club Portland bathing site that operated from 1969 to 1985, and is believed to be the city’s first LGBTQ+-associated business.
Today, the Crystal Hotel, which was renovated in 2009, is part of the McMenamin entertainment and lodging chain. The building itself was added to the National Register in 2009 as a contributing member to downtown Portland’s commercial growth. The LGBTQ+ history would be an addendum to the earlier listing.
“The building, more than any other in Portland, provided an affirming focus on an LGBTQ+ population, hosting a unique combination of uses supporting and protecting the queer community,” the nomination states. The hotel and baths were vital places where socio-medical workers strived to provide information about HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s.
Brandon Spencer-Hartle, the city's historic resources manager, said the federal government is encouraging local jurisdictions to make their historic landmark designations more inclusive concerning human diversity.
Normandale Field, 1948 (National Register form)
The second site proposed for the national listing is the Erv Lind Field in Northeast Portland’s Normandale Park. Built in 1948 a national American Softball Association women’s championship tournament, it was first called Normandale Field. The name was changed in 1965 in honor of Portland businessman whose Erv Lind Florists team was a frequent national competitor in women’s fast-pitch softball competition.
Erv Lind died in 1964 and his team imploded. At their peak in the early 1960s, the Florists drew several thousand paying customers to their games in Normandale Park. The field continues in active softball use, despite the decline of women’s softball as a semi-professional sport.
Competitive team sports opportunities were rare for young women in the 1950s and 60s. While some players were lesbians or bisexual, they were instructed to appear neat, tidy and well behaved.
“Players, whether they were lesbian, bisexual, or straight, grew up together and stood outside of the societal norms together for this period of time, because they were athletes. The 1950s caricature of the mannish lesbian athlete affected all of the players, reminding them to publicly maintain a heterosexual, feminine identity,” the nomination states.
Regardless of their sexuality, the teammates developed comradery and lasting friendships. The softball field became a welcome place to socialize and enjoy sport. National interest in the sport declined after the middle 1960s.
Detailed histories of both these sites were researched and written by Kristen Minor, a former member of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. With approval from the commission, the nominations will be forwarded to the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation on Feb. 16. If approved by the state committee, the nominations will be sent to the Interior Department for final consideration.
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Fred Leeson is a former president of the Bosco-Milligan Foundation and a member of the foundation's Board of Advisors.