#2580 #S1269 - Cyclops, Seattle - OOO

Cyclops, Seattle, WA

This entry is posted out of order, as somehow my initial list omitted Cyclops, despite my going there any number of times and it being the inspiration for my own basement bar. It was in admiring the lava lamps on the booths at Cyclops that it occurred to me that I could convert the unfinished full basement of my Seattle bungalow to a lounge, which in turn eventually led to my interest in tiki -- and interest that at first I didn't think anyone else in the world shared in the early 21st century -- and eventually to what I call the Monkey Skull Voodoo Lounge.

These were the days of Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire working in his Boy George get-up and Kurt Geissel's mini-television eyeballs slowly tilting back and forth within a metal pyramid frame. Years ago the business was established as Free Mars Cafe, notable for the jello mold covered exterior, before moving from Western Avenue in the late 90s and adding a bar. The new home on 1st Avenue is in the 1909 Glaser Building, orginally home to the Latona Hotel and used as a homeless shelter until the Ace Hotel folks remolded it into a boutique, 28-room hotel. (The Ace Hotel folks subsequently expanded to Portland, Palm Springs and Manhattan.)

But this location hosted bars well before the current building -- The Latona Beer Hall was here by 1890, continuing into the new building until prohibition. Shortly after prohibition the Sunset Tavern opened and remained here into the early 60s. It was briefly the Shaffer Beer Hall (a tribute to pre-prohibition owner H.L. Shaeffer one guesses) around 1983 before Cyclops and its Panther Room opened in 1999.

 The food is solid, the drinks are standard, the vibe is friendly and chill, and the decor is artsy, mid-century pop.

2421 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 441-1677                   
Est. Aug 1999 - Building constructed: 1909
Previous bars in this location:
Web site: cyclopsseattle.com - facebook
Articles ranked: seattletimes - seattleweekly - seattleweekly - tripadvisor - yelp - thestranger 

Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, Seattle, WA - 11/27/2017

Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, Seattle, WA

The Pacific Fisherman Shipyard is a historic part of Ballard and Seattle. "Pacific Fishermen Shipyard was founded in 1946 by 400 Norwegian-heritage fishermen and their wives who plunked down $300 each to buy the old Ballard Marine Railway, which had been in operation since 1872, starting as the T.W. Lake Shipyard....  Ever since 1872, this has been a shipyard. It built sternwheelers for [early Seattle entrepreneur] Joshua Green, built the world’s largest tug in 1925 for Hawaiian Tug & Barge, went on to build minesweepers during the [Second World] war, one of which became Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso and another John Wayne’s Wild Goose. After the war, it built smaller seiners and then progressed to building crab boats for the Bering Sea. Today, we are primarily a repair yard with about 70 employees at our peak times. About 55 to 60 are union employees in five trades: machinists, shipwrights, boilermakers, dry dock crew and electricians. About 50 to 60 percent of our work is on fishing boats, but we are also the dry-dock agent for Victoria Clipper and many of the tugboats around Seattle." (Seattle Business Magazine)

Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, Seattle, WA

But what you may not have realized, if you never wandered down from the corner of NW Market and Shilshole Ave and into the shipyard lot, is that the business also holds a large and growing amount of old Ballard business iconic signage -- a sort of private MOHAI on Salmon Bay, or perhaps a slightly different version of Gary Blevins' Sit-N-Bull in Clallam County, but with more emphasis on the exteriors.

John “Doug” Dixon, general manager, joined Pacific Fishermen in 2001. Dismayed as gentrification and other changes closed cherished hangouts, Doug started obtaining old signs and fixtures from the joints -- some purchased, some free at the request of owners (who, unlike Doug, didn't have a crane handy), and some by slightly more furtive means. The old Viking Tavern, the Valhalla, the Copper Gate, Louie's, Ivars, Snoose Junction, Ponti, the People's Pub, the Yankee Diner -- they're all here, largely out of sight, but in a sense still home in historic maritime Ballard.

5351 24th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 784-2562
Est. 1946
Web site: pacificfishermen.com - facebook
Articles: westseattleherald - seattlebusinessmag 

#2579 - Mary Todd's Workers Bar, Astoria, OR - 7/14/2014

Mary Todd's Workers Bar and Grill, Astoria, OR

Update: The Daily Astorian reports that effective Sep 13, 2017, Mary Todd agreed to sell the Workers Bar to Diana Kirk, Astorian resident and author of "Licking Flames: Tales of Half-Assed Hussy." It sounds like it is in good hands.

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The Workers Bar, says Mary Todd, has been around as "The Workers" something or other since 1923, i.e. ten years before prohibition ended. Since 1966 its long-time location in the historic Uniontown district has been in the shadows of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, the longest truss bridge in North America, spanning the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington state. The Workers Bar features the all elements of true dive bar -- very evident age, a collection of bric-a-brac obviously acculated over many years and portending many stories, cheap and strong drinks, and old geezers.

Mary Todd's Workers Bar and Grill, Astoria, OR

The maritime and working class themes are for real, which is not to say that the joint doesn't also attract a few artists and hipsters. In addition to it's ramshackle, working class theme, the bar is locally known for its "Yuccas" (a locally popular cocktail of vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup) and for "meat bingo," wherein the prizes are, well, meat.

Mary Todd owned the place from 1990 to 1994, then purchased it again in 1997. She lives in one of five apartments in the two-story building, with an empty retail space adjacent to the bar. Mary's been on the wagon for the last several years, but shares some of the history of the place as she smokes near the fire pit in the beer garden out back, as cars roar across the bridge and trucks rumble down Marine Drive. Just the personality of Mary herself might serve to make this one of the better dives in the area, but the personality of the place, with its fading exterior, the impasto painting of bar regulars, the tributes to regulars passed away, the bras hanging from the ceiling fans, and the elements mentioned above, emphatically clinches the case.

Mary Todd
Mary Todd's Workers Bar & Grill, Astoria, OR

Postscript: If you are visiting the Workers Bar, check out the Triangle Tavern across the street, which has also been around in some form since the early 1920s.

281 W Marine Dr, Astoria, OR 97103 - (503) 338-7291                   
Est. 1923 (date first a bar unknown)
Web site: facebook
Reviews: dailyastorian - astoriaoregondailyphoto - outdoorlife - yelp - tripadvisor   

#2578 - Voodoo Room, Astoria, OR - 7/14/2014

Columbian Theater and Voodoo Room, Astoria, OR

Astoria Oregon's Voodoo Room is a small, dark and funky New Orleans themed music venue and bar incongruously connected to the Columbian Theater and Columbian Cafe. There are only a small number of seats but the lounge seems to host a vibrant music scene with a range of alternative and country bands. During the daytime it is a relaxing setting for dark spirituality, pizza, some good local beers and liquid spirits.

The Voodoo Room, Astoria, OR

Ashleigh, our bartender, who was moving to Seattle in 2 weeks

1102 Marine Dr, Astoria, OR 97103 - (503) 325-2233                    
Web site: facebook
Reviews: oregonlive - nytimes - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2577 - Snug Harbor Bar and Grill, Lincoln City, OR - 7/14/2014

Snug Harbor Bar and Grill, Lincoln City, WA

I love the Oregon coast and this is a classic Oregon coast joint. It doesn't feel old, with all the brightly glowing sealed fir and modern looking interior, but they claim that it is the "oldest continuously operated bar on the Oregon coast" and that it was established in 1927. Of course 1927 was in the middle of prohibition so that doesn't answer the question of how long the (licensed) bar has been running, and I'd love to confirm in some primary sources that it has been here with the "Snug Harbor" name for about that long.



In any case, today "the Snug" is as comfortable as a private beach cabin, with nice people, good clam chowder and food, a moderately lively atmosphere, and a nice garden patio on the roof for sunny days.

5001 SW Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 996-4976
Est. 1927 (restaurant)
Web site: snugharborbarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: letitpour (music) - oregoncoast - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2576 - Joe's Crab Shack, Vancouver, WA - 7/13/2014

This is Washington state's sole representative of the TGIFriday's of seafood, which peaked at 130 restaurants in 2014, before closing 40 locations in 2017. The decor is corporate kitch and the food is perfectly good, but order cocktails carefully, as most seem as if they were designed for the numerous preadolescents scampering about the place.

101 Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA 98661 - (360) 693-9211
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor 

#2575 - A Roadside Attraction, Portland, OR - 7/12/2014

A Roadside Attraction, Portland, OR

Portland has a lot of interesting bars pop up in unexpected places, but this junkyard oasis of Americana is one of the most striking and one of my favorites. The food is pretty good, the drinks are pretty good, but it is the indoor and outdoor decor that feels like an extended, tranquil drug trip.

1000 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214 - (503) 233-0743
Web site: facebook
Reviews: thrillist - yelp - barflymag - tripadvisor - pdxmonthly