Silverado, the Pacific Northwest’s oldest male strip club, will vacate after ten years at its current downtown Portland location.
According to a March 23 Facebook post, Silverado is seeking a new location and will host its last night at its current home on Saturday, March 31. Silverado has been looking to move for several years, but its current lease on SW 3rd Avenue ended before it could finalize a deal on a new home, another Facebook post detailed.
The club is currently seeking space in Northwest Portland and Old Town-Chinatown, near CC Slaughters, Old Town-Chinatown’s largest LGBTQ+ nightclub. Silverado hopes to open again in time for Pride Season in June. However, the club’s Facebook page described Silverado’s difficulty in finding a new space, writing, “We even had one space ask us not to have dancers! I mean, come on.”
The post added Silverado is finalizing the contract for a new space, but an employee who did not want their name published said the club is still deciding between locations.
Some long-running gay clubs, including The Escape, have permanently closed following announcements saying they would relocate. However, some of Silverado’s fans seem to be optimistic. “I have been through [two] Silverado’s in my time,” commented Facebook user Stephen Regian on Silverado’s post. “Bring on the third.”
Silverado has been around for 35 years and was previously housed under gay male bathhouse Club Portland. The building that housed both businesses is now part of McMenamins Crystal Hotel. According to the club’s website, Silverado moved to its current location on SW 3rd Ave. in January 2008.
After Silverado leaves downtown Portland, Scandals will be the last bar on what used to be considered Vaseline Alley, a string of gay bars, stretching from Scandals on the corner of SW 12th to Silverado along SW Stark St. Many of those bars and clubs are now women’s fashion boutiques, if they were repurposed at all.
“We did everything we could to avoid this temporary closure,” wrote Silverado’s Facebook page on March 24. “Just know we will be back soon, and better than ever.”
UPDATE: In March 24 and March 30 Facebook posts, Silverado announced the prospective new tenant of its space, the neighboring Golden Dragon Exotic Club, is also not ready to move. A Silverado employee said in a Facebook message this means the club should remain open through Saturday, April 7.
