the White Eagle Saloon has spirits on the rocks

By Paul Duchene

The Portland Tribune, Dec 21, 2001, Updated Oct 30, 2009

When you hear people describe haunting melodies, think about The White Eagle. This McMenamins pub has more stories than microbrews.

The rough-brick tavern and cafe at 836 N. Russell St. (technically The White Eagle Cafe, Saloon and Rock & Roll Hotel) has been a workingman’s bar, sometime brothel and boarding house since 1905. There’s been a bar on the site for 150 years.

Twenty years ago, Jon Koonce

and Steve Bradley (still rocking

out around town) and the Rockin’ Razorbacks (long-since disbanded) would deafen

the biker crowd on any given evening. Now more middle-class, the White Eagle is still an amazing place to make music, a warmly lit tunnel with a stage at the end, cozy lighting and the acoustics of an oil drum.

Recent evenings found the Countrypolitans and Susannah Weaver (aka Little Sue) and Lynn Conover strumming acoustic sets, Billy Kennedy and Dover Weinberg rocking out and even veteran singer-songwriter Mark Alan up to his old tricks.

Originally, the White Eagle was part of a bustling row of stores and bars, but its companions are long gone, giving it the appearance of the last tooth in an ancient face.

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