Guessing by the circumstances and location, the original dispute must have started at BC's. That bar is a shit hole and draws a lot of drug/ prositution. Just a hunch.
No, it's the Russian mob bar under the poker place/now pizza place across the street from Burgerville.
I love it. Last time I went to Safari, the stripper who was dancing for me got off the stage, told her manager she was leaving and took me to Rose City Strip. All of the dancers knew her so we got free drinks and lap dances. The after party was fun. Just me and 4 strippers, booze, and a motel room. So, I've got nothing against Safari.
Exactly. I used to go to a karaoke night there every week and saw some super sketchy things. Like, dark shit. Oh BC's.
Ah the good old Safari. If that bunker like building could only talk! In 1930, my grandfather started the family business (heating) in the large rambling fire trap that was the family home at the time. It was just to the east of the Safari and separated by a very narrow alley (and is now part of the parking lot). Their side door (almost always open at night because of lousy ventilation) was directly opposite of our business's side door, and at night when my dad would check the building security (always an excellent idea considering what was next door) he would park right between the two doors. While waiting in the car, my brothers and I always got one helluva an eyeful (much to our mother's chagrin) peering through the cigarette smoke rolling out the door, watching the go go dancers churn it out in front of a live band and a bunch of crazy drunks. Back in the day (and for much of its' life) the Safari was called the Palm Garden and it was absolutely legendary (to put it mildly). My dad and his siblings had countless stories about all the shit that went down there when they were growing up, and my brothers, cousins and I all saw plenty of it ourselves. It made BC's look like McDonalds Playland. And I think half the clientele was probably off duty cops (and likely a few who were still on duty). Again, "legendary" doesn't do it justice. Vice heaven. They had to be paying the cops off for years. A few years back I had occasion to kill an hour and a half and made the mistake of checking it out for "old time sakes". I've been in more than my fair share of strip clubs (including Mexico and the Far East) and the Safari was in a class all by itself. What a disgusting place. It made the 'Crop look 5 star classy. I'm glad to see it go. That stretch of Powell from the Safari all the way down to Milwaukie Blvd was never on the level of say...Rockwood, but it wasn't exactly genteel either. Having grown up along the Powell Blvd corridor, I'm actually surprised there isn't more of that stuff going on.....
I thought this was interesting... The land is owned by Bob Rice, a prominent Portland restaurant operator who has served as president of the Oregon Restaurant Association and serves on the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, public records show. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/08/portland_to_tear_down_se_portl.html
Besides the fact that the Safari is an embarrassment, I believe one of the reasons for the City purchasing the property is because no "self respecting" builder would build there due to the fact that much of the site is very poorly done backfill that continues to settle. From Powell Park east almost to 39th (Chavez for the PC crowd) there was a gully or gulch years ago that that ran parallel to Powell and became a place for the neighbors (and others) to use as a landfill. I know we dumped firebrick, pipes, duct work and tons of other crap there for decades. There's a reason that has remained a parking lot all these years. It's not particularly "prime" real estate, which makes it "perfect" for building low income housing (insert green font here).
I know. Stay tuned for future lawsuits or OLive articles talking about the problems due to foundations settling and cracking, along with related issues. The City's eyes are wide open on this but they will never admit it. I suspect this story is going to have a long shelf life. After my family sold the property it passed through several hands. One of those buyers tried to sue my dad and uncle because of the poor backfill issue. It was tossed out because he wasn't the original purchaser and because my dad and uncle gave the original buyer full disclosure when they sold it. There should be no surprises for whoever is involved on the project. It comes with its'own set of longstanding (and known) problems.
Are your kids all shook up? I'd imagine some kind of anxiety attacks, kind of like after an earthquake you always worry about another one happening.
Holy shit! My old stomping grounds. Right down from Cleveland High. I used to live on 39th and Powell when I went to HS.
