800 NW 6th Ave, Portland OR
Portland’s Union Station (1896), the oldest major passenger terminal on the West Coast, is a highly intact relic of the late 19th and early 20th century. Though its interior was remodelled not long after Valentino's visit, its exterior remains broadly unchanged from the moment he stepped out onto the awning-covered platforms from which passengers still embark and disembark, as does the curved drive from which he would have departed by car for sightseeing with wife Natacha. |
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Multnomah Hotel319 SW Pine St, Portland OR
The Multnomah Hotel (1912) was Portland's largest hotel at the time of Valentino's visit, boasting 700 rooms and occupying an entire city block. It has been the temporary residence of many other celebrities including Jack Benny, Amelia Earhart and Jimmy Stewart, as well as a number of visiting Presidents. After its closure in 1963, it was used for government offices. In 1995, it was renovated back into a hotel and restored to some of its former glory. Today, it is known as the Embassy Suites. |
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1332 W Burnside St, Portland, OR
The elegant Cotillion Hall (1914) seems an unlikely venue for scandal. Its first came in 1921, when its initial owner, dance teacher Montrose Ringler, was essentially run out of business by police for such grave sins as allowing young people to dance to jazz music on a Sunday. Five decades later, similar concerns - this time in relation to psychedelic rock bands like the Grateful Dead - led to the venue's closure in 1968. It sat, mostly unused, for nearly three decades. Renovated in 1997 by the local McMenamins chain and known since the 1950s as the Crystal Ballroom, it is once again a popular live performance venue. Its famous sprung floor remains intact and in working order. |
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555 SW Morrison St, Portland OR
Irene Noland appears to have worked at the Meier and Frank department store in downtown Portland not long before her participation in the Mineralava competition. The business was founded in 1857 and, by 1923, had become one of the largest retail concerns in America, with its fifteen-storey Portland flagship store occupying an entire city block. Famously, a young Clark Gable worked in its tie department in 1922. The Meier and Frank brand was retired in 2006 and the store rebadged as a Macy's, before closing altogether in 2017. Its retail floors are now occupied by Japanese department store Muji. |