Portland's Mission Theater: A Guided Hour From Church to Theater Pub

The group meets at the main doors at 1624 NW Glisan St; they open about 15 minutes before the 1 PM start. Inside, the hall is still one room: an ornate balcony wraps three sides above the open floor, a pulpit faces the seats, and large windows light the brick shell. Framed artwork and old photographs hang around the room. The guide spends 60 to 75 minutes on the building's history and art, and the walk may include stairs and standing for long stretches. Entry is not guaranteed after 1 PM; a ramp reaches the side entrance on 17th Avenue.

Swedish Evangelical Mission members dedicated this brick tabernacle in 1912, after outgrowing the wooden church on the same corner. The congregation left in 1954 and longshoremen took over the hall. In the 1971 coast-wide dock strike the main floor became an information clearinghouse, and the basement stored and handed out dry food to strikers. A short-lived acting troupe followed, then McMenamins opened Oregon's original theater pub in June 1987. McMenamins Passport holders can collect two stamps here.

Tickets are $20 on the venue listing, before any fee the ticket seller adds; all ages are welcome and children 3 and older need a ticket. The tour runs Thursday, October 29 from 1 PM Portland time, ending around 2:15 PM. MAX Blue and Red trains stop at Providence Park, about a nine-minute walk away, and the NS streetcar stops at NW 18th and Lovejoy, roughly six minutes on foot. Buy through the venue's event page. For an optional next stop, the bars below open later: Ringlers at 3 PM on Thursday, Lucky Labrador and Teardrop at 4 PM, and Teardrop admits no minors.