Coffin Club

The Coffin Club, formerly Lovecraft Bar,[1] is a horror-themed, LGBT-friendly bar in Portland, Oregon.

Coffin Club
Logo
The bar's exterior, 2022
Former namesLovecraft Bar
Address421 Southeast Grand Avenue
Portland, Oregon
United States
Coordinates45.5199°N 122.6609°W / 45.5199; -122.6609
OpenedJanuary 1, 2011 (2011-01-01)
Website
thecoffinclubpdx.com

Description and history

Lovecraft Bar, named after H. P. Lovecraft,[2] opened on January 1, 2011. The horror-themed bar often hosts LGBT events and has been described as the city's "best known goth nightclub".[3][4][5] In 2017, Food & Wine said the bar is "decorated as such with skulls, tentacles, a coffin, and, of course, images of pulp horror master, H.P. Lovecraft. Expect burlesque shows, tarot readings, horror movie nights, lots of goth and new wave music and plenty of fog."[6]

The business announced an expansion in 2016.[7] In 2018, Shannon Gormley of Willamette Week wrote,

Windowless and cavernous, Lovecraft was basically designed for sulking in corners. The raised, dark booths around the dance floor each feel like their own dark cave, and there's two vampiric backrooms. The horror-themed bar hosts kink-themed DJ nights and goth-themed burlesque, and just about all of it is shrouded in fog. The farther back you go, the weirder Lovecraft gets. Just off the pentagram-adorned dance floor is a room with a coffin and Cthulhu monster posters. Behind that, there's the recently added "Expansion." Only open after 10 pm, the small room looks like the inside of a Tim Burton movie—maybe because of the creepy burlap puppet with sewn-on x's for eyes that's the size of a toddler.[8]

Interior decor, 2022

In 2019, the newspaper said, "Modeled after the imagery of the famously problematic early 20th century horror writer, the Lovecraft is a testament to old-school Portland subcultures and gothy nostalgia. Decked out in horror iconography and glowing pentagrams, the club hosts nightly dance parties and live music, as well as the occasional burlesque show. Even for normcores, it's one of the most fun dance halls in town."[9] Thrillist's Pete Cottell wrote, "The Lovecraft is about as on-the-nose as it gets when it comes to goth aesthetics. It’s a shadowy, smoky fantasyland for diehards and scenesters alike, and the majority of their events revolve around the tangled web of microgenres that all find common roots in post-punk and new wave. We can’t predict what the next big thing will be when the coldwave revival goes bust, but you can count on the Lovecraft to devote an entire night to it that will be at capacity by midnight no matter what."[10]

Reception

The Oregonian included Lovecraft in a 2012 list of "six bars that just might be the oddest nightspots around Portland".[11]

See also

References
  1. Rushall, Jack (2017-05-23). "Lovecraft is Portland's Quintessential Queer-Friendly Goth Nightclub". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  2. "The Dialogue: What Readers Said About Naming a Nightclub After H.P. Lovecraft, a Dead Racist". Willamette Week. 2017-12-20. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  3. Bamman, Mattie John (2017-12-13). "Sexual Assault Claims Prompt Lovecraft Bar Owner to Resign". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  4. Shepherd, Katie (2017-12-12). "Owner Of The Lovecraft Bar Steps Down Amid Anonymous Allegations Of Sexual Assault". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  5. Jankowski, Andrew D. (2017-12-14). "Portland's Lovecraft Bar sold after owner accused of sexual assault". Portland State Vanguard. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  6. Martinelli, Katherine (2017-10-11). "9 Horror-Themed Restaurants Around the Country to Indulge Your Inner Ghoul". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  7. Bamman, Mattie John (6 April 2016). "Horror-Bar the Lovecraft to Expand with 8-Foot Cthulhu Statue". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. Gormley, Shannon (2018-06-09). "Lovecraft Bar Was Basically Designed for Sulking in Corners". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  9. "The Lovecraft Bar". Willamette Week. 2019-08-20. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  10. Cottell, Pete (2019-09-18). "Portland Nightlife: What to Do After Dark". Thrillist. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  11. Russell, Michael (2012-08-24). "Six bars that just might be the oddest nightspots around Portland". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
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