The Sunnyside Masonic Lodge—perhaps better known to you as the building where the Hawthorne Theatre lives—was sold last month, Portland Business Journal reported this morning. The building—which housed Lucky Strike restaurant (RIP), and used to hold a bar/venue named Conan’s before it became the Hawthorne—”sold earlier this year for $3 million. According to county property records, the 1919 building, which sits at the corner of Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and Southeast Caesar [sic] Chavez Boulevard, sold in February to Pandion Investments LLC and Cyrus G. Etemad.” PBJ goes on to report that Etemad has a record of purchasing and renovating buildings in California, although no plans have yet been established for this particular building.
The news immediately raised questions about the future of the Hawthorne Theatre itself, which occupies a good chunk of space in the building. The venue is run by local promoter Mike Thrasher Presents and is one of the few remaining all-ages venues in the city. We reached out to Mike Thrasher, who provided the following statement:
The Hawthorne Masonic building did sell this last month. We have had numerous meetings with the new landlords and are excited by the opportunity to work with them to continue the development of this building and, of course, our business Hawthorne Theatre. We have a significant amount of time left on our lease and with this new management in place look forward to continuing to develop that business and the space it resides in.
In other words, there are no immediate plans for the venue to go anywhere. Juggalos, rejoice.
Cyrus G. Etemad? That guy has some GREAT anagrams!
http://wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi…
I wouldn’t mind the Hawthorne so much if they would actually give a shit about the neighborhood. They NEVER clean up the trash left behind after a show, and it ends up in mine and my neighbors yards.
It would also be nice if they had some kind of pre-show crowd control to keep the sidewalks accessible. They don’t because the fat assed bouncers are too fucking lazy to get off of their stools to walk down the street.
I don’t wanna see another venue close, but I would like to see them address the issues that make them a shitty neighbor. I actually kind of like to sit on my back porch and listen to stuff on occasion like I did when Fucked Up played there the last time.
The new owners will renovate with the promoter helping with the heavy lifting. After he gets his shoes all covered with paint, the rent will be raised, as result of improvements. He’ll get pissed at his profits being squeezed, and start renting out other venues on an as need, basis. Watch. I’ve seen this shit go down, before.