Just curious, it seemed as though the City was a popular place, what was the exact reason for closing. Also, with a couple thousand customers each weekends according to previous articles, it seems a good business model, what was the cover charge at the City?

If I remember right it was like $5? Or something? It wasn't a lot. We always theorized it had a lot to do with it being a gay club. It was always being raided because of the drugs though... I mean. There were a lot of drugs.

$5 sunday thru thursday and $10 on performance nights
Upstairs was thee best for skinny puppy/ christian deth; downstairs good for depeche mode/ erasure.. this place was the best place in portland at the time.. it totally sux its not still around. Like drug 6 or casa loma in sf.. the bathrooms were awesome. . We all did acid and other fun drugs... yeah smoking cloves was the norm.. prob how most kids started smoking. . Im gonna even be as bold and say the word prostitot originated here.. I grew up here and turned out well (go figure) but this will always be a base for my life... what a sweet story to reminisce. . Thanks portland merc \m/

The City WAS a bastion for drug dealing and drug use, among other things. I recall a night at the older 13th and Morrison location when Lanny Swerdlow called for the DJ's to stop the music so he could read from an Oregonian article about "homeless youth", where someone had been quoted as saying, "You can find any drug you want at The City Nightclub." This was when the undercover cops and police walkthroughs really started to ramp up.

It still maintained a long life after that as it moved across Burnside to its final location, but the soul and feel of it had been left behind. The truly expressive and creative types that made the City Nightclub the fabulous destination for thousands of GLBT kids through the late 80's had either moved on, or succumbed to heavy drug use and/or HIV and AIDS. I lost many good friends from that time period.

I look back on those days with a bittersweet combination of fondness and disdain. Any happy memories I have of those days should be left in the time capsule of my mind where they belong.

To the folks that just can't seem to find any other validation in their lives except for the need to relive their teenage fantasies about an old Portland institution known for its darker side of gay youth sub-culture and inevitable exploitation I have one message; Grow up and move on.

Was this the place with the "14 oz boner" marquee?