OKC to PDX

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

McMenamins Edgefield

I can't believe it but we have totally neglected to share with you a great chain of brewpubs owned and operated by McMenamins. McMenamins has several brewpubs, concert venues, hotels and even a few movie theaters in the Portland area, as well as other parts of Oregon and Washington. A few weeks ago we spent a couple days out at McMenamins Edgefield located in Troutdale, Oregon.

The hotel and surrounding grounds were the site of the Multnomah County Poor Farm in the early 1900s. The main building served as the farm hospital. Farming operations ceased in the 1950s, and the main building became the Edgefield manor. This manor housed emotionally disturbed children. Later the facility became a nursing home.

McMenamins took over the property in 1990. They turned the nursing home into a hotel and restaurant. The surrounding grounds were transformed into a vineyard and two par 3 golf courses. Furthermore, the various farming buildings have become pubs, bars and distilleries. They even have room for an outdoor stage for summer concerts. We have visited McMenamins Edgefield several times since we moved to the Portland area. Usually we go out to play golf and enjoy a pint or two. But in early July we stayed the night in the hotel and enjoyed a nice dinner in the Black Rabbit Restaurant. We had a rather nice stay with great food and beer. Unfortunately, our stay happened to coincide with a brief heat wave in the Portland area, and hotel was not equipped with air conditioning so our evening was a little uncomfortable. It was fun to stay at the hotel and wonder the historic grounds. We will definitely be heading back to play golf very soon. Look for more posts coming soon about other McMenamins properties.