Drinking in the Shanghai Tunnels

The modern image of Portland is usually one of two things: idyllic green neighborhoods soaked by rain a majority of the year, or an eclectic populace filled with whimsically gifted artisans, possibly stuck in the 90’s. Both stereotypes are pretty accurate, yet a far cry from Portland’s image between 1850 and 1941, when it was known as the Forbidden City. Downtown Portland was once a hotbed of activity that included brothels, gambling, saloons and a lot of inebriated sailors. Connecting these businesses to the river docks was a series of underground tunnels, where some really bad shit went down, giving birth to the Shanghai Tunnels we know today.

See, these drunken, high-on-opium and potentially even drugged seafarers were known to literally fall victim to trapdoors or “deadfalls” where the lecherous entrepreneurs of the day would kidnap men to become slaves on ships heading to China (hence the term “Shanghai’d”) and also women who were forced to become prostitutes. Today tourists line-up to see the only renovated blocks of tunnels which can be found in the Old Town/Chinatown region of NW Portland, which also happens to be where you’ll currently find Old Town Pizza and Brewery. We were invited to investigate this phenomena along with a number of Portland’s other writers, to apparently become the first public group of folks to drink in this unique venue.

Sure, when we’re asked by a brewery to come down, try their beers, have some of their excellent freshly hand-tossed pizzas and carouse with the best writers in town, we’re not gonna say no. But the notion of drinking in the tunnels themselves seemed kind of like a pipe-dream. Before heading into the tunnels we got a great sampling of OTB’s award winning beers, including their 2014 World Beer Cup Silver Medal winning Kolsch and Bronze Medal winning Irish Red. 

On the way down we were reminded that their current location was once the illustrious Merchant Hotel, also known for it’s prostitution practices. One such story that stays with the building is the sad demise of one such young lady, known as Nina (pronounced Nigh-na), who was found dead at the bottom of the elevator shaft (now a dining nook in the restaurant) following her sharing of information about the illegal activities on site. People often report feeling a presence behind them or smell a faint waft of perfume. Beware of Nina…

Entering the tunnels, at first glance it felt like your average, dank subterranean storage area for a restaurant. We walked on toward a wooden door resembling those found in a backyard, then immediately pitched a deep, murky darkness. Ducking under exposed plumbing, shuffling slowly down a few dark corridors, we entered what looked like a room prepared for a séance: a circle of folding chairs, lit only by a small lamp atop a two tap jockey box pouring OTB’s IPA and a NW Wheat IPA, both delicious. 

Already having had 3 or 4 upstairs and now two more in the cool, creepy basement, the conversations being had amongst the craft beer scribes was beyond the ordinary. You might even call it supernatural. It was possibly the coolest drinking arena you could imagine, with a dank musty ambiance that can’t be replicated. We felt privileged to be some of the few to ever partake in some of Portland’s best suds, yet even more fortunate to leave the premises unmolested by apparitions or Shanghai pirates.