2Jan 22, 1914: Montrose Ringler opens the Cotillion Ballroom. After multiple arrests for violating Portland’s dancing regulations, he gets run out of town in 1921.
31920s: Lola Baldwin of the Portland Police’s Women’s Protective Division repeatedly raids the Cotillion for morally offensive jazz dancing. “A great majority of women and girls owe their downfall to the dance hall,” Baldwin declares.
41960s: The ballroom finds new life as a rock hotbed, showcasing African American performers and counterculture bands.
5Feb 2–3, 1968: The Grateful Dead paint the ballroom with a psychedelic light show and use some of the recordings from the Portland appearance on their second album, Anthems of the Sun.
6Psychedelic folk band Kaleidoscope hangs out in the office of the Crystal before a set.
7
8Portland garage rockers the Weeds, including local legends Fred and Toody Cole, hang out on the Ballroom's fire escape in 1968.
9Psychedelic folk band Kaleidoscope hangs out in the office of the Crystal before a set.
10
11Portland garage rockers the Weeds, including local legends Fred and Toody Cole, hang out on the Ballroom's fire escape in 1968.
12Feb 19, 1997: McMenamins reopens the storied building after three decades of dormancy…
13July 1968: Fueled by a Newsweek report about hordes of San Francisco hippies migrating to Portland, public outrage and a failed safety inspection force the venue to shutter.
14…restoring its original floating floor…
15Feb 19, 1997: McMenamins reopens the storied building after three decades of dormancy…
16…and adding McMenamins' trademark flourishes
17…restoring its original floating floor…
18August 12, 2006: The seminal rock band Sleater-Kinney plays its final show as a band.
19…and adding McMenamins' trademark flourishes
20After a finale with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder on ukelele, the ladies take their final bow together.
21August 12, 2006: The seminal rock band Sleater-Kinney plays its final show as a band.
222008: The Black Keys record the 'Live at Crystal Ballroom' DVD.
23After a finale with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder on ukelele, the ladies take their final bow together.
24
252008: The Black Keys record the 'Live at Crystal Ballroom' DVD.
26July 1968: Fueled by a Newsweek report about hordes of San Francisco hippies migrating to Portland, public outrage and a failed safety inspection force the venue to shutter.
27
28Sept 23, 2009: Modest Mouse plays four consecutive sold out shows. During the encore of the fourth, frontman Isaac Brock got a haircut on stage while singing.
29Jan 21, 2014: A solo show by the Decemberists’ Colin Meloy closes out the first 100 years.
30
Jan 22, 1914: Montrose Ringler opens the Cotillion Hall. After multiple arrests for violating Portland’s dancing regulations, he gets run out of town in 1921.
1920s: Lola Baldwin of the Portland Police’s Women’s Protective Division repeatedly raids the Cotillion for morally offensive jazz dancing. “A great majority of women and girls owe their downfall to the dance hall,” Baldwin declares. →
1928–33: The elderly (yet sprightly) “Dad” Watson hosts old-time dance revivals to buoy spirits during the Great Depression.
1934–62: Casket maker Ralph Farrier renames the venue the Crystal Ballroom and oversees 30 uneventful years of old-time dancing and the occasional gypsy wake.
1960s: The ballroom finds new life as a rock hotbed, showcasing African American performers and counterculture bands.
←1965: James Brown enlists policemen to drag him from the stage to close his concert.
Feb 2–3, 1968: The Grateful Dead bring their psychedelic light show and use some of the concerts’ recordings on their second album, Anthems of the Sun.
July 1968: Fueled by a Newsweek report about San Francisco hippies migrating to Portland, public outrage and a failed safety inspection force the venue to shutter.
Feb 19, 1997: McMenamins reopens the building after three decades of vacancy.
