Author-themed guest rooms added to Kennedy School
The new guestrooms at an expanded McMenamins Kennedy School boasts king-size beds, ample natural light, private bathrooms and McMenamins’ signature colorful artwork based on noted authors such as Portland natives Beverly Cleary and Brian Doyle, Irish novelist Frank Delaney and the best-selling Erin Morgenstern. Photos by Cari Hachmann/The Portland Observer
To accommodate a high demand for overnight guests, the historic McMenamins Kennedy School celebrates the grand opening of 22 new guestrooms, each inspired by a particular author such as Portland natives Beverly Cleary and Brian Doyle, Irish novelist Frank Delaney and the best-selling Erin Morgenstern.
A newly constructed two-story building was added to the original northeast Portland property at 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave., taking the place of an old portable classroom.
The new rooms boast king-size beds, ample natural light, private bathrooms and McMenamins’ signature colorful artwork based on one of the authors’ works. Rates for these new rooms will match the current rates: $125–$145, depending on the season and the day of the week.
Other rooms include decorations inspired by Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn, David James Duncan, The River Why, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Colin Wilson, The Philosopher’s Stone and Brian Doyle, Mink River and Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees.
Kennedy School has been a center of lively activity for the northeast Portland neighborhood since opening in 1915. Over the years, thousands of kids congregated here to decipher the three Rs, eat mac and cheese on Mondays and climb hand-over-hand up the gym rope to ring the bell.
When built, Kennedy Elementary School’s location was rather remote; it stood three blocks beyond the end of the nearest streetcar line. And that line, which came out Northeast Alberta Street, passed through some pretty sparse country, judging from an ordinance that outlawed the shooting of rabbits from the streetcar.
Also, the school was just eight blocks from the city line, then set at Northeast 42nd Ave. — and in those early years, the numerous Kennedy students residing beyond that boundary lived without electricity, water, sewer or telephones.
Actually, the first elementary school classes were held on the school grounds in portable, one-room buildings in 1913, two years before the present-day school building was built and opened. Just 29 children attended that first year.
As decades passed, the school took on additional civic roles, further endearing it to its neighbors. When school was not in session, “Kennedy” served the community as a public meeting hall, polling place, Red Cross blood drawing center, collection site for paper and tin can drives, weekend playground and even flood-relief shelter.
It was a sad day indeed when at the end of the 1974-75 school year, faced with declining enrollment throughout the Portland School District, officials closed Kennedy, declaring it too old and crumbling to repair.
Scrambling to ward off several demolition orders, a coalition of neighbors, former students, past PTA presidents and the Portland Development Commission fought successfully to save the building.
Mike and Brian McMenamin presented just one of several proposals for reviving the condemned property. Other ideas ranged from a retirement home to an indoor soccer facility. After receiving the approval of the city and the support of the neighborhood, McMenamins launched its renovation in the spring of 1997, infusing the 80-year-old structure with new life. In particular, a river of artwork was inspired by the stories of generations of Kennedy’s students and teachers.
On Oct. 22, 1997, the original principal’s bell was rung on the front steps at 7 a.m. sharp to herald the old school’s new beginning as McMenamins Kennedy School. Offering a unique and fun lodging, dining and meeting experience, Kennedy remains a lively gathering spot for neighbors and newcomers alike.
