The Olympic Club Hotel, also known as McMenamins Olympic Club, is a historic hotel owned by

McMenamins McMenamins is an American chain of Pub, pubs, restaurants, hotels, breweries, and other entertainment venues in Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. McMenamins is notable for rehabilitating historic properties for many of their establishment ...

Pubs & Breweries in

Centralia, Washington Centralia () is a city in Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is located along Interstate 5 in Washington, Interstate 5 near the midpoint between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The city had a ...

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and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP).

History

Built in 1908, the Olympic Club Hotel was originally known as the Oxford Hotel and contained a bar and pool hall. The club was severely damaged in a fire in 1913 but was rebuilt. Notorious train robber Roy Gardner, known as the "Gentleman Bandit", was re-captured at the then-Oxford Hotel after escaping federal custody in 1921.Duane Colt Denfeld
Roy Gardner, king of escape artists, flees McNeil Island Penitentiary on September 5, 1921
HistoryLink essay number 9792, December 29, 2011. Accessed online 2012-09-05. The historic location was purchased by the McMenamin brothers, acquiring the property in 1996 and reopening the Olympic Club the following year; McMenamins was added to the Olympic Club moniker to reflect the new ownership. The club was remodeled in 2002 with the addition of a movie theater; the entirety of the venue, including the bar, hotel, and dining area were combined under the McMenamins Olympic Club name.

Architecture and features

The Olympic Club accommodates a bar and restaurant within a pool hall setting that contains original, vintage decor. The

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bar is decorated with original

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lamps and is host to two antique cash registers. The mixed use dining and pool hall area contains the original Olympic Club pool tables, restored during the 2002 remodel. The site also hosts a private Green Room, an outdoor patio, and a brewery. The location also includes a brewpub movie house, known as the Olympic Club Theater, which was once a clothing store and billiards room. The theater is decorated with a tin ceiling, velvet couches, and various forms of art including photos of notorious guests. Film showings are free for guests. and food and drink service is provided during screenings. The hotel portion of the Olympic Club, located above the bar and dining area, was once used as a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

and contains 27 "European-style" rooms, going without such modern amenities as telephones or televisions. Each room is named after historic visitors or prior employees of great contribution. The basement is suspected to have been used for bootlegging and may contain tunnels leading to the nearby historic Centralia Union Depot. The Olympic Club hosts musical acts as part of the McMenamin chain's "Great Northwest Music Tour," mostly consisting of bands from the

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

area.

Significance

The original portion of the Olympic Club, as it existed at the time, was added to the NRHP in 1980.

Notes

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Washington Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Centralia, Washington Buildings and structures in Lewis County, Washington McMenamins National Register of Historic Places in Lewis County, Washington