Anderson School
The rooms were crowded. Lots of multi-tasking going on. And, for the most part, everyone was having a great time. Not quite like going to school in the olden days! McMenamins’ Anderson School in Bothell is an adult version of a school on steroids and repurposed. The classrooms have become hotel rooms, drinks are served in the principal’s office, there’s shuffleboard in the woodshop and the campus includes three ‘small’ restaurants, three bars, a full-sized swimming pool and a brewery. Learning is not the focus here, although our attendance was an educational experience.
Our weekend hostess, “Bitter Lake Linda,” had made reservations – thank goodness. The entire five acres was jam-packed and, in fact, Linda let us old folks off while she searched the auxiliary parking lots for a spot. We arrived early enough to explore the grounds and even got a peek at the only hotel room not yet rented for the night. It sure didn’t look or feel like any classroom I remember, although the building had been built in 1931 in the same art-deco style of most of the schools I went to in the ‘40s and ‘50s.
Upstairs to the Principal’s Office
The McMenamin brothers (Mike and Brian) now have 53 facilities in Washington and Oregon – each one different and most featuring a historic venue that has been refurbished and transformed. The first one we visited was “Historic Edgefield” in Troutdale shortly after it had opened in 1990. We loved it. It was on the site of the old Multnomah County Poor Farm and the main building (a hotel with an upscale restaurant) honored the past with heart-wrenching, black-and-white photos of the old folks who had lived there back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Troutdale Poor Farm grounds sprawl invitingly and, like the Anderson School campus, include a variety of amenities – even a glass-blowing workshop.
Linda Considering the Movie Choice at Anderson School
I don’t know how many McMenimans places we’ve visited – probably a half dozen plus. We’ve even stayed at the Olympic Club Hotel in Centralia which had been built across the street from the Northern Pacific train station in 1908. Linda was with us then, too, as were a number of other friends. It was a surprise party on the occasion of Nyel’s 60th and, as we reminisced about it last night, Linda reminded us that she had been assigned to the prostitute’s room. (As I recall, it was located by the back stairway… or maybe near the fire escape.) I also remember that we dined in the ‘banquet room’ and saw an old film in the movie theater.
Last night’s back-to-school experience was even better than expected. The food was spectacular and several steps above the traditional sort of pub meals we have come to associate with the McMenamin venues. It was a fun, upbeat evening. No doubt we will consider ‘re-enrolling’ at the Anderson School again – I’m sure there is more to learn there!
I do love the way they put derelict buildings of historical note back to life again.