Formerly: The Olympian Saloon
Portland, Oregon · Founded 1902
A downtown Portland bar with a claimed 1902 lineage, vintage motorcycles overhead, live music, and disputed Shanghai Tunnel lore.
Kelly's Olympian says it began in 1902 as The Olympian Saloon, a downtown Portland bar associated with Olympia Brewing Company. The business later adopted the Kelly's name and was owned by three generations of the Powers family before changing hands to local partners. Today, it combines a bar, music venue, and ceiling-mounted collection of restored vintage motorcycles while preserving stories about Prohibition and Portland's underground spaces as folklore rather than settled history.
Kelly's Olympian says it was established as The Olympian Saloon, with its original name connected to Olympia Brewing Company and an original owner named Kelly.
Source: Kelly's Olympian, "History"
Kelly's Olympian says the name 'Kelly's' was added a few years after the 1902 opening; the exact year has not been established in this review.
Source: Kelly's Olympian, "History"
Kelly's Olympian says it opened its music venue, later keeping the better-known Kelly's Olympian name rather than using a separate venue identity.
Source: Kelly's Olympian, "History"
Kelly's Olympian's official website listed active downtown Portland bar and venue hours and described the business as locally owned.
Source: Kelly's Olympian official website, accessed August 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Kelly's Olympian consistently makes this claim and multiple local or enthusiast sources repeat it, dating the business to 1902. However, the reviewed evidence did not include a complete historic-license sequence, city-directory chain, or adversarial comparison with all older Portland bars and restaurants. The ranking is credible but not independently resolved.
Kelly's Olympian describes legends of secret entrances to the Shanghai Tunnels and a basement area with a patched wall and old tile flooring from a rumored Prohibition speakeasy. Portland's underground spaces are real historical features, but the reviewed evidence does not establish that Kelly's basement connected to a kidnapping route or was used for shanghaiing.
Ghost-tour operators include Kelly's Olympian as a haunted Portland stop and associate alleged basement spirits with a rumored Prohibition-era speakeasy. This documents a public haunting reputation, not the occurrence or cause of paranormal activity.
The business's published history dates the opening of its music venue to June 2008. The date has not been independently corroborated in this review, but it is a specific, internally consistent account of the venue's modern evolution.
Current and recent venue descriptions identify vintage motorcycles as a defining part of the interior, and the bar says one of its owners is a motorcycle enthusiast whose collection found a home there. The exact number, restoration status, and installation date were not independently verified.
The Olympian Saloon became Kelly's Olympian in 1912.
Kelly's Olympian says 'Kelly's' was added a few years after the business opened as The Olympian Saloon in 1902, but the reviewed sources do not establish a precise 1912 name-change date.
Source: Kelly's Olympian, "History"
Kelly's Olympian's basement hatch was built to kidnap sailors through Portland's Shanghai Tunnels.
Kelly's promotes a rumored underground connection, and Portland's historic underground basements and passageways are real. The reviewed evidence does not establish that Kelly's had a kidnapping route or that any basement opening was used for shanghaiing.
Source: Kelly's Olympian, "History"; Travel Portland, "Portland's Shanghai Tunnels"
Kelly's Olympian is conclusively Portland's third-oldest continuously operating bar.
The venue and secondary local sources make the third-oldest claim, but this review did not locate the complete historic-license and competitor analysis needed to verify its exact citywide rank.
Source: Kelly's Olympian, "History"; Motorcycle Classics, "Kelly's Olympian, Portland, Oregon," August 28, 2024
Kelly's Olympian has lasted by revising its presentation without abandoning its downtown-bar identity. Its published history describes a transition from a working-class saloon and card-room reputation to a modern local bar and music venue, with the music space opening in 2008. The motorcycles, neon, events, and unusually old claimed lineage make it legible to new patrons while keeping the place tied to Portland's long-running bar culture.
Kelly's Olympian in Portland says it was established in 1902 as The Olympian Saloon. The business says its original name reflected Olympia Brewing Company's involvement in the opening and that the Kelly's name was added a few years later. It was later operated by three generations of the Powers family and developed into a bar and music venue, with its music space opening in June 2008.
No, Kelly's Olympian does not claim to be Portland's oldest bar; it calls itself the city's third-oldest continuously operated bar or bar/restaurant. Its 1902 founding claim is widely repeated, but this review did not find the complete citywide comparative evidence needed to verify its exact rank. It is best described as a prominent claimant among Portland's oldest operating bars rather than as a conclusively ranked third-place finisher.
This review did not locate a reliable earliest newspaper article, book, ghost guide, or archival source that first reported Kelly's Olympian as haunted. Current ghost-tour operators include it as a haunted Portland bar and link the reputation to basement speakeasy stories. That shows the folklore is public today, not when it began or whether the alleged events occurred.
Kelly's Olympian promotes a legend that secret entrances from its basement connected to Portland's Shanghai Tunnel network. Portland did have interconnected underground basements and low-ceilinged spaces, but this review found no direct evidence that a Kelly's basement opening was used to shanghai sailors or kidnap people. The connection should be treated as local lore, not established history.
Kelly's Olympian says one of its owners is a motorcycle enthusiast who installed a collection of vintage motorcycles in the bar. The motorcycles became a defining part of the venue's modern identity alongside its live music, drinks, and downtown Portland setting.
426 SW Washington St, Portland, OR 97204
(503) 228-3669
Kelly's Olympian lists downtown Portland bar and music-venue hours, with later evening service most days. Confirm current age restrictions, event schedule, cover charges, and hours directly before visiting.