White Eagle Saloon

The White Eagle is one of the most storied joints in the Northwest. And with any good watering hole, the line between fact and fiction--and between this world and the other--seems to have been thoroughly and wonderfully blurred. Tales of ghosts and mortal mischief abound, seemingly with no regard for historic accuracy.

It is certain that Bronislaw Soboleski and William Hryszko opened the White Eagle Saloon in 1905 essentially as an aid station and meeting place for Polish immigrants. And it was here that organizational meetings for the West Coast's first Polish Catholic church (St. Stanislaus) were held. As the surrounding neighborhood became less Polish and less residential, the White Eagle became an after-work stop for laborers of the nearby docks, rail yards, and factories.

Then in the early '70s, rock music and long hair were introduced to the hardhat bar. Surprisingly, it worked out; everyone coexisted under the bark and watchful eye of Tony Ferrone, the gruff, Brooklyn-born bartender. With a steady flow of tequila and a ragged soundtrack provided by the likes of the Holy Modal Rounders, The Eagle soared, establishing a grand live music tradition and a reputation as a place to be.