Dude Ranch (pictured above) was Portland's premier Jazz venue after WWII, located right on the triangle block that divided N. Weidler Street from Broadway. It's said that Dude Ranch was like "New York's Cotton Club, The Apollo Theater, Las Vegas and the wild west all rolled into one" (Robert Dietsche, Jumptown). The locale also frequently featured shake dancers, ventriloquists, comics, jugglers, torch singers, and world famous tap dancers like Teddy Hale. At times, even the most famous faces of Jazz in the country were featured in the club, including Louis Armstrong and Charlie Barnett. Pictured below (from left to right) are Pat Patterson, Louis Armstrong, and Sherman Picket at Dude Ranch.
Included below is a flyer advertising the venue and what it had to offer. It states "Every day is a Holiday. . . at The Dude Ranch", "Pleasure Spot of the West".
Unfortunately, the club was closed down by the city in 1946 for being a "Public nuisance", and it's former home on North Broadway is now the residence of Multi Plastics Co. (shown below)
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