page_title: Red Cap Garage
section_title: Description and history
hierarchical_section_title: Red Cap Garage / Description and history
caption_attribution_description: Union Way
context_page_description: Red Cap Garage, sometimes abridged as Red Cap, was a gay bar and nightclub that operated in Portland, Oregon from 1987 to 2012. The bar was connected to two others called Boxxes and the Brig. It hosted drag queen shows, live music, special events, and viewing parties. In 2012, the bar was sold and closed after operating for 25 years, and the building which housed Red Cap was gutted to make way for the retail alley known as Union Way.
context_section_description: Red Cap Garage, established in 1987, occupied a building which once housed a taxicab company. The bar faced Stark Street and was connected to two others called Boxxes and the Brig, and the restaurant Fish Grotto. In 2008, Out Traveler's Jason Rowan described the three establishments as: "interconnected bars offer[ing] one-stop shopping: twink go-go boys in Boxxes, dirty smokers in Red Cap, and late-night clubbing at the Brig. Good-natured, sauced-up fun reigns in this trampy labyrinth, especially during Tuesday night drink specials."
  Red Cap held events like "Bearracuda", "Peep Show", "Portland Drag Race", "Portland Idol", and "Queerlandia", and hosted disc jockeys as well as the drag queens Joey Arias, Lady Bunny, and Sherry Vine. It also hosted RuPaul's Drag Race participants and viewing parties of the reality competition television series.
  In June 2010, the bar's events manager started a project allowing bias crime victims to report incidents to a trained "ally" at Red Cap, following an attack on six gay men who were assaulted after leaving the establishment.
  
  In 2012, rumors began circulating about Red Cap's possible sale and closure. The bar's plans were confirmed on Facebook in a statement which read, in part: 
  Well, the rumors are true. After 25 fantastic years with the best customers and staff Red Cap Garage will be closing on August 18th. So, get ready – there will be a massive blow-out party on the 18th! We are working on the details right now and will be posting the event shortly. We hope that all our friends will be able to make it down in the next few weeks to say goodbye to us!
  The nightclub closed on August 18, 2012, after operating for 25 years. The buildings that housed Red Cap and Aura, a nightclub facing Burnside Street, were gutted to create the retail alley Union Way.
caption: Stark Street in 2016; the building that housed Red Cap Garage was gutted to create Union Way
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