A century ago, the city of Portland was a simpler place—a better place some might say—where hard work, religion and family values ruled the day. It was a time when a young man could take his best girl to the local soda fountain and, for just a few cents, order up a delicious carbonated beverage injected with enough cocaine and caffeine to keep them both strung out all day. And, if he watched his back and stayed alert, he might even be able to make it home that night without getting shanghaied and forced into slave labor out at sea. Ah, what a wholesome and magical time in our city’s history.

Much has changed in Portland over the past 100 years. In 1915, the Seamen's Act (snicker) made shanghaiing a federal crime. And, a year earlier, the Harrison Act banned the use of cocaine and opiates in over-the-counter products. But despite the literal buzz kill, soda fountains continued to grow in popularity, peaking in the 40s and 50s before suffering a sharp decline in the 60s and almost dying out completely in the 70s.

Today, the soda fountain is nearly extinct. But if you look hard enough, you can still find a few remaining establishments right here in Portland that pay tribute to the vintage look, feel and taste of this classic American tradition—sans the hard drugs, of course.

Fairley's Pharmacy

By the 1920s just about every pharmacy had a soda fountain, and Fairley’s was no exception. Originally opened in 1913 as Bader Brothers Pharmacy and renamed by the new owners in 1918, this vintage slice of Portland history has kept up with the times by offering all the services of a modern pharmacy in addition to adding an espresso machine and free Wi-Fi—but their classic soda fountain with its worn linoleum countertop and floor mounted stools hasn’t changed one bit. And, just like in days past, customers waiting for their prescription to be filled can pass the time by bellying up to the bar and ordering a flavored soda, root beer float, milkshake, malt or sundae.

But what really makes Fairley’s old school is the fact that they still serve phosphate sodas, including the classic Green River, which is made with lime syrup, soda water and a few drops of citric acid to add a tart and tangy kick. Back in the day, true phosphate aficionados would tell the “soda jerk” behind the counter exactly how many drops of acidey goodness to put in their drink, which was generally around five.

7206 NE Sandy Boulevard
Portland, OR 97213
503.284.1159
www.fairleyspharmacy.com

Paulsen's Pharmacy

Surprisingly, yet another blast from Portland’s past can be found less than two miles down the road at Paulsen’s Pharmacy, which will be celebrating its 92nd anniversary this July. These days, a modern-style Coke dispenser does a lot of the work (customers can add cherry, chocolate or vanilla flavoring to their soft drink of choice), but vintage soda taps are still kept on-hand just in case a traditional flavored soda or sweet cherry phosphate is ordered up. It was these taps that first spawned the moniker “soda jerk,” which described the action of pulling back on the soda tap to add carbonated water to the flavored syrup.

Paulson’s can also fix you up with a shake, malt, float or sundae while you wait for your prescription, and in true vintage form, will pour you a hot cuppa joe for just 85 cents.

4246 NE Sandy Boulevard
Portland, OR 97213
503.287.1163

Patti’s Home Plate Cafe & Fountain

Patti’s Home Plate Cafe & Fountain has been an institution in St. Johns since the 50s, when soda fountains were in their heyday and could be found not only in pharmacies, but also lunch counters and ice cream parlors just about everywhere. Nowadays Patti’s doesn’t bother much with the more traditional tricks of the soda fountain trade, but still manages to perfectly capture the spirit of that golden era with classic u-shaped lunch counters, retro checkerboard flooring, a juke box and all manner of antique accents like Coca-Cola advertising pieces and old 45s hanging from the ceiling, not to mention a mean selection of old fashioned ice cream floats, malts, milk shakes and sundaes.

But this favorite local gathering place is about more than just ice cream, breakfast and burgers. The back half of Patti’s is filled with all sorts of randomly delightful oddities for sale, from used books and DVDs to arts and crafts supplies, costumes (available year-round), trinkets of all shapes and sizes and perhaps most disturbing, a full assortment of disembodied doll heads. This merchandise is heavily guarded at all times by no less than five fully accessorized and creepily-posed mannequins, but it’s the people who really make this place unique. Case in point: the older gentleman who sat down at the counter across from us with a chihuahua poking its head out from the front of his overalls. Sometimes it seems like St. Johns is an entirely different planet; and if that’s true, Patti’s is definitely the mother ship.

8501 N Lombard Street
Portland, OR 97203-3103
503.285.5507

Blueplate Lunch Counter & Soda Fountain

Having opened its doors less than four years ago, Blueplate is undeniably the young and brash whippersnapper on our list. But nobody takes the lost art of the soda fountain more seriously than owner Jeffery Reiter, who consulted old books from the 20s and utilized his formal culinary training to concoct an equally inventive and impressive array of soda syrups from scratch using only sugar, fruit and spices. Two of his most popular offerings are the Purple Haze (made with hibiscus, allspice and star anise) and the Chai Bomb (made with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and star anise).

Shakes, floats and sundaes made with premium ice cream in a wide variety of flavors are also on the menu, but it’s the affordable and delicious daily lunch counter specials like a meatloaf sandwich or Northwest-style jambalaya that have given Blueplate its well-deserved cult following.

308 SW Washington Street
Portland OR, 97204
503.295.2583
www.eatatblueplate.com

View the slideshow for more images of soda fountains or visit our Flickr gallery:

All photos © 2010 Neighborhood Notes