It’s hard to believe, but after 57 years, the venerable Reed institution known as the Lutz Tavern is serving its final round. By objective standards, the Lutz may not look particularly remarkable. Just a working-class watering-hole with a juke box and a pool table and a clutch of grizzled regulars. But to those of us who went to Reed during a certain era, the Lutz will always hold a special place in our hearts.
The Lutz was, for many of us, the first bar we ever walked into. The first place we took a legal drink of alcohol. The very act of ordering a drink was a rite of passage. When I was a student, Thursday night was sacred to the Lutz. Reedies by the score made our pilgrimage (“up the hill”) to its welcoming booths, hot pickles, old-school jukebox and cheap pitchers to escape from our studies, argue over Derrida, and generally have a good time.
That tradition continued for decades (read a great vintage piece from the Oregonian). In recent years, the Quest even ran a column titled “The Lutz Report” consisting of impressionistic observations strung together from its infamous red leather booths. The Lutz’s last night will be tomorrow, Thursday, September 30. Hope to see you there.
–Chris Lydgate ’90, Reed magazine editor & Riffin’ Griffin contributor
(In case you forgot, the Lutz is located at 4639 S.E. Woodstock Blvd. 503/774-0353.)
