Come Here Often?

Web sites list Portland's best public johns to "share the love."

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Who knew the first-floor bathroom in the City Hall of Malden, Mass., would rate five stars from www.gayuniverse.com for close encounters of the male-on-male kind?

Certainly not the Boston suburb's town fathers, who were so throbbing mad about the high Web ranking that one city councilor last week told the Malden Observer, "God forbid someone's kids are in there when this is going on."

Not wanting Stumptown to get caught with its pants down, WW went straight to the site to see if our City Hall measured up. Sadly, it didn't even rate a mention. In fact, many of the Portland-area listings on gayuniverse hadn't been updated since before Queer Eye went on the air.

Still, the idea pricked our interest. While it may be old news to some of you (and for once we aren't naming names), WW found several of the city's public places are apparently doing a stiff business.

Among the hottest spots, according to another website, www.cruisingforsex.com: the Portland Building next door to City Hall.

City officials say they didn't know about the Portland Building bathroom's rep.

"We have no knowledge that that is the case," says Mary Volm, spokeswoman for Portland's Bureau of General Services, which runs the city's buildings.

On Cruisingforsex, anonymous posters detail homoerotic encounters in and between stalls at some high-profile Portland businesses and public places, mostly restrooms.

They include:

Meier & Frank, 621 SW 5th Ave.;

the Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Ave.; Portland State University's "Athletic Building"; Union Station, 800 NW 6th Ave.;

Wells Fargo Center, 1300 SW 5th Ave.;

Bally Total Fitness, 110 SW Yamhill St.;

the bike path along I-205, near the overpass at Flavel Street and Mount Scott Boulevard; and Fred Meyer, 5253 SE 82nd Ave., as well as Farragut and Washington Parks.

Post a comment on this story about what public place you'd give a five-star ranking.

02.28.2006 at 10:00 Reply

Story Forum Archive

Come Here Often?Meier and Frank downtown used to have encounters on a regular basis, but then they designated security staff to be on the lookout and prosecute the participants, and lowered the stall doors. It is a non-issue there now.Plus the heteros just go to the dressing rooms.—Heywood

03.01.2006 at 10:00 Reply

Come Here Often?Does the Portland Building bathroom have that rep because so many gays work for the city?How many do work for the city?Is the percentage much higher than the general population in Portland?Is there also a relative high percentage of gays and lesbians who work for Multnomah County?Have hiring managers over the years given preferences to gays and lesbians.—In the John

03.02.2006 at 10:00 Reply

Come Here Often?I actually went to the restroom at M&F once with my friend, and sure enough, a guy who suspiciously looked like security walked in, saw us not fucking, pretended he needed to wash his hands or something, and walked out. I thought it was funny. So I guess the lesson here is to wait for the security guy to come and go before getting your freak on.But honestly, it's 2006. There are plenty of places to get some gay lovin' that don't require proximity to a public toilet. I'm happy to see nobody's posted any restroom cruising grounds so far (as the print version of the story asked people to do).And to the first poster who asked, "Have hiring managers over the years given preferences to gays and lesbians," I ask him how many times he's been asked whether he's gay or straight by a hiring manager? Or was it just a checkbox on the employment application? There's not answer to your questions because nobody asks about it, let alone makes statistics about it, and few people beyond the poster even care about it.—

03.03.2006 at 10:00 Reply

Come Here Often?Another non-news story by WW on a topic that serves not to inform the public of serious news but serves to hurt gay men. The vast majority of gay men I know, like 99% never have sex in restrooms. This article hurts gays by giving fule to the part of our public that would like to limit the rights of gays and lesbians. There are 13 States that are considering legislation to restrict adoption by anyone other than hetrosexuals. Here is an idea of a news story. WW Covers Real News. Right Wing Is Trying To Limit Adoption Nationwide.—Dean Sidwell

03.05.2006 at 10:00 Reply

Come Here Often?First of all, concerning the notoriety of Meier & Frank's public restroom: a friend of mine informed me that the last time he was in there (only using the toilet) he saw a man and a WOMAN using the stall for some afternoon delight! Screwing in public restrooms is not the sole area of gay men! Ever heard of the mile high club?Second, how REPUBLICAN of Willamette Week to print this "story." It amounts to little more than internet gossip and conservative propaganda on just how bad the gays are. Hey, you FOX TV-ish, UNjournalist morons: Does it feel good to control the bodies of others? Hmmm? MYOB. —Mike Martinez

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Come Here Often?

Web sites list Portland's best public johns to "share the love."