About

East Burnside’s Doug Fir is known for great live shows in the Lounge downstairs, enjoyed in the mid-century meets log-cabin dining room. Open show nights, there’s always something to see, eat, or drink.

*Photo by Thomas Teal

Since the Grand Opening in 2004, Doug Fir has been raising the bar for live music in Portland. Musicians are treated like stars with a fully stocked green room and the kind of production and hospitality you’d only expect from much bigger clubs. Guests are treated to amazing shows every night with high-end sound and lights, in an intimate room designed so that no matter where you stand, you can see and hear everything clearly.

Inspired by rock ‘n’ roll hotels like the Phoenix in San Francisco, the founders wanted to build a similar space but provide the missing link—a state of the art live music venue located within. Doug Fir shares the property with Jupiter Hotel, and has been since joined by Jupiter NEXT, Portland’s newest innovative boutique hotel. Find out more and book your stay at jupiterhotel.com.

Internationally renowned architect Jeff Kovel completed the design for a 2004 opening and Doug Fir was established as the first cornerstone of the now-thriving East Burnside neighborhood. The interior brings to mind a “Twin Peaks meets The Jetsons” urban ski lodge, with outside walls clad in logs and an interior beautifully overlaid with textured woodwork and glass.

*Photo by James Rexroad

A lot has changed in the Central Eastside and in the world since 2004, but Doug Fir still remains true to putting the music first, and making sure every show is special. Though it’s becoming increasingly more rare for other venues and promoters at this level, Doug Fir is staying true to the gig poster. For each show, the venue commissions a local poster artist to create a unique design, prints and distributes them around town. Throughout the years, there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from bands and fans who treasure these posters to commemorate their experience at Doug Fir.

Doug Fir has taken the community’s love of the classic show poster to heart, and it has made a significant impact on the branding and visual direction for the company. Inspiration from the 2018 rebranding was taken directly from this aesthetic. Brand colors were inspired from some favorite Astrobright papers, commonly used for printing posters and flyers. Visual queues like black ink on colored paper, and homages to imperfections that occur from xerox copying and old-school laser typesetting can be seen in the menus for the restaurant and bars. These elements inspired designs that can be seen in person throughout the establishment, and in graphics used online.

*Doug Fir kicked things off on October 9th, 2004 with Quasi, The Joggers, and DJ Gregarious. Poster by Mike King.