The Cotton Club was a nightclub located in North Portland, Oregon, United States. Located at 2125 N.

Venue: Cotton Club (Portland, Oregon)
Town: Oregon, US

The Cotton Club was a nightclub located in North Portland, Oregon, United States. Located at 2125 N. Vancouver Avenue (and N. Tillamook Street), the club gained attention during the 1960s as the "only nightclub on the West Coast with wall-to-wall soul." Celebrities such as Cab Calloway, Sammy Davis Jr., Cass Elliot, The Kingston Trio, Joe Louis, and Archie Moore would visit the nightclub when they were in town. The Cotton Club, located within the Albina area of North Portland, was a jazz nightclub that rose to fame in the 1960s. Paul Knauls moved to Portland, Oregon in 1963 in order to purchase the club. The jazz club was one of many black owned businesses that occupied the area at the time. It was located in a neighborhood where African-Americans settled after Vanport was destroyed by flooding in 1948 and Interstate 5 and the Memorial Coliseum uprooted a number of black-owned business. By the 1960s, it was part of a thriving area that included the Blue Ribbon Barbecue, Lew's Men's Shop, and the House of Fortune Cafe. Paul Knauls was born in Huntington, Arkansas in 1931. He joined the Air Force in 1949 just 17 days after graduating from high school. Knauls worked up to three jobs at a time in order to save up enough money to fulfill his goal of owning a business. In addition to working as a typewriter repairman, he also worked as a dishwasher in a hotel and ski instructor on weekends. Knauls decided to pursue his dream of owning a nightclub in the Portland area due to the city's proximity to the skiing areas at Mt. Hood. A photo mosaic of Paul Knauls was created for his 90th birthday honoring his life by community people who love, admire and appreciate him The Cotton Club was named after a famous nightclub located in Harlem, New York. The Cotton Club was initially a supper club converted from an auto garage by Ralph Flowers and operated by Lee Thompson. After Flowers' death in 1961, the club and itself and the property it sat on were left to his family, close friend