Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. This is a long post. If you are receiving it through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top and to see all the photos the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. 

Followers of Thebeerchaser know that Oregon City – the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains – became my family’s home when we moved to Oregon from Ohio in 1960 when I was just starting junior high. (# External photo attribution at the end of the post – #1)

My paper route for the Oregon Journal took me throughout the historic McLoughlin Neighborhood and on Main Street in Oregon City. I took care of the historic McLoughlin House lawn in the summer and graduated from Oregon City High in 1966 after spending countless hours (okay – one afternoon) at the Oregon City Carnegie Library…

After the Navy, I returned to Oregon City, worked for Clackamas County in the Courthouse on Main Street for six years, bought my first house and was appointed to the City Planning Commission. (#2 – #5)

(# External photo attribution at the end of the post #3 – #5) (Clockwise left to right – Oregon City Municipal Elevator, Clackamas County Courthouse (2 photos), Oregon City High School, Oregon City Carnegie Library, John McLoughlin House.)

It was at a Planning Commission meeting where I first laid eyes on the young woman who was to become my wife (now 46 years) after she had just been hired as the City’s first Citizen Involvement Coordinator in 1979. We were married in the Oregon City First Presbyterian Church on March 29th 1980. (#6)

Oregon City Watering Holes

This historic city has some great establishments which I’ve covered in previous blog posts. Those I’ve chronicled include the Falls View Tavern, Howells’s Lounge, the Highland Still House and Corner 14. (#7)

Now perhaps an Oregon City dive was not the first saloon in Oregon – that evidently was the Pioneer Saloon and Restaurant – dating back to April 1883 – which still operates in the tiny berg of Paisley in south central Oregon. Paisley has a current population of 250. (Determining how many residents are regulars of the saloon is beyond the scope of this post.)

There are still a number of breweries and bars in Oregon City I haven’t visited.Thus, I was excited about the tip of my personal computer expert in nearby West Linn, Scott Andersson of Ace Computer Repair LLC. who I recently featured in Thebeerchaser and I highly recommend.

Knowing my affinity for public houses of all kinds, he told me after a brilliant fix on a PC problem, “Don, you have to visit the Madison Taproom in Oregon. Jeff, the owner, is a great guy and they have what is probably the best collection of old pinball machines in the State.”

The Madison Taproom – What’s in a Name?

This little “hole-in-the-wall” has great character although I wouldn’t label it “presidential.” It’s not stately, bold or commanding, and besides, from a national perspective, those synonyms are currently woefully inaccurate. The rationale for the name is that it’s on the corner of Madison and Seventh Streets on Oregon City’s second level. The streets have past US Presidents’ names and numerical designations in a grid.

It brought back memories of the other bar on Madison Street (in Portland) I visited in 2016 – Mad Sons Pub – now gone but not forgotten.

The Madison Taproom is located across the street from the former A and W Drive-in (now Mike’s Drive-in) where roller-skating car hops brought us burgers and root-beer on dates when I was in high school. It’s also three blocks from the aforementioned library in which I spent so many hours..?..

The former OCHS campus I attended is within seven blocks and three blocks away is the former residence of my favorite science teacher – Eli Jimenez – a Renaissance Man and former NASA engineer before he started teaching.

My rationale for that description is described in detail in Thebeerchaser post (February Figuring – Part II | Thebeerchaser). Now in his nineties, besides still being a musician, Eli is also the most physically fit men I’ve known. I reconnected with Eli several years ago and he now lives in New Mexico.

Moreover, I used to deliver the Oregon Journal to this little building when it was the Carpenters’ Union headquarters and its head – one Dick LaManna – used to greet me every day. (#8)

Walking into the Taproom is like a trip back to the 50’s – or at least the 60’s. There’s two old-fashioned pinball machines squeezed into the small foyer. Entering the main room, there is a nice bar with all kinds of memorabilia on the backbar and classic beer signs on the walls.

There’s even a small Zoltar fortune-telling robot machine sitting on the bar – the first I’ve seen in over 400 establishments I’ve visited. Some of the bigger antique life-size Zoltars sell for over $10,000.

But the big attraction is the pinball machines – the pride and joy of owner, Jeffrey Hogan and his wife, Chris Gassert, who opened the bar in 2019. Jeff is also the owner of Cash Box Enterprises, a corporation based in Oregon City which sells and maintains juke boxes and other coin-operated amusement devices such as pinball machines throughout the state.

I chatted with Jeff for about twenty minutes over a beer and his eyes light up when he talks about his machines. When I left, he was hard at it, playing at a Star Wars pinball – one of the nine or so in his taproom which also has a Pac-Man machine.

Jeff has created a nice community-oriented ambiance in the place. His bartender, Tai, was a jovial and articulate guy who told me while I was talking with Jeff that he plans to buy the bar when Jeff retires.

They also have a robust tap list (13 beers, a hard seltzer and a hard cider) although no hard liquor. I had one of my favorite beers – the Irish Red from Ancestry Brewing. When one of the women sitting next to me at the bar (strangely) asked for a Mai Tai, he answered, “I’m the only Tai in this establishment.”

The food is limited to very reasonably-priced snacks like pizza, pretzels and breadsticks which people enjoy during good weather on the nice patio.

Jeff and Tai try to reinforce the “community” feeling with trivia nights on Wednesday and cribbage every Sunday afternoon. The 22-foot-long shuffleboard – a rarity these days – also promotes some good competition among regulars. As you might expect, the vintage juke box plays a great line-up of tunes and occasionally they have local musical acts perform. (#9)

As one recent review stated:

“Love the staff and owner. If you stop by they will make you feel like family.”

or

“This place is a sweet little hole in the wall. The staff were so great. Came in during trivia night on Wednesdays and we felt so welcome. Loved it.” (Yelp)

Regulars affectionally call this place “Mad-Tap.” It’s open seven days a week, but the hours are abbreviated from 3:00 to 8:00 PM except on Friday and Saturday when they close at 11:00.

I’ll undoubtedly go back, but on that day I had to make a difficult decision – to either hit the Historic Midway Public House – a dive one block away I’ve never visited or go back to see if they still have a card catalogue at the OC Library. (Eli, by the way, the next time you come to Oregon City, I’ll buy you a beer at Mad-Tap.)

Cheers!

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Linked-in ((21) City of Oregon City: Overview | LinkedIn).

#2. Wikimedia Commons (File:Clackamas County Courthouse, Oregon City – DPLA – eac6d13ccde3d205f7c31d6b3fb04cfc.jpg – Wikimedia Commons).  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author:  Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Cc-by-4.0 – 6 August 2013.

#3. Wikimedia Commons). File:Clackamas County Courthouse, Oregon City – DPLA – 996e5aa7a8821ad111f89e8a4338bcad.jpg – Wikimedia Commons Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author:  Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Cc-by-4.0 – 26 September 2006.

#4. Carnegie Library Oregon City – Wikimedia Commons – Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Srandjlsims 29 May 2012 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OREGON_CITY_OREGON_CARNEGIE_LIBRARY_copy.jpg

#5. Wikimedia Commons (File:McLoughlin House, Oregon City – DPLA – 955ec47bc35ab38851cee84bb2f4500c.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author:  Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Cc-by-4.0 – 5 October 2006.

#6.  First Presbyterian Church of Oregon City Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1472816884870805&set=pb.100064275236319.-2207520000&type=3).

#7 Highland Still House Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1606880631446789&set=pb.100063746012983.-2207520000&type=3).

# 8. Mike’s Drive-in Oregon City Website (Mike’s Drive-In Oregon City | Burgers, Shakes & Fries – Mike’s Drive-In). #9. Yelp.com (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/madison-taproom-oregon-city-3?select=iXPGUhg5RKDjNiADRr3lSQ).