This former Portland school now has a hotel, brewery, movie theater and soaking pool, without losing its classrooms’ old character

The bell at Portland's Kennedy School rang for the last time as an elementary school in 1975, and more than two decades later, the same building reopened with hotel rooms in former classrooms, a movie theater in the old auditorium, a brewery, bars, restaurants and a soaking pool.The building in Northeast Portland dates to 1915, when it opened as Kennedy Elementary School, served generations of local children and also became a community space outside school hours. According to McMenamins' history of the property, the school was used as a public meeting hall, polling place, Red Cross blood-drawing center, weekend playground and even a flood-relief shelter. The school closed at the end of the 1974-75 academic year because of declining enrollment and the condition of the aging building, after which it sat vacant while demolition orders threatened its future.The school nearly disappearedA coalition of neighbors, former students, former PTA presidents and the Portland Development Commission worked to prevent the old school from being demolished. Several ideas were considered for the property before brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin proposed turning it into a new kind of community gathering place.The renovation began in 1997, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation reported that the building needed new plumbing, electrical work, and structural upgrades after years of vacancy. The challenge was to make the building usable again without stripping away the features that made it recognizable as a school. Former classrooms became guest rooms, and some retained their original chalkboards and cloakrooms. Historic architectural details were restored, and artwork was added throughout the building.The National Trust noted that the school reopened in October 1997 with its old chalkboards still in place, restored 1915 bas-relief panels, and even the small drinking fountains that were designed for children. Much of the building's former layout remained visible, even as the rooms were given entirely different uses.From classrooms to hotel roomsToday, McMenamins lists 57 guest rooms at the Kennedy School, with some occupying former classrooms, while also including a restaurant, several small bars, a movie theater, a brewery, a gift shop and the soaking pool. The soaking pool occupies a private courtyard that was formerly associated with the teachers' lounge. Hotel guests have access as part of their stay, while members of the public can also use it during designated hours for a fee.The building's artwork and interior details draw heavily on the school's past, while some spaces continue to suggest their original purpose. A visitor can move from a room that was once a classroom to a bar, theater, or dining space without leaving the same 1915 structure. That is also why the Kennedy School is different from a typical adaptive-reuse project, since the building was not simply preserved as a museum, nor was its original identity completely replaced by a new commercial use.The Oregon Encyclopedia notes that the Kennedy School was among the McMenamins projects that transformed older buildings into places that combined hospitality, entertainment and community uses. The former elementary school became part of that wider approach to preserving older Portland structures by giving them new functions. The property also retained a role as a gathering place for the neighborhood, much as the school had done before its closure.The school opened in 1915, spent decades serving children and the surrounding community, closed in 1975 and remained vacant for about 17 years before its 1997 reopening. The principal's original bell was rung on October 22, 1997, which marked the building's second life as McMenamins Kennedy School. More than a century after the school building opened, its classrooms are no longer filled with students, but some, however, still have their chalkboards. The old auditorium shows movies, the former school grounds contain gardens and courtyards, and the property now accommodates overnight guests alongside diners, drinkers and moviegoers.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.