Ah the good old Safari. If that bunker like building could only talk! In 1930, my grandfather started the family business (heating) in the large rambling fire trap that was the family home at the time. It was just to the east of the Safari and separated by a very narrow alley (and is now part of the parking lot). Their side door (almost always open at night because of lousy ventilation) was directly opposite of our business's side door, and at night when my dad would check the building security (always an excellent idea considering what was next door) he would park right between the two doors. While waiting in the car, my brothers and I always got one helluva an eyeful (much to our mother's chagrin) peering through the cigarette smoke rolling out the door, watching the go go dancers churn it out in front of a live band and a bunch of crazy drunks.
Back in the day (and for much of its' life) the Safari was called the Palm Garden and it was absolutely legendary (to put it mildly). My dad and his siblings had countless stories about all the shit that went down there when they were growing up, and my brothers, cousins and I all saw plenty of it ourselves. It made BC's look like McDonalds Playland. And I think half the clientele was probably off duty cops (and likely a few who were still on duty). Again, "legendary" doesn't do it justice. Vice heaven. They had to be paying the cops off for years. A few years back I had occasion to kill an hour and a half and made the mistake of checking it out for "old time sakes". I've been in more than my fair share of strip clubs (including Mexico and the Far East) and the Safari was in a class all by itself. What a disgusting place. It made the 'Crop look 5 star classy. I'm glad to see it go. That stretch of Powell from the Safari all the way down to Milwaukie Blvd was never on the level of say...Rockwood, but it wasn't exactly genteel either. Having grown up along the Powell Blvd corridor, I'm actually surprised there isn't more of that stuff going on.....