Candlestick in saloon pic.

[Greg G.]

Came across this picture online and thought I would share it.  The stick is on the left end of the bar.  You can enlarge it by going to the website.

https://orhistory.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Ericksons-Saloon.jpg

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[paul-f]

Nice photo, Greg.

While looking at the site for the enlarged photo, I noted the following description of the bar. Great local color. I don't see the described plumbing in the photo, however.

Erickson's
Ericksons Saloon(pictured) is a Portland legend. Established in the 1880s by August Erickson, the establishment occupied the entire block of west Burnside between 2nd and 3rd, and was considered "unrivaled in the western world." The 684 foot bar was reported to be the longest in the world, and the 50 bartenders that staffed the place wore fancy vests with heavy gold chains. A 300 pound bouncer named Jumbo kept the place in line. Erickson's offered 5 cent beers and a free "dainty lunch" that was laid out with sausages, roasts, pickled herring and Scandinavian cheeses. The home made mustard was said to be quite tasty.

Erickson's featured a trough that ran along the bar – a urinal trough. That way loggers and sailors and miners drinking at the bar didn't have to take a break from their drinking and dainty lunch repasting – they could just whip it out and [&&&&] * right at the bar. A wonderful old-timey accoutrement that really is a harbinger of  "days gone by..."

* censored by forum software

https://orhistory.com/archives/2524

Maybe the urinal, showed at the top of the page, was at Jake's Famous Crawfish -- described by the author later in the article.

[G-Man]

Yep, even though they were ostensibly constructed as cuspidors, the rougher trade in these establishments also found them to be handy for relieving themselves.
 
 At one time you could find tiled troughs laid into the floor between the bar and foot-rail, with a continuous stream of water flowing down it. If you magnify the lower portion of the bar shown in the Erickson's photo, you can make out the tile skirt on the lower portion of the front of the bar. Likewise you can make out the ceramic trough with the foot-rail supports in the center.
 
Actually it would not have made much difference considering that actual ladies were not allowed to frequent the bar.
 
It's been many, many decades now but when I was a younger man, I recall the older surviving Gold Rush bars saloons having them still in place at locations such as Sonora and Rough and Ready, California. Heck, at that age, I found that even the telephone offices serving those areas were virtual museums!
 
There were also some located in Arizona and other western states, though I suppose most if not all of them have since disappeared.