Today we travel out to Beaverton and the China Lantern Restaurant in 1957. The China Lantern was apparently a front for a gambling den as a part of the Portland crime syndicate run by Jim Elkins. This LIFE photo is part of a photo investigation on organized crime and corruption in Portland by the magazine. The restaurant was at 10345 SW Canyon Road.
(LIFE)
Tags: Beaverton, Chinese Restaurant, Corruption, Crime, Oregon, Portland
August 6, 2012 at 9:24 am
In the early 60s, when Canyon Road was still the highway connection between the Tualitin Valley and Portland, the China Lantern was a popular stop for my group of friends who were all students at Pacific University. White-coated waiters and other gentleman of Asian extraction would gather in the last booth on the right and carry on long animated conversations in a foreign language. We knew nothing of a gambling den having been on the site. I liked their Chinese pork.
August 6, 2012 at 4:43 pm
That is one of the most inadvertently disturbing depictions of a pointing human hand that I have ever seen.
August 6, 2012 at 8:00 pm
In fairness to Beaverton, I think this was outside the city limits at that time.