McMenamins Kennedy School has been the center of its Northeast Portland neighborhood since 1915. When class was not in session, the school served the community as a flood-relief shelter, meeting hall, and playground. The 1969-70 school year marked the start of busing in Portland, ending Kennedy's 54-year as a neighborhood school. Beginning this year, students were transported from other areas of the city to attend school at Kennedy, which brought about a significant diversification of the school's student body. It also marked the creation of the middle school system in Portland, resulting in the removal of grades 6-9 from Kennedy and other elementary schools. Kennedy Elementary closed in June 1975. Reasons for its closure included the school district's declining enrollment and the school's deteriorated condition (it was one of the district's oldest active schools by then). Beginning in the late 1975-76 school year, Kennedy was reopened as a temporary facility for other Portland schools undergoing renovation. After the 1979-80 school year, Kennedy School closed completely. Between 1981 and 1994, alumni and neighbors waged a battle against the school district to prevent Kennedy's School demolition. New uses considered for the school ranged from housing for the elderly to an indoor soccer facility; in 1994, McMenamins agreed to undertake renovation of the school. 
The 35 guestrooms, formerly the school's classrooms, feature king and queen beds, abundant natural light, and original chalkboards and cloakrooms and start at $115 per night. While steeped in vintage charm, each room includes a phone and private bathroom. Your overnight stay also includes admission to the movie theater and soaking pool. The soaking pool is filled with gently heated saltwater and surrounded by gardens in an outdoor courtyard. The pool is open to overnight guests as part of their stay and to the public for a nominal fee. Recent run films are shown daily in the school's old auditorium, where guests relax on couches and chairs. Here you can freshly baked pizza and calzone as well as other menu items along with ales, wines, and spirits. They will even bring your order to your seat. The Principal's office has been turned into a gift shop. No space goes unused, the boiler room, formerly the custodians' lair, offers three TVs, pool tables and shuffleboard, along with a full bar, pizza, calzone, panini sandwiches, and more. 
Once the school cafeteria, the Courtyard Restaurant is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can enjoy burgers, sandwiches, fresh salads, seasonal specials, and more, paired with handcrafted ales, wines, and spirits. On nice days, head to the outdoor courtyard, where the fireplace and gardens make it a great spot for relaxed meals and conversation. Original paintings, wood panels, and other artistry decorate every room, fashioned from former classrooms, the library, auditorium, and gymnasium. You can rent space for everything from weddings to workshops.
It is a fun place to just go for dinner and enjoy some of Portland's "history," or it would be a great place to go for the night and take advantage of all The Kennedy School has to offer. I wish I would have taken my real camera instead of my phone, maybe the pictures would have done the facility justice, but I think you get the idea.
That's interesting... I've never heard of this before. Thanks for sharing. There are so many things to see and do around here and just don't realize it.
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