There’s a secret about John Henry’s
— the venerable bar at 136 E. 11th Ave. that features everything from live music to community artwork — that only the locals know.
About seven years ago, native Eugenean Adrian K. Adrian built a square skylight above the bar that he said most customers don’t notice. Through the skylight, a huge maple tree grows above the building — but it can’t be seen from the street.
The “heritage tree” can only be viewed through the skylight, and Adrian said it’s an especially beautiful spot “when the sun is setting and the leaves are blowing.”
It’s little details like this that the regulars at John Henry’s said they’ll miss the most about the location.
St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, which owns the building, will tear down the building shortly after John Henry’s closes it’s doors May 3. However, the doors will reopen — possibly as soon as June — at the bar’s new location at 77 W. Broadway, co-owner Tom Tracey said.
John Henry’s and the other businesses on the 100 block of East 11th Avenue are being evicted — a move Tracey said they knew was coming for several years — so the charity can start construction May 6 on a low-income housing project.
“It’s an inevitability,” Tracey said. “This building is falling apart. We could probably get a few more years out of it, but the roof is shot and needs to be fixed.”
Even though the building is in shambles and the bathrooms have seen better days, the spirit of John Henry’s is indestructible. Generations of drunk college students have danced in the “big old funky room” to the music of national and local bands. The red-brick room and adjacent pool hall are decorated with neon lights, red tinsel and silver stars hanging from the ceiling.

The room is already so “wrecked” that Tracey said it makes for an easy cleanup. Employees just hose it down every morning. But Tracey added that the atmosphere can’t be recreated.
“It’s dedicated to the music,” Tracey said, explaining that at John Henry’s, the tunes are the center of attention, and the bar has always had a clientele that supports music. He said he enjoys offering a place for bands to be in the spotlight.
“It’s nice to see people doing something constructive and artistic rather than destructive,” he said. “Rock music is a great expenditure of energy.”
But John Henry’s new space will also have benefits. Tracey said it’s being designed with a longer bar, stadium seating for a better view of the stage, a large dance floor, plus plenty of parking. It’s also in a location where patrons can “make a lot of noise.”
Before John Henry’s, the building was originally used as an auto repair shop. It’s also been occupied by a teen disco called Club Hollywood and a 21-and-over bar called Club 136.
In August 1992, Tracey recalled how the opening night at John Henry’s featured Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and more than 200 fans. But it was a rough beginning for John Henry’s.
Tracey said there were horse troughs filled with ice and bottled beer because the cooler wasn’t hooked up yet. There wasn’t video poker, hard alcohol or DJs, either.
Recently the bar has faced different obstacles, such as a loss of customers due to the smoking ban in Eugene bars.
“It’s a big nuisance chasing people around with cigarettes,” Tracey said. Smoking “is what people do in bars. I’m in the business to satisfy my customers.”
Stefanie Erickson, 24, who has been bartending at John Henry’s during the day for more than a year, said she won’t miss the stench that permeates her workplace. She pointed to a yellow banner above the bar that reads, “Music you can smell.”
Erickson, a University junior, said she’ll miss her daily conversations with the regulars. But she and about 20 other members of the staff plan to stick by John Henry’s and work at its new location.
“I hope we take good energy and bring it over somewhere else,” Tracey said. “But it’s not going to look the same. We’re not going to find another room like this.”