A new hub by and for Black creatives opens in Old Town

Horizon Enterprise Building opens a first-floor gallery and The Downbeat, an underground rhythm and social club

Artist Guy Marshall (left) in conversation with designer and singer Ronnie Wright at the new Contrast Gallery in Old Town. Photo courtesy of Creative Homies.

In Old Town, one confronts the often heavy old problems. But the first phase of a center that just opened offers a different narrative.

The building’s owners, Cyrus Coleman and Adewale Agboola, have renamed the Columbia River Ship Supply Building, 433 NW 4th Ave., the Horizon Enterprise Building. The concept is to nurture and inspire community by making space for Portland’s BIPOC creatives. Portland’s Holst Architects have helped transform the building.

The first floor houses the Contrast Gallery, a light-filled room with huge windows and exposed wooden beams. The debut show, “Conversations with Myself,” features the artwork of footwear designer Guy Marshall.

People showed up in a big way for the First Thursday opening on Feb. 5, said “Walé” Agboola, a photographer and director. Born in Nigeria and raised in London, his accent is melodious. “It was such a beauty to see the community really show up,” he said. “People have been craving this.”

He and Coleman met years before in Minneapolis, where Coleman, a product designer for Nike Basketball, was debuting a new jersey for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.

Coleman says they will derive energy and support from neighbors such as Old Town Lofts, Chess Club and Deadstock Coffee. Choosing Old Town for their incubator was no accident, he says. This is where art and music can come together. “We wanted to invest in this diverse neighborhood — rehabilitating this building into a place for gathering, creativity and community. This is where we’re seeing the city’s cool culture and we want to be a part of it, expand it and show everyone what Portland can be.”

Guests at the Contrast Gallery’s First Thursday opening on Feb. 5. Photo courtesy of Creative Homies

As funds allow, the building’s upper floors will include a maker space and production studio. Sewing machines were being dropped off later in the day.

The men acquired the building in 2021 and its activations have been primarily privately financed through business loans and by people who strongly believe in the vision for the space.

A downstairs door also designed with Holst Architects leads to The Downbeat, an underground rhythm and blues club. Cyrus’s father, Tony Coleman, played drums for 30 years for blues great B.B. King. In fact, he will be performing at the Downbeat twice a month. Cyrus’s grandfather was “King” Coleman, a National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame musician, invented the Mashed Potato Dance with James Brown.

Opening Night Music by Bespeak Collective at The Downbeat, a new underground jazz club in Old Town’s Horizon Enterprise Building, 433 NW 4th Ave. Photo courtesy of Creative Homies.

“Cyrus and I wanted a place to foster community. So we sat down and talked about that. The entire idea for the whole building is like a creative gym for the mind,” Agboola said.

Standing with one’s back to the front door, one can see the fence lines of the Lan Su Chinese Garden and the tops of skateboarders’ heads as they bob and weave along the ramps at a nearby skate park.

The building at 433 NW 4th Ave. that is now called the Horizon Enterprise Building, has a rich history. It was built in about 1905, was long known as the Columbia River Ship Supply building, and its upper floors served as lodging for many years. Until about 1942, the building was occupied largely by Japanese and Chinese businesses. The Japanese internment in World War II led to the closure of the Japanese-owned businesses. Over the years, the upper floors were variously named the Chuo Hotel, the Minnesota Hotel, the Center Hotel, and the Dunbar Hotel. Photo by Walden Kirsch