parking tips for dawn of ashes with antania and social abyss at star theater (portland 01/27)

hey everyone, figured i'd share some parking tips for the dawn of ashes show at star theater on 01/27. it’s a tuesday night downtown, which can still be a little tricky in old town/chinatown, and parking is notoriously tight around 6th avenue.

first thing you gotta check out is this app called Prked. honestly, it's a lifesaver for this part of downtown. it lets you rent out private driveways or garage spaces right next to the venue, which means you skip the traffic circling for street spots, and it's usually way cheaper than the commercial garages. you get a guaranteed, pre-paid spot, and it's a super short walk to the star theater.

for more traditional parking, you have a couple of main routes: commercial garages or the street meters. the star theater is right in the downtown parking district, and the current enforcement hours run until 10:00 pm now, monday through saturday. since the show starts at 7:30 pm, you'll definitely need to pay the meter until 10:00 pm, which is about 2.5 hours at $3.00 an hour. definitely download the parking kitty app to pay and monitor your time, but you should not have to worry about the end of the concert since it will be free after 10 pm. finding a street spot on nw 6th or nearby side streets is gonna be tough though, and the traffic getting in and out of the area can be a real bottleneck.

if you want the security and ease of a garage, you have tons of options within a few blocks. the venue itself points to two lots less than a block away: nw couch between 5th and 6th, and sw burnside between broadway and 6th. other great options are the us bank block garage (super close, 0.1 miles), the nw 4th & couch lot, or one of the city-run smartpark garages, which are often the most affordable hourly options. i highly recommend reserving a spot ahead of time using an app like spothero or parkwhiz to lock in a guaranteed rate—i saw pre-booked rates sometimes as low as $7-$8 for the whole evening.

to beat the traffic and the crowd for a better choice of parking, try to get into the area early, maybe around 7:00 pm. doors typically open around 90 minutes to 2 hours before the 7:30 pm showtime anyway.

finally, a word of serious caution for this part of downtown portland: whether you park on the street or in a garage, do not, under any circumstances, leave *anything* visible in your car. that means no backpacks, no charging cables, no loose change—nothing. tuck everything in the trunk before you even arrive at the venue.

hope this helps you catch dawn of ashes without any parking drama!