El Corazón

History

Dana Sims named the club El Corazón, Spanish for the heart, when he opened it in 2005 at 109 Eastlake Avenue East. The room had already operated under earlier names including the Off Ramp, Graceland, Sub-Zero, the Eastlake East Cafe, and Au Go Go, and the club says the address has held a bar or music venue since 1910. As the Off Ramp it sat in the grunge years: the band later called Pearl Jam played its first show there on October 22, 1990, billed as Mookie Blaylock and opening for Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden and Mudhoney also used the stage. The hall, about 800 capacity, still books all-ages and 21-plus shows, and the Funhouse punk club shares the building after losing its earlier home in 2012.