5 Dark Academia Spaces for Maximum Brooding

If you know, you know. Some of us still wear flannels and sip pumpkin spice like it’s 2012, but brooding wistfully in dark libraries surrounded by falling autumn leaves? That’s a PNW pastime for the new decade.

Feel like befriending the neighborhood crows or making tweed skirts your whole personality for the season? We’ve got the perfect places to start, no matter what flavor of “dark” you’re looking for.

Get ready for your (explicitly not smiling) photoshoot in style and book a room.

Reed College

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We’re calling this the classic look: falling leaves and drab gray skies give Reed College’s public spaces an austere vibe. Excellent destination for embracing your inner Hufflepuff and enjoying Portland’s perfect autumnal vibes. By sundown it’s even gloomier – that’s a good thing, by the way – as clouds and sometimes mist roll across the campus. Think Twilight, minus the blue filter.

Reed College

3203 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland OR 97202

Mother Foucault’s Bookshop

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Tucked away in the not-so-secret annals of Southeast Portland, you’ll find tables piled high with old (and often rare) hardcovers on a regular day. They’ve got a little bit of everything, but a distinct, almost theatrical charm makes Mother Foucault’s a great spot for people watching and pensive, moody shots of yourself reading a very serious-looking book. How aesthetic of you.

Mother Foucault’s

523 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR 97214

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University Club of Portland

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Looking for something a little preppier? The University Club is a social club, wedding venue, and overall very scholarly-looking place to hang out in. Chandeliers, antique sconces, and a bold, bright-red piano will give you a lot to work with, if you can get in. (And if you can’t, the outside is gorgeous as well!)

University Club of Portland

1225 SW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97204

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Multnomah Whiskey Library

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If you checked out Mother Foucault’s and thought, “I sure wish I could sit in here with a glass of scotch and just brood,” now you can! The Multnomah Whiskey Library is a sight to behold, with shelves of rare whiskeys taller than library bookstacks. You can’t climb the railed ladders (we checked), but you’d be too busy looking mysterious and intellectual to notice them.

Multnomah Whiskey Library

1124 SW Alder St, Portland, OR 97205

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The Witch’s Castle

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And finally, a little something witchy. Never not overgrown and graffiti-ridden, this stone building – officially known as the Macleay Stone House – has been abandoned since apparently the dawn of time. It’s a short hike through the lush and mystical Forest Park, a must-see for any nature-lover. Bonus: come springtime, trade your plaid blazer for a linen sundress and boom; you’ve got cottagecore. Now that’s versatility!

Warm up after your outdoor shoot at Pittock Mansion, which has its own Victorian, “light academia” charm.

The Witch’s Castle

Lower Macleay Trail, Forest Park (a half-mile hike!)

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