I’d passed by Darrell’s Tavern (just off Aurora Avenue, a bit south of Aurora Village) so many times, and never happened to find it open when it was convenient. Then when I started to make trips specifically to go there, I’d find it closed even at the most unexpected times. As I visited other area bars and chatted with the locals, I began to pick up pieces of the story of the aging, interesting owner — the CPA business upstairs (where he may or may not have lived for a while), the fleet of Lincoln Continentals in the parking lot, the Korean wife who spiced up the place for a few years, then left him, subsequently caring less and less about the bar as a going concern.

I despaired of ever being able to add Darrell’s to my Project K-Bar list of bars where I’ve had a drink. So I was delighted to be driving past one night and notice that it was actually open. And I was even more pleased to find that it had a new owner, Dan Dykman, who appreciates the character and the history of the place while simultaneously bringing some much needed upkeep and upgrades. Dan dropped a healthy sum just to fix, move, and preserve the old sign out front, and while cleaning up the classic 60s decor and neighborhood feel, he is bringing in live music, adding liquor, and making other improvements.

This Saturday Dan is having a “grand re-opening” party with live music at the bar “where your dad used to drink.” If you love great old neighborhood bars, you owe to yourself to drop by — on Saturday night if possible, or sometime not too long after that.

We’ve reviewed some of the very oldest bars in Seattle, some out of the way and often overlooked prohibition era bars, and what may be the oldest continually operating gay bar in the country. Tonight’s the night you should celebrate your constitutional right to booze at one of these historic saloons or just your favorite neighborhood joint.

Prohibition disposal (public domain photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Below is a list of Seattle area bars that I’ve found which have origins preceding 1950 (and my best assessement of the bar’s date of origin, as per the guidelines I described in Part 3). Any one of them would make a fine Repeal Day setting, especially if you’ve never been to it before. If I have missed any, of if you have any information or questions on these old bars, please drop me a line at kbar@peterga.com.

Cheers!

[Update: This list has been amended considerably since the original publication of this post. See the Seattle's Oldest Bars page.]

Seattle’s Oldest Bars

• 1890 – Merchants Cafe
• 1892 – The Central Cafe/Saloon/Tavern (originally Watson Bros. Famous Restaurant, then “Seattle Bar” in 1901, and “Central Cafe” in 1919)
• 1890s – Doc Maynards Public House (refurbished 1890s pub, in the Pioneer Building, built 1891)
• 1907 – Jules Maes (building constructed in 1898, leased by Jules Maes himself in 1936)
• 1908? – The Virginia Bar/Inn
• 1933 – Athenian Inn (restaurant since 1909)
• 1933 – Five Point Cafe (restaurant since 1929)
• 1933 – Caroline Tavern (building constructed 1926)
• 1933 – The Cabin
• 1933? – Fifth Avenue Tavern
• 1934 – The Double Header (est. 1930?)
• 1934 – Blue Moon Tavern
• 1938 – The Buckaroo Tavern
• 1940 – Al’s Tavern
• 1945 – North City Tavern (Since at least 1945, probably 1933; oldest commercial building in north city (1929))
• 1948? – The Comet Tavern

• RIP – J & M Cafe and Cardroom (Closed 2009; J&M established in previous location 1889, move to recent location in 1902)

The Oldest Bar in Seattle

Establishing the date of origin of Seattle’s oldest bars and determining which is the oldest bar in Seattle is a more complex undertaking than it may seem. Not only do a few of these dates rely on hearsay history or just dates written on old photos, but the decision is sometimes further complicated by a succession of different owners and businesses in the space, which may or may not have retained the name and may or may not have been bars at all. Of course if we require that an establishment has been continuously running as a (legal) bar, then none can date further back than the ratification of the 21st Amendment in December 1933. But I mark a contemporary bar’s start date as either 1) the earliest date a bar was established in the same physical space (regardless of any non-bar businesses intervening between then and now); or 2) the earliest date some location first used a continuously maintained business name. Let’s first discuss one of my favorite bars, and one which commonly makes the claim to Seattle’s oldest.

The Gallus Brothers perform at Jules Maes Saloon (Seattle, 2006)

Jules Maes

Jules Maes is fairly commonly reported as having been established in 1888, and ergo the oldest bar in Seattle’s current city limits. This date is displayed prominently in signs within the bar itself, and various media reports have Jules Maes himself running a saloon/speakeasy from the location since that date. However, I have found little evidence to confirm that claim, and based on the most comprehensive histories I could find, this cannot be true. The building was constructed in 1898, it was first a saloon in 1907, and it was first leased to Jules Maes in 1936 (Jules attended and/or owned other bars in the area in the early 1900s, but not earlier). Thus I see no credible way to date it back to 1888, and I count its date of origin as a bar on 1907. I do so even though it has not been a bar at all times since that date (of course no building was officially a bar through Prohibition) and even though Jules Maes himself did not lease it (and rename it) until 1936.

Even though I don’t count Jules as Seattle’s oldest, I do think that more than any other bar it does preserve that great vintage saloon feel. And I am delighted that it remains in business despite many scares, such as the time of its sale in 2000 when it was widely assumed that it would be shut down as a bar. And if any bar in Seattle would be haunted, surely it would be Jules Maes, which inspired a recent ghost story set in the joint written by Funi Daniels

The Bad Things perform at Jules Maes, in front of a sign showing the (questionable) founding date of 1888. In left foreground is Funi Daniels, who authored the ghost story: A Haunted Half-life at Jules Maes Saloon

The Pioneer Square Elders

If we place the start date of Jules Maes at 1907 or later, where does that leave the search for Seattle’s oldest bar? From what I can find, it leaves us smack in the middle of the tourists among the old Pioneer Square classics: Merchants Cafe (1890), the Central Saloon/Tavern (1892), Doc Maynards (1890s) and the J&M Cafe (1889-2009). Of course Merchants too claims to be the oldest bar in Seattle, and indeed the oldest restaurant on the West coast continually running in its current location. The claim looks fairly well-founded, although “continually running” should be used with caution, e.g. in 2006 the business was shut down for several months after the landlord evicted the owner and did some remodeling. Merchants arose, as we all know, out of the ashes of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. It was designed by W. E. Boone (a direct descendent of Daniel Boone) in “a very pared down version of the Victorian style with elements of Richardsonian Romanesque/ early Chicago School.” (seattle.gov) Merchants’ history and its grand 30-foot bar make it a fine choice for your Repeal Day celebration.

Doc Maynard’s was not actually owned by Doc Maynard, but it is routinely refered to as occupying the refurbished space of an 1890s public house, and this seems quite credible given that it is in the Pioneer Building, which was built in 1891. Dating “Doc Maynard’s” itself back to the date of this earlier pub may be a bit questionable, but this is how I mark it given the guidelines described above. The Central was established in 1892 as “Watson Bros. Famous Restaurant,” and claims to be the “oldest saloon in Seattle,” (perhaps because Merchants refers to itself as a “cafe”?). Watson Bros. was renamed “The Seattle Bar” in 1901, and then again to the “Central Cafe” in 1919. And while it may not be particularly relevant to Prohibition, the Central of course played a much larger role in recent Seattle music history, as throughout the 80s it was the steadiest of a very small number of clubs that would regularly host interesting music, including many fondly remembered sets by the little known local bands Nirvana, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden, as well as college station favorites like Sonic Youth and Janes Addiction.