old neighborhood bars

[broadway]

are the clubs and cafes of today like the old bars of yesterday?
NO, they are different.
who of you remember the old bars
not noisy, not horns honking and gangs, no loud music to disturb . . .
they were family oriented
do any of you remember those old neighborhood bars
are there any left in your neighborhood?

 

[Dormouse]

I wish I could find a bar that was quiet enough for a conversation! As it is they are usually blaring music at jet-airplane decibel levels--it's like trying to talk in a flock of squawking parrots.

It would also be nice to find a bar where people didn't dress in underwear. The whole camisole-and-jeans thing grates on me, especially if there's also a thong-panty top protruding from the jeans--yecch, it's like seeing someone with a big trailer of TP on their shoe, only I can't say, "Hey, your underwear's showing!" because it is *intentional*...

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Turn-In Tavern. It's on Turner Street. When my brother was here after my dad died last September, I suggested the 4 of us go there to discuss and chat. He had 2 twenties out to pay for the first round but it came to ...... $7.50. It's around the corner from my house and had a vintage sign. Unfortunately the city decided to spruce up inner-city facades so they got a retro sign. :eusa_doh:

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Sometimes you get lucky.

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[Ellie]

Move to England. One of the many wonderful qualities of England is its pubs where people of all ages can attend. The English have a sort of tradition called "quiz night" at their local pubs, in which groups compete in a trivia quiz. Not to mention, many of their pubs are quite old or at least appear to be old.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

We have a particular type of bar in Texas called an "Ice House". Away from the city they are often more family friendly. In town the good ones are full of urban hipsters.

 

[Fletch]

Old neighborhood bars hereabouts don't have much atmosphere - they're for the old neighborhood. Stale smoke and Bud are the keynotes, and you talk about work or sports or you don't talk.

 

[Twitch]

A good many of the neighborhood bars are around. They're quiet dens of iniquity patronized by people that walk to them from the surrounding blocks. They are darkish, have that hint of damp air and beer aroma. The patrons are there to drink and not blast the juke box during the day for sure. They have a pool table or a shuffleboard. They serve lunch from a small kitchen but are not cafes by any means.

THIS is a neighborhood bar!
They abounded when I was younger in St. Louis but found there are still a number around in Southern Cal.

 

[JohnTheGreek]

There used to be a great place in the Sugarhouse neighborhood of Salt Lake City called "The Tap Room". It was a single wide mobile home with a peaked roof constructed and placed after WWII. The exterior was made to look like a swiss chalet but it had industrial tile floors, about 50 years of cig smoke collected on the drop ceiling, knotty pine paneling and built in wall mounted drink racks to compensate for it's narrow width. That dive was my university oasis. They used to sell Coors yellow label (the only beer on tap) in the early 90's for 50 cents a draft (three for a dollar on Thursdays). The chili and bartenders were great too. There was a chain smoking, 75 year old woman named Alta who had apparently been working there forever. They sold snacks of course, and I asked her one day for a Hershey Bar. Her response was "Sure, Male or Female?" I gave her a puzzled look and she clarified...."with nuts or without"! When I finished my MA, I arrived at 2:00 pm and left at about 11:00 for other planned festivities. Those were the days! It understand it has been "taken over" in a hostile fashion by the son of the business owners landlord and was promptly boycotted by nearly all regulars who now visit the "new" tap room down the street.

Can't find a photo online but I miss that place.

Best,

John

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Male or female! lol Love that story, JohnTheGreek. Why oh why do things have to change simply for the sake of change?

 

[Lincsong]

Yeah, there's neighborhood bars in this neck of the woods. One here in town, Pagano's was frequented by my Dad back in the 1940's. Most are blue collar white enthnic establishments so many of the people there are named; Manny, Louie, Charlie, Tony etc. or have last names that end in a vowel.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

This thread reminded me of when I took the 8-hour-or-whatever course before getting a driver's license, which is mostly about not drinking and driving. A youngman in the room suggested there be a bar on every corner, that way no one would drink and drive.

 

[Twitch]

Oh, and in St. Louis and other eastern cities you could buy package liquor over the bar too...for the road I guess.

 

[Lincsong]

Then there's Ricky's SportsBar in town. That highly rated Sports Illustrated place frequented by Raiders fans.

 

[Ian Dundrillon]

"I like bars just after they open for the evening. When the air inside is still cool and clean and everything is shining and the barkeep is giving himself that last look in the mirror to see if his tie is straight and his hair is smooth. I like the neat bottles on the bar back and the lovely shining glasses and the anticipation. I llike to watch the man mix the first one of the evening and put it down on a crisp mat and put the little folded napkin beside it . I llike to taste it slowly. The first quiet drink of the evening in a quiet bar-- that's wonderful."

Raymond Chandler
The Long Goodbye
1953

That pretty well says it all.

P.S. For any mysoginists out there, read the next paragraph in the book.

 

[Dr Doran]

In the Tenderloin of San Francisco there was an old bar from the 40s called the Ha Ra. I used to love it. It was untouched. Then, about 8 years ago, they revamped it. They replaced all the old stuff with new shiny tabletops. Very sad.

The English- and Irish-style pubs seem to have the most old-fashioned feel where I live. Plus they have more than Bud, which I do not like much.

 

[OldSkoolFrat]

Yano?

There is a great pub here in the EXurbs of north west Atlanta. Guiness on tap tap tap: Along with Woodpecker Cider.

Why should I leave? Town house with media room or this new sidewalk to my subdivision?

 

[Ian Dundrillon]

The cocktail lounge is alive and well.

While not exactly old (1971), Valenty's in St. Petersburg, Florida, has the look, feel, and value of a vintage cocktail lounge. Small and intimate, the bar seats only 12, with two separate tables and a piano on the side. All of the bartenders have 7-20 years of experience and can make just about all of the familiar drinks of the Golden Era. Sidecars, Old Fashioneds, Gimlets, Manhattans and Martinis are local favourites. The clientele varies; retirees during the day, business people at happy hour and singles and couples at night. Thankfully absent are sports paraphenalia, rap, blaring televisions, teenagers and barflies. The mood is cordial, quiet and polite without being dull or stuffy. You quickly become a regular. Call brand drinks made with a generous pour are priced at $3.50 U.S. They don't, as yet, play big band and swing music, but I'm working on that. Smoking is not permitted, so it's a trade-off for air quality. Good place, good people, good times; one of my favourites.

"The martini is the supreme American gift to world culture."

Bernard DeVoto

 

[Teekay44]

Central Pa Bars

I guess we are lucky here as we still have quite a few neighborhood bars. There is one called Valentino's that is a working class place. Pictures from the 30's until now on the walls. Great home cooked food. When I was with the local Fire Department we would go there after our shift. You were always welcome and should I say expected. There are many like that in Lancaster City proper. Small places that the locals drop in. Bags of snacks behind the bar, raffle tickets, low priced beer, and a age old feel to the place. No thrills,themes,flashing lights or dancing. Just a small place, a few tables and a small bar. A place to talk to others or just drink your beer while watching the TV mounted over the one end of the counter. Some are the same bar but many owners and name changes but the insides are the same. Some are scattered through the county. You always know someone in these places it seems .

 

[nulty]

I think in the east where the old crumbling industrial towns still barely survive there are still some places that haven't changed a whole lot in the last 50-60 years. In the town I live in there is one that remains where you can still get a seedy room with torn wallpaper, a dresser a bed, a stained old sink in the bathroom, tile walls and a claw foot tub....

The bar down stairs runs the length of the room with an old mirror that has fading silver. There are etched tin ceilings and ceiling fans with white schoolhouse globes..

The place is dark and full of ghosts from the past. There is an old shuffleboard machine in the corner and an old oak phone booth with a pay phone and glass sliding door.

If I still drank I'd hang there....I used to drink in a place like with an Aunt. Always dressed to the nines. She used to wear one of those turbans with a jewel in it and tones of gooey makeup and lipstick. She'd tell stories aboui all the Aunts and Uncles and how they were always having affairs with each other and the mischief everyone got into back in the day...

I loved that.......