103 Washington Square

103 Washington Square sits in the basement of 101 Washington Square, which you may think of as the Denhart Bank building, the Washington State Bank building, or more recently, Faire Coffee.

The Anthony and Denhart Bank building was constructed by Charles Anthony and Henry Denhart around 1874, and assorted businesses have occupied the basement for almost the entire history of the building.  The first evidence was in the early 1880s when Ben Lyons ran a barber shop below the bank.  In 1885, Almon Holland came aboard as a partner.  Holland was the son of Matthew and Rebecca Holland and a grandson of Washington founder William Holland.

Shortly after their partnership formed, it dissolved, and the barbershop fell under the ownership of Charles Fish and Frank Geason. By 1887, the partnership was Fish and Charles Yack but returned to Fish and Geason until 1905.  

It should be noted that barbers coming and going from this location often bounced around to other locations just doors away. In the years leading up to World War I, there were no less than eight other barber shop locations on the square.

Barber shops back then had a different vibe than we think of them now. They advertised billiards and other activities, and they were a very popular hangout spot for men at that time.

In 1906, the spot became known as the Little Gem Barbershop, run by Edward McManus.  That was followed by the Huguet Barber Shop from 1908-1913.  Brothers Wilson and George Huguet worked as barbers, and they rented out space in the basement to other businesses.  William Bratt, a long-time jeweler on the square, started repairing watches at a bench in the Huguet shop.  Ora Clemons operated a clothing cleaners and tailor shop out of the back of the location during this time.  Later called the Huguet and Schoch Barber Shop, the enterprise lasted until around 1939, when the bank used the basement for several decades.  The Huguet Barber Shop from 1908 to 1939 remains the longest-running business under the street on the square.  Segue almost 30 years later, and we see another interesting venture.

1968 was a time of youth independence and a clunky time in Washington for youth as there was no place for them to go.  They were being run off of the square when congregating.  Sue Rediger sought to change that and asked advice from the mayor and local ministers. As a result, Bob Zulian donated the basement space of the Washington State Bank, and Rediger opened The Rusty Key, a meeting space for teenagers.  Some of Rediger's helpers included Art Portscheller, Gary Rutledge, Gary Nelson, Ed Faubel, Mary Parker, Phyllis Butler, Tim Meagher, & Claude Meiner.

In comments that speak very much to the late 60s time period, Rediger had this to say when the space opened in 1968:

This is what I think.  Down here, people should ignore surface things like clothes and hairdos and get to know the real people.  One kid called it a church.  Here, we're free to do anything that doesn't hurt anyone else and isn't illegal or immoral.  The police and clergy think what we're doing is the right way it should be done.  The Rusty Key is the key to fit the lock to the door that's been shut too long a time.

Written on the wall of the Rusty Key:

Who is blind?  The man that cannot see another world.  Who is dumb?  The man who cannot say a kind word at the right time.  Who is poor?  The man who is plagued with too strong desires.  Who is rich?  The man who's heart is contented.

The Rusty Key had a grand ambition in the summer of '68, but after Rediger went away to college that fall, it quickly faded away.  By October of that year, the Country Corner Gift Shop opened in the same location by Donna Hansen and Norma Bradle.  The gift shop lasted at 103 Washington Square for about a year, closing in 1969.  Donna opened The Gingerbread House in late 1969 at what is now 101 Zinser Place and later moved her business to the new Valley Forge Shopping Center in 1973, closing in 1981.

The upper level of the building was vacant as the Washington State Bank relocated to the Valley Forge area. In March 1970, Marvin and Bette Costa opened a photo studio in the basement.  Costa had contracts with the Washington Reporter to do photo work and specialized in studio photography.  Costa was a military photographer, studied under master photographers, and won several national awards.  Costa offered audio recordings of weddings with his photography services.  Although Costa had big dreams for his Washington photography business, it never took off, and he closed in 1972.

"They're raising the roof, talking and hitting the streets of Washington.  They're coming up from the depths of within Washington Square to spread the Word.  The Jesus People have ascended on Washington."

That was the lead in a 1973 Reporter article about the new tenant of 103 Washington Square. A gathering place called The Catacomb was established for a religious group led by Washington Christian Church Assistant Pastor Ron Criswell.  Criswell started his youth outreach in Washington in 1972 at the Teen Barn, a youth hangout on Wilmor Road, but vandalism problems led him to relocate.  This was the height of the "Jesus Movement" across the United States. Criswell's clientele was divided among high school and college-aged members. They held Bible studies and attempted to preach to the students loitering around the square in the mid-1970s.  As a result,  they sometimes had trash or firecrackers thrown down the stairs at the building.  The Catacomb lasted approximately two years.

During 1976-77, a business called K&B Computer Solutions was in the building, but very little is known about the company.  On April 27, 1977, Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe opened, managed by Donna Bachman and owned by Robert and Patty Mackey.  With no other place in town to get a real ice cream cone, the shop had a chance at real success.  Their specialty was "The Panther," a small 10-cent cone with one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of orange sherbet.  Bachman served up ice cream, chili dogs, soft drinks, candy, coffee, and chips. 

In the economy of the seventies, the ice cream shop did not survive beyond the summer of '77.

In 1978, Jerry and Shirley Riddle opened Illini Graphics Supply at 103 Washington Square, offering supplies for the graphics arts industry. They stayed for approximately a year before moving down the road to 203 Peoria Street, where they remained for several years and eventually morphed into S.O.S. Office Services.

The 1980s saw the beginning of the stabilization of the use of 103 Washington Square.  Mike McSweeney opened "McSweeney's" as the first bar in that location.  In under a year's time, the spot was sold to Jeff and Julie Doyle who eventually changed the name to Doyle's Pub by the beginning of 1982.

In January 1983, the bar became Welch Bros. Saloon.  Pat, Bill, and John Welch were three of ten siblings who looked to mix up the bar's atmosphere with a working stoplight and a pet macaw.  They also abandoned the live music attempts made by their predecessors, insisting the venue was way too small.  

The Welch Bros. Saloon survived until 1988 when it became the Ratskeller that the colorful and memorable Wolfgang tended. 

The Ratskeller existed until 2003 when it became the C-Note pub, which remained so until 2017. The Ratskeller and the C-Note will be remembered as cozy hangouts where friends can meet to catch up, laugh, and talk.

From 2018-2022, the Blacksmith Steakhouse used the basement as an upscale restaurant, but in 2023, the space was re-opened as a pub under the name W Down Under.