Oldest Bars in Washington State

While I am fairly confident that I have the best data available on the lifetime of Washington bars, defining how old a bar is requires deciding on a fair number of fairly arbitrary criteria for what constitutes the same bar. I lean toward requiring the same basic name, the same location, and the same building. But others may decide differently so I have tried to present data to help answer questions with whatever criteria the reader feels is most appropriate, and include lists of the very oldest by various criteria (for details see Notes on Dating Bars.)

As far as comprehensiveness, given the data and attention I have given bars in Seattle I am quite confident that I have identified all bars that date back before or soon after prohibition. While I'm confident I have also identified the vast majority of bars this old in Washington state, there may still be a few that surprise me.

Further details are often available by clicking the name of the bar below and in the "full list" at the bottom of this page. I would love to hear any additional information or questions you have. The collection of this material is design for all to use but I'd request a communication and attribution when used in any formal or commerical publication-- Pete Andrijeski (peterga@gmail.com)

The Oldest Bars in Seattle

(Same name, Same location, Same building)

The Oldest Bar in Washington #1

(By same name, same building)

1890 or earlier - The Exchange Tavern, Spanaway and Merchant's Cafe, Seattle - Merchant's Cafe can be conclusively dated to 1890 in the current location, since that is the year construction of the buiding was completed (in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire in 1889), and it can be found listed under the name at its current address in 1890 newspapers. I have not seen such definite primary sources for The Exchange, but Jean Sensel, a previous owner of the bar, writes "I found original sales documents for all the land east of Spanway Lake by a development company that platted the area as Lake Park. The parcel where the Exchange sits is the only one that was not in the sale, lending credence to the recollection of older residents that the tavern was in place when the Lake Park Land, Railway, and Improvement Company bought the properties around it in 1889, or at the latest, when the railway was completed in 1890, the Exchange was in place." (personal correspondence, Sep 6, 2015)

Others:

1897? - The Chester Club, South Bend
1898 - The Brick, Roslyn
1898 - The Inn / Old Inn, Snohomish
1901 - Opal Lounge, Tacoma
1901 - Frosty's Tavern, Napavine
1901 - Melrose Grill, Renton
1902 - The J&M, Seattle
1903 - The Virginia Inn, Seattle
1904 - Headquarters Tavern, Mineral
1908 - The Olympic Club, Centralia
1910 - Triangle Pub, Seattle
1911 - Queen City Saloon/Tavern/Grill, Seattle
1912 - Slim's Tavern, Lind

The Oldest Bar in Washington #2

(Same name, varying locations)

Horseshoe Cafe, Bellingham - 1886 - The Horseshoe Cafe in Bellingham has been in its current location since 1958. However, it traces its history under that name through previous locations since 1886. The Horseshoe claims it is Washington's longest continuously operating cafe and cocktail lounge, and it may be in some sense, as this requires a peculiar interpretation of "continuously," at least from the bar perspective. Whatcom County voted itself dry by 1910. The Horseshoe claims that the country remaind dry long after federal prohibition was overturned and that they received the first post-prohibition bar license in the county in 1950. However city guides list several beer parlors in Bellingham by the mid 30s, so perhaps this is some memory related to selling liquor by the glass, which was only re-legalized for some institutions in Washington in 1948? You can judge for yourself whether or not one should overlook prohibition years and allow a claim to a "continuously" operating bar that admits a 40 year gap, and whether keeping some basic version of one name should be required to count as one bar. But in any case the Horseshoe does appear to be able to trace its origin under its current name further back than any other restaurant in the state, and it may well be able to do the same as a bar.

The Oldest Bar in Washington #3

(By same building, varying names)

Oak Harbor Tavern, Oak Harbor - 1852-56 The current Oak Harbor Tavern appears to reside in a building that was established as a saloon and store by sea Captain Edward Barrington circa 1852 and at least by 1856. It was later dragged across the street to its current location. It appears to have taken the name "Oak Harbor Tavern" in 1939 (previously Forner's Tavern). Thus this is the physical structure that has been a bar for the longest time in the state of Washington and by a considerable measure -- at least 26 years.

Others:

1882 - Bluebird Inn, Bickleton
1888 - Kuk's Tavern, Northport
1888? - The Roslyn Roadhouse, Roslyn
1890 - The Stage, Seattle
1890 - The Exchange, Spanaway
1890 - Merchants Cafe
1891 - Couleegan's, Coulee City
1892 - The Central Saloon, Seattle
1893 - City Hall Saloon, Cumberland
1894 - Kelly's Restaurant and Lounge, Newport
1890s - Frontier Tavern, Ellensburg
1897? - The Chester Club, South Bend
1898 - The Inn / Old Inn, Snohomish
1898 - Conor Byrne, Seattle
1898 - Percy's, Seattle

Other Washington Bars in Very Old Bar Locations

If we consider a physical location, and not just a particular building, then we must move a number of bars up these lists:

1873 - Frontier Tavern, Ellensburg - A saloon was established in this location in 1873, which may make it the oldest bar location, currently hosting a bar, that I have found in Washington state (depending upon when the Oak Harbor building was moved). That building burned in 1889 fire and the current building was constructed a few years later.
1884 - The Spar, Tacoma - This is on the site of the old Tacoma Bar, which is generally said to have been established in 1884 and and torn down in 1916 (although a 1916 Tacoma Times article dates it to 1872). The current building was constructed in 1917, became "The Spar" in the 1920s, and was a bar again right after prohibition.
1890 or earlier - Queen City Grill, Seattle - Dating the Queen City Grill is somewhat problematic. There were bars at this address at least since 1890 (under Alexander Meister, in the Polk city guide), and "Queen City Saloon" appears by 1901. However, I have not been able to ascertain the date of the current brick building, which replaced the wooden structure at the same address and which at least briefly housed the Queen City Saloon (there is an undated picture of this in the restaurant). King County parcel info lists the build date as 1900, but this was often used as a shorthand for anything 1900 or earlier. Other articles have listed the construction date as 1901 and 1909.
1898 - Joe's Place, Bucoda - Joe's Place was established in 1898 but the original building burned down during prohibition.

Various Claims to Oldest Bar in Washington

There are quite a few bars that claim to be the oldest in the state in one form or another, and as I mention above, the definition and age of a bar are not simple questions, so it is not impossible for multiple such claims to be true by certain criteria. At other times the claims appear to be merely hearsay, or a lack of knowledge of some of the other old bars in existence. Below is my assessment of some of these claims given the best information I can find. If I misinterpret the claim or am lacking certain data, I would much appreciate being informed of this.

The Bluebird Inn is sometimes described as the oldest bar in the state -- clearly in terms of how long ago locations of current bars first hosted a bar under any name. This does not appear to be quite the case, if my information on the Oak Harbor Tavern is anywhere near correct. But it is still very old -- the building is said to be constructed and began business as a bar in 1882 (seven years before Washington was a state).
The Brick claims to be the oldest existing bar operating under one name in the state and is the one I seem to hear most commonly cited as the oldest bar in the state. It's a fine old place and deserves attention, but I do not see any reasonable way it can be defined as the oldest in the state. Accounts differ over whether the current building was constructed in 1889 (after a major fire in Roslyn in 1888) or in 1898. The wikipedia page on Roslyn actually contains both claims. However, with some help from contemporary fire maps, and also from the Roslyn Museum and local historians, we can determine that it is clearly the latter date. First, the 1891 Sanborn Fire Map of Roslyn (on file at the Seattle Public Library and also available online (for anyone with an SPL library card) shows the current location of The Brick with a different, much smaller structure and housing a tailor. Further, the 1899 Sanborn map indicates that the same space was at that time "Being Built to be Sal." The history of the structure is further clarified by local historian Sue Ritchfield (personal correspondence, April 3 2016):

'[Peter] Giovanni and [John] Buffo moved their business to the corner of Pennsylvania and First Street in 1898 and built a structure using 45,000 bricks and named the tavern “The Brick.” ... The museum has a framed copy of the bill for the bricks used to build The Brick, dated 1898, which technically makes their claim that they have been operating since 1889 incorrect. Giovanni and Buffo's tavern may have started operations that year, but The Brick didn't come into existence until 1898.'So as far as time operating under one name, it is plainly preceded by Merchants (1890) in Seattle, The Exchange (1890 or earlier) in Spanaway, and the Horseshoe in Bellingham (though the latter has moved buildings). If, on the other hand, one calculates age by time as a continuous business, regardless of changes in name, location, ownership, and building, then it is predated by the Oak Harbor Tavern, the Bluebird Inn in Bickleton, Kuk's Tavern in Northport, Bellingham's Horseshoe, Tacoma's Spar, and Seattle's Queen City Grill.

The Central Saloon location, hosting a bar since 1898 and a cafe and/or bar named "The Central" (Cafe/Saloon/Tavern) since 1919, claims to be "Seattle's oldest Saloon." Since it is right around the corner from the older Merchants Cafe, this apparently is not a reference to how long it has been a bar. I have seen one explanation of this from persons associated with the bar as Merchants having featured food, and thus not being a true "saloon." This seems dubious to me, and more likely, I would guess, is that it refers to being the first institution in Seattle allowed to use the "Saloon" in the title after prohibition, ala Three Fingered Jacks in August 1979. Legislation associated with Washington state's Steele Act of 1934, which sought to enforce temperance in the wake of the repeal of the 18th amendment and the Beer and Wine Revenue Act earlier in 1933.
Club Crow in Cashmere was established as a pool hall, tobacco shop, and barbershop in 1918, and as a tavern in 1934. It has been referred to as the "oldest still operating bar in the State of Washington." Lots of bars make this sort of claim in one fashion or another, and it's hard to square the Crow's claim with a number of other bars that have been (legally) operating since shortly after prohibition ended (Dec 5, 1933), let alone the handful of bars that were in operation before prohibition.
Conor Byrne / The Owl has been called the "oldest continually operating drinking establishment west of the Mississippi" by the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. The Owl appears to have been established in 1898, so it is difficult to see how this could possibly be true given some of the bars listed above, let alone places like "The Saloon" and "Little Shamrock" in San Francisco.
Jules Maes features signs that prominently claim "Since 1888," and local newspapers have refered to Jules Maes himself working there in 1888. This would make Jules the oldest bar in the current Seattle city limits (the Georgetown area was annexed by Seattle March 29, 1910) and either the oldest or second oldest in Washington state, depending on how you count. However my research indicates that this claim is simply not accurate. First, the building at 5919 Airport Way was not constructed until 1898. According to the most comprehensive history I could find, the building was first a saloon in 1907 It was not leased to Jules Maes until 1936. Jules attended and/or owned other bars in the area in the early 1900s, but not earlier. His bar was located at 5953 Airport Way in 1934, before he moved into the current building in 1936.
Kuk's Tavern in Northport claims to be the "oldest continuous and licensed tavern." I'm not sure of the particular basis for this claim, but if they have been continuously licensed (with the exception of prohibition) since it started as a saloon in 1888 or 1889, then it would appear that the only potential competitors to that claim would be the Oak Harbor Tavern and Bickleton's Bluebird Inn (I do not know how long either of these has been continuously licensed.)
Kuhnle's Tavern in Marysville, some claim, dates back to 1918 as Kuhnle's and there was a bar in the building back in the 1890s. However, Snohomish County tax records indicate that the current building was constructed in 1913. It does appear that the Kuhnle family may have owned the location from 1918 until 2011, but it was not a bar in 1918 (state-wide prohibition began two years earlier), serving in various capacities including a tackle shop and a confectionary. Also, it does not appear as either bar or confectionary in the 1935 Snohomish County Polk Guide, but it does appear as both in the 1937 edition (as Edward M. Kuhnle himself does). So while it is an old and fine bar (with great Brunswick back bar), and it may even have hosted a bar before prohibition, it is not quite old enough to make the lists above.
The Roslyn Roadhouse is the new name of The Pastime in Roslyn, WA. Michael Caldwell's "Watering Holes of the Northwest" claims that The Pastime goes back to 1885, and the old MySpace site for The Pastime continues: 'The Pastime was originally named The Palace, back in 1885. It would have been the oldest operating bar in the state of Washington, but for two years during prohibition, it became Owens Meat Market. During the 1920's it also endured some major [remodeling] and in 1974 became known as Jean's Pastime. In 1990 it changed owners again to Lonnie and Jody, our current owners. It is the oldest commercial building in Roslyn ..." But several elements of this story seem dubious. E.g. how could this have been the oldest operating bar except for two years as a meat market during prohibition, given that A) there were, of course, no licensed bars at all during prohibition; and B) prohibition in Washington state lasted a minimum of 17 1/2 years. In addition, there is no "Pastime" listed among bars in the 1937 nor 1949 Polk Guides (I cannot determine if there was any bar listed at the location due to changes in street numbering). Finally, I received this information from the president of the Roslyn Historical Museum: "The date is wrong Roslyn didn't exisit until 1886 when coal was discovered." (Nick Henderson, personal correspondence, June 11, 2012) However, he adds "We have an old ledger book from The Palace. It is dated 1888 the owner was a person with the last name of Bryant," and notes that they have a photo of the place from 1888. So perhaps bars date back to this year or even slightly earlier in this location.
Tamarack Saloon (not the Red Rock Saloon) in Conconully featured signs that say "Since the 1880s," but as members of the Okanagan County Historical Society pointed out to me, the building was not there in 1904, and it was run under various different names including the Conconully Tavern and Jackson's Tavern and Groceries in the 1950s and 1960s. ( More on the Tamarack Saloon)
Three Fingered Jack's features a large sign inside describing itself as "The oldest legal saloon in Washington state," which has led many visitors to assume that it is one of the oldest bars in the state. But in fact this designation goes only to Aug 16, 1979, when the Washington State Liquor Control Board made it legal to use the word "saloon" in a bar's signs and ads for the first time since statewide prohibition was enacted at the beginning of 1916. The bar received a citation for using the word in their sign when they opened in 1972. A life dating back to the early 1970s is a considerable accomplishment for a bar, but of course it does not put it among the oldest bars in the state.

Full List of Old Washington Bars

Pete's full list of the oldest bars in Washington State

This list has a list of old bars with notes and dates. The two date columns are Name - The date on which the bar of that basic name was established; and Loc - the year a bar (of any name) is first known to have been running in the location. I have left to the Notes section details of the few cases when the dates for a bar at the current location is different from that of the current building.

Note: This list is under construction: For now you can refer to the page: peterga.com/kbar-oldwa.htm

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