Historic Columbus Taverns

by Betti, Tom; Sauer, Doreen Uhas

• ISBN13: 9781609496708
• ISBN10: 1609496701
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-29
• Publisher: History Pr

Summary

Taverns came early to Columbus, refreshing settlers and travelers as far back as the 1790s. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer, from Columbus Landmarks Foundation, go barhopping through some of the historic public houses from the frontier era through Prohibition. Along the way, the stories of historic, taverns in Columbus include Native American captivity stories, live bears, German "vinegar" brewers. Catholic Masses set against the backdrop of a tavern, cholera, typhoid, land speculation and political dealings, underground tunnels, a scandalous divorce and even a bordello (imagine that). Columbus has a lot of tavern history. Drink it in. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 9
Introduction	p. 11
Taverns of the "Infant City": Beer, Barristers, Baths and a Bear	p. 17
Little Germany and Irish Broadway: Drink and Romanticism in the Age of Typhoid	p. 43
Brothers in Arms, Brothers at War: The Exclusive World of Men	p. 77
Reformers in Revolt: On the Streets and Behind the Scenes	p. 105
Tavern Spirits: Migratory Souls and Historic Saloons that Never Were	p. 137
Epilogue	p. 149
Bibliography	p. 153
About the Authors	p. 157
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

One of the first buildings in Central Ohio in the 1790s was a tavern—and 200 years later--Columbus as a "foodie" town shows renewed interest in discovering its historic "liquid assets." Once historic taverns in frontier Columbus featured live bears chained to giant wheels, pumping water for travelers in need of a shower—and giving new meaning to the term "watering hole." Existing historic taverns in Columbus span from 1830s through the 1930s—and still have little-known histories, stories, scandals, as well as, architectural fabric to explore. One is built on a still active graveyard; another is in the building of a former Pentecostal church. Several remain from the Irish and German migrations and survived Prohibition; one was the quintessential gentlemen's bar still with pool room that connected by underground tunnel to the Ohio Statehouse in a time of temperance. Another was both a tavern and a bordello for Union and Confederate officers (though on different nights). Set in the social and political historic context of a changing city, the taverns offer a chance to explore the city's history through its watering holes.