Prohibition Day

[CID1990]

My grandparents had a tunnel under their house for a speakeasy.

Apparently there is a new trend of "speakeasies" in college towns. Holy dumb ideas.

The speakeasy has made a comeback. There are several here in Charlotte where you have to be a member (i.e. sign up online) and they only allow so many in at a time.


There is one, in the back of a Mexican restaurant where the only way to get in (if you know it exists) is to go to their phone booth, pick up the phone and give the daily password). Then a door marked (Office) opens up.

Here's another, overly dramatic one.

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/160591/ ... quote]Ring the bell – A bartender will pick up and ask for the password. State it exactly as written. They take it seriously. The day I went it was a full phrase, not a word and I kept messing it up. I was there specifically for coverage for this story and had already been inside they wouldn’t even let me back in if I said it wrong. Get it right.

[/quote]

I’m surprised you didn’t include speakeasies in your first post, considering their proliferation in Charleston in the 1920s.

The Blind Tiger .... I know you know this but for the rest of the board....

In Charleston speakeasies were called “blind tigers” in general and there is (or was) a bar on Broad St called The Blind Tiger in homage to to them (and before it expanded it was a bit hidden, with a great interior)

Ibanez were/are you familiar with Charlies? You must be


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[Ibanez]

The speakeasy has made a comeback. There are several here in Charlotte where you have to be a member (i.e. sign up online) and they only allow so many in at a time.


There is one, in the back of a Mexican restaurant where the only way to get in (if you know it exists) is to go to their phone booth, pick up the phone and give the daily password). Then a door marked (Office) opens up.

Here's another, overly dramatic one.

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/160591/ ... speakeasy/

I’m surprised you didn’t include speakeasies in your first post, considering their proliferation in Charleston in the 1920s.

The Blind Tiger .... I know you know this but for the rest of the board....

In Charleston speakeasies were called “blind tigers” in general and there is (or was) a bar on Broad St called The Blind Tiger in homage to to them (and before it expanded it was a bit hidden, with a great interior)

Ibanez were/are you familiar with Charlies? You must be


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Yes. The Blind Tiger is still there. It closed down for a while. Great place. There was another place off East Bay called The Gin Joint which was awesome.


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[CID1990]

I’m surprised you didn’t include speakeasies in your first post, considering their proliferation in Charleston in the 1920s.

The Blind Tiger .... I know you know this but for the rest of the board....

In Charleston speakeasies were called “blind tigers” in general and there is (or was) a bar on Broad St called The Blind Tiger in homage to to them (and before it expanded it was a bit hidden, with a great interior)

Ibanez were/are you familiar with Charlies? You must be


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Yes. The Blind Tiger is still there. It closed down for a while. Great place. There was another place off East Bay called The Gin Joint which was awesome.


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Charlies is/was off E Bay also but you had to know where it was to find it because it was unmarked. You go in the stairwell in the rear of one of the old office bldgs and then up two flights. It was behind an unmarked door there. Go thru the door and it is amazing - really nice bar, leather furniture, window view out towards E Bay. A real surprise and NO TOURISTS


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[Ibanez]

Yes. The Blind Tiger is still there. It closed down for a while. Great place. There was another place off East Bay called The Gin Joint which was awesome.


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Charlies is/was off E Bay also but you had to know where it was to find it because it was unmarked. You go in the stairwell in the rear of one of the old office bldgs and then up two flights. It was behind an unmarked door there. Go thru the door and it is amazing - really nice bar, leather furniture, window view out towards E Bay. A real surprise and NO TOURISTS


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Yeah, that sounds familiar.

Now there’s one near Meeting St, I think. Are you familiar with The Key?


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[CID1990]

Charlies is/was off E Bay also but you had to know where it was to find it because it was unmarked. You go in the stairwell in the rear of one of the old office bldgs and then up two flights. It was behind an unmarked door there. Go thru the door and it is amazing - really nice bar, leather furniture, window view out towards E Bay. A real surprise and NO TOURISTS


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Yeah, that sounds familiar.

Now there’s one near Meeting St, I think. Are you familiar with The Key?


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Nope

But I had a key to The Ark but rarely went there except with other El Cid guys for nostalgia


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[Ibanez]

Yeah, that sounds familiar.

Now there’s one near Meeting St, I think. Are you familiar with The Key?


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Nope

But I had a key to The Ark but rarely went there except with other El Cid guys for nostalgia


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Same concept.

[Ivytalk]

Yeah, that sounds familiar.

Now there’s one near Meeting St, I think. Are you familiar with The Key?


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Nope

But I had a key to The Ark but rarely went there except with other El Cid guys for nostalgia


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Nostalgic for what, CID? The heady days of 1861?

[Ibanez]

Nope

But I had a key to The Ark but rarely went there except with other El Cid guys for nostalgia


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Nostalgic for what, CID? The heady days of 1861?

It was a private club for Citadel alum. I only got to go in once.

[Ivytalk]

Nostalgic for what, CID? The heady days of 1861?

It was a private club for Citadel alum. I only got to go in once.

Did you have to shave your head first?

[Ibanez]

It was a private club for Citadel alum. I only got to go in once.

Did you have to shave your head first?

No. I was a grad student at The Citadel and went with my uncle, class of '65.

I've always been a Citadel fan, ever since I was a kid. Uncle Jimmy and my father took us to many of the Friday afternoon parades, many of the home football and basketball games and other community events they held. Going to a Saturday football game, tailgating with the old timers outside of Johnson Hagood, watching the cadets march in, going to the Brigadier Club for free soda and boiled peanuts, watching the cadets get excited or angry when they were given Liberty following a game (or it was revoked) are some of the best memories I have of spending time with my father and of my childhood in general.

[CID1990]

Nope

But I had a key to The Ark but rarely went there except with other El Cid guys for nostalgia


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Same concept.

The reality is that private bars were “private” and you needed a key was so that they could keep blacks out.

There are a lot of places in Charleston like that. The Sand Dollar and Gene’s Haufbrau were both clubs where you needed a key to get in.

Being young and naive and having grown up in a less “separate” place in NC (my county was 40% white, 40% black, and 20% “tan love children”) I did not understand that this was still going on in the 80s and 90s.

In 1990, just before graduation, all of us Band Company seniors went out for a last few beers together. We went to Gene’s and barreled in with one of the guys who had a key. 4-5 of our classmates were black. We ordered beers and started playing pool and hanging out. About 20 minutes later, a guy who I guess was a manager or owner came up to me and two others and politely (sheepishly) tried to explain to us that it was a private club, and that customers there didn’t like mixed company. Me, being naive and think headed, answered the guy that we would quiet down. He replied that the problem wasn’t our noise. I then asked him if one of our group had done something like puke in the ladies room or whatever. The guy finally got frustrated with me and came out and played the “I personally don’t have a problem, but customers here come here so they don’t have to put up with the blacks” crap. I was stunned for a few seconds and then I hollered out loud, “PACK IT UP BOYS, WE’RE GOING TO AC’S!!”

I was pissed and told this manager guy that we were going to spread the word around the school not to patronize Gene’s. He did some backpedaling but I’m sure he was ultimately happy to see us go. Our brown classmates weren’t privy to the conversation and it wasn’t until several years later at a reunion that I told one of them. He was like, “happens all the time dude”. I was embarrassed about that for years because I didn’t know if I should have gotten belligerent or if I should have just done what I did. But I didn’t tell classmates to protect our evening together, and I always wondered if that was patronizing. We wound up having a great night at AC’s and even Harvey Dick came out to have a beer with us there.

I gave my Ark key away years ago. I didn’t go to Gene’s again until it changed hands and became more granola-y. I played a lot at the Sand Dollar with my band after they switched over to being private only so they could stay open extra late.


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[Ibanez]

Same concept.

The reality is that private bars were “private” and you needed a key was so that they could keep blacks out.

There are a lot of places in Charleston like that. The Sand Dollar and Gene’s Haufbrau were both clubs where you needed a key to get in.

Being young and naive and having grown up in a less “separate” place in NC (my county was 40% white, 40% black, and 20% “tan love children”) I did not understand that this was still going on in the 80s and 90s.

In 1990, just before graduation, all of us Band Company seniors went out for a last few beers together. We went to Gene’s and barreled in with one of the guys who had a key. 4-5 of our classmates were black. We ordered beers and started playing pool and hanging out. About 20 minutes later, a guy who I guess was a manager or owner came up to me and two others and politely (sheepishly) tried to explain to us that it was a private club, and that customers there didn’t like mixed company. Me, being naive and think headed, answered the guy that we would quiet down. He replied that the problem wasn’t our noise. I then asked him if one of our group had done something like puke in the ladies room or whatever. The guy finally got frustrated with me and came out and played the “I personally don’t have a problem, but customers here come here so they don’t have to put up with the blacks” crap. I was stunned for a few seconds and then I hollered out loud, “PACK IT UP BOYS, WE’RE GOING TO AC’S!!”

I was pissed and told this manager guy that we were going to spread the word around the school not to patronize Gene’s. He did some backpedaling but I’m sure he was ultimately happy to see us go. Our brown classmates weren’t privy to the conversation and it wasn’t until several years later at a reunion that I told one of them. He was like, “happens all the time dude”. I was embarrassed about that for years because I didn’t know if I should have gotten belligerent or if I should have just done what I did. But I didn’t tell classmates to protect our evening together, and I always wondered if that was patronizing. We wound up having a great night at AC’s and even Harvey Dick came out to have a beer with us there.

I gave my Ark key away years ago. I didn’t go to Gene’s again until it changed hands and became more granola-y. I played a lot at the Sand Dollar with my band after they switched over to being private only so they could stay open extra late.


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We've all had that experience, unfortunately. Mine was in 2006 at some place on Upper King.

Gene's was awesome until the mid 2000s, which is when it became popular. My grandfather bought a home in South Windermere in the early 60s and Gene's was his local watering hole until he gave up booze in the 80s. It was at it's best when it was a dive, like Jimmy Dengates. But I didn't know (or remember) that it was private.

AC's is still great.

The Sand Dollar on Folly? I didn't know it was private. Just a shit-hole. I once got spat on by a biker chick..on July 4th when I was 11 or 12. My family's beach house in 4 blocks down from it.

I never got to play at the Sand Dollar but my band did play at Cumberland's after it re-located. I didn't like that venue at all.

The Rifle Club is still private, in that they don't allow blacks or Jews, but they've gotten some really bad publicity over the past few years so that may be changing.

[CID1990]

The reality is that private bars were “private” and you needed a key was so that they could keep blacks out.

There are a lot of places in Charleston like that. The Sand Dollar and Gene’s Haufbrau were both clubs where you needed a key to get in.

Being young and naive and having grown up in a less “separate” place in NC (my county was 40% white, 40% black, and 20% “tan love children”) I did not understand that this was still going on in the 80s and 90s.

In 1990, just before graduation, all of us Band Company seniors went out for a last few beers together. We went to Gene’s and barreled in with one of the guys who had a key. 4-5 of our classmates were black. We ordered beers and started playing pool and hanging out. About 20 minutes later, a guy who I guess was a manager or owner came up to me and two others and politely (sheepishly) tried to explain to us that it was a private club, and that customers there didn’t like mixed company. Me, being naive and think headed, answered the guy that we would quiet down. He replied that the problem wasn’t our noise. I then asked him if one of our group had done something like puke in the ladies room or whatever. The guy finally got frustrated with me and came out and played the “I personally don’t have a problem, but customers here come here so they don’t have to put up with the blacks” crap. I was stunned for a few seconds and then I hollered out loud, “PACK IT UP BOYS, WE’RE GOING TO AC’S!!”

I was pissed and told this manager guy that we were going to spread the word around the school not to patronize Gene’s. He did some backpedaling but I’m sure he was ultimately happy to see us go. Our brown classmates weren’t privy to the conversation and it wasn’t until several years later at a reunion that I told one of them. He was like, “happens all the time dude”. I was embarrassed about that for years because I didn’t know if I should have gotten belligerent or if I should have just done what I did. But I didn’t tell classmates to protect our evening together, and I always wondered if that was patronizing. We wound up having a great night at AC’s and even Harvey Dick came out to have a beer with us there.

I gave my Ark key away years ago. I didn’t go to Gene’s again until it changed hands and became more granola-y. I played a lot at the Sand Dollar with my band after they switched over to being private only so they could stay open extra late.


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We've all had that experience, unfortunately. Mine was in 2006 at some place on Upper King.

Gene's was awesome until the mid 2000s, which is when it became popular. My grandfather bought a home in South Windermere in the early 60s and Gene's was his local watering hole until he gave up booze in the 80s. It was at it's best when it was a dive, like Jimmy Dengates. But I didn't know (or remember) that it was private.

AC's is still great.

The Sand Dollar on Folly? I didn't know it was private. Just a shit-hole. I once got spat on by a biker chick..on July 4th when I was 11 or 12. My family's beach house in 4 blocks down from it.

I never got to play at the Sand Dollar but my band did play at Cumberland's after it re-located. I didn't like that venue at all.

The Rifle Club is still private, in that they don't allow blacks or Jews, but they've gotten some really bad publicity over the past few years so that may be changing.

I’m surprised the Rifle Club doesn’t allow Jews... old school Charleston Jews are as MAGA as Bubba. Just ask Citdog - his whole crew are the “Shalom, Y’all” crowd. If the hunt club set is against Jews then they are just retrogressive Nazis and their grandparents would be ashamed and kick their asses


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[Ibanez]

We've all had that experience, unfortunately. Mine was in 2006 at some place on Upper King.

Gene's was awesome until the mid 2000s, which is when it became popular. My grandfather bought a home in South Windermere in the early 60s and Gene's was his local watering hole until he gave up booze in the 80s. It was at it's best when it was a dive, like Jimmy Dengates. But I didn't know (or remember) that it was private.

AC's is still great.

The Sand Dollar on Folly? I didn't know it was private. Just a shit-hole. I once got spat on by a biker chick..on July 4th when I was 11 or 12. My family's beach house in 4 blocks down from it.

I never got to play at the Sand Dollar but my band did play at Cumberland's after it re-located. I didn't like that venue at all.

The Rifle Club is still private, in that they don't allow blacks or Jews, but they've gotten some really bad publicity over the past few years so that may be changing.

I’m surprised the Rifle Club doesn’t allow Jews... old school Charleston Jews are as MAGA as Bubba. Just ask Citdog - his whole crew are the “Shalom, Y’all” crowd. If the hunt club set is against Jews then they are just retrogressive Nazis and their grandparents would be ashamed and kick their asses


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The Rifle Club actually begun as a German society.

[CID1990]

I’m surprised the Rifle Club doesn’t allow Jews... old school Charleston Jews are as MAGA as Bubba. Just ask Citdog - his whole crew are the “Shalom, Y’all” crowd. If the hunt club set is against Jews then they are just retrogressive Nazis and their grandparents would be ashamed and kick their asses


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The Rifle Club actually begun as a German society.

Ok maybe not, then


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[Winterborn]

Bismarck has one, fake door and all, that makes some really good Old Fashions. Plus they have this one drink that is made with Fruity Pebbles. It is interesting (in a good way) to say the least.

Is it downtown or elsewhere in Bismarck? I usually get dragged to Bismarck once a year for work.

It is downtown in the same building that Humpback Sally's and The Luft is in.

I may have just got lucky that night as I was talking to a coworker that lives in Bismarck and he has had hit or miss Old Fashions.

[Winterborn]

One of my favorite history books is Daniel Okrent’s Last Call. I highly recommend it for any student of Prohibition.

I will look it up. There was a couple of bootlegger runs near my parents house where guys would make a run from Canada and make drop near near a couple of the lakes and people would pickup the shipment there. A few of our neighbors that made moonshine back in the day as it was a good business supplying the Twin Cities Speakeasy's.

Just bought the book and paging through it I think I am really going to enjoy it.

[SuperHornet]

I would love to get Prohibition going again, and even add MJ, cigarettes, vape, and smart phones to the list....

[Ibanez]

I would love to get Prohibition going again, and even add MJ, cigarettes, vape, and smart phones to the list....

Shut up, Meg


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