Our popular Historic Tavern Tours are offered throughout the year. Tour themes vary but each tour features three different taverns. There is time at each tavern for enjoying the atmosphere, drinks & a bite before you board a shuttle and head to the next stop. A shuttle will transport you from stop to stop, returning to the starting point at the end of the tour. Drinks and food are not included in the price of the tour, but sparkling narration, historic gossip, and architectural knowledge of the taverns and their environs is cheerfully included. Tours are led by Doreen Uhas Sauer and/or Tom Betti, co-authors of Historic Columbus Taverns. All tours begin at 6 p.m. and end at approx. 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 for Columbus Landmarks members and $30 for non-members.
TAVERN TOUR: Classic Taverns – NEW TOUR!
Thursday, May 16 >>GET TICKETS
Thursday, July 18 >>GET TICKETS
Seems as though when people think “classic tavern,” they think of the older hangouts of their neighborhood and of their youth. Based on our tour guides appearance on WOSU’s All Sides with Ann Fisher a few months ago, Columbus Landmarks Foundation heard a great many stories about three classic places in the University District: O’Reilly’s Pub, The Blue Danube, and Dick’s Den. And since these are also establishments in one of our tour guide’s neighborhood (and perhaps even her youth), there are many stories and some surprise information. Here is a tavern tour designed for you to also come tell your story. Parking is available at the back of the Giant Eagle lot.
TAVERN TOUR: The Gentlemen’s Clubs of Three Eras of Columbus
Thursday, June 6 >>GET TICKETS
Our original Historic Tavern Tour visiting The Gentlemen’s Clubs of Three Eras of Columbus, spanning the 1830s – 1930s: The Jury Room, The Elevator Brewery & Draught Haus and Ringside Cafe. Not to be confused with today’s “gentlemen’s clubs,” these establishments serve as architectural markers for three eras of drinking, when drinking was, for the most part, limited to male patrons. Tour includes a look at the architecture and history of frontier taverns, Victorian Gentlemen’s watering spots, and Arts & Crafts drink/and Prohibition nooks.
Last Tweets
What a great idea! Sounds like a lot of fun, and an enjoyable way to learn about Columbus’ past. Any Speakeasys on any of the tours?
Thanks, Steve! We routinely feature speakeasies on all our tavern tours–at least the ones that can be historically verified. But, like Underground Railroad houses, documentation is often speculative. Sometimes the stories of what happened to the saloon or the tavern in Prohibition; how neighorhoods and ethnic communities were divided before and during Prohibition; or how these years impacted the city are far more interesting. Our motto–taverns, saloons, drinking habits, and the war between the wets and the drys is so rich–we offer it all to you to drink up! ~ Doreen Uhas Sauer