![]() Expect hanging chandeliers, exposed brick and tiny dark-wood tables dotting the long, narrow space. There were many unintended consequences from this overreach such as the rise of organized crime and the rise of speakeasies. The restaurant's interior pays homage to its old-timey roots, with decor inspired by post-Prohibition American dining saloons as well as Paris in the 1920s. Often referred to as speaks, secret bars emerged in the 1920s after the government ban on all alcohol known as prohibition. Today, eaters hit up Beuchert's Saloon for its mix of locally-sourced American fare and specialty cocktails-they even have prosecco on tap. The saloon was converted during Prohibition into a sewing shop, but, as the discovery of the bottles shows, it probably never lost its boozy-appeal. With over 20 self-pour taps, tons of space, and over 30 HD TVs, it’s a perfect spot to get your sports filled with your friends. The original Beuchert’s Saloon opened in 1880, under the ownership of German businessman and Capitol Hill local John Ignatius Beuchert. A premier sports bar named after Walter Perry Johnson, pitcher for the Washington Senators, Walt’s Sports Bar is a perfect game day destination. When Beuchert’s Saloon, a farm-to-table restaurant and bar in D.C.'s Eastern Market neighborhood, began renovating its space, contractors found a hidden sliding door-which was covering hundreds of empty Prohibition-era liqueur bottles. (Customers eat in the dining area of Beuchert's, which used to be an old speakeasy.) Although most were located in private homes in the city's downtown, many of which have been torn down, a few have since converted into fully-legal restaurants and bars, where visitors can grab a drink and remember D.C.'s roaring past. All feature low lights, '20s-era decor and plenty of strong booze.īut for those looking to truly venture into D.C.'s illicit past, the sites of a few authentic speakeasies can still be tracked down. ![]() Today, visitors can sample D.C.'s vintage cocktails at several speakeasy-inspired bars, including the The Gibson, Harold Black, and The Columbia Room, a ten-seat, reservation-only cocktail bar located behind an unmarked door in the back of another bar, The Passenger. Instead, the 267 licensed saloons became nearly 3,000 speakeasies, disguised in a variety of forms, from a candy shop in the shadow of the Capitol dome to a jazz club in a drugstore basement.Īs historian Garrett Peck notes in his book Prohibition in Washington, D.C.: How Dry We Weren't, Prohibition helped completely change the landscape of Washington-for starters, it helped turn the U Street district into a center for entertainment and helped desegregate areas that had long been starkly divided between black and white residents, as people from all over began to mingle at speakeasies. Prohibition also changed the District's taste for alcohol by shutting down breweries and replacing them with illegal venues selling home-distilled liquor, city residents gave up beer and wine in favor of stronger cocktails. ![]() in 1917, three years before it was enacted into law nationwide, all legal bars in the District were shutdown. But Prohibition didn't succeed in eradicating alcohol from the nation's capital.
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