Ghost stories, speakeasies and saloons: Inside the history of Austin's oldest bars
Jim Duncan, a retired city planner, has written more than 600 short histories of Austin businesses. We introduced him and this series, "Jim Duncan's Austin," on July 6. This week, we adapt three of his histories of local bars. - Michael Barnes
An undated view of Scholz Garten provided by the Austin History Center. (Austin History Center)
Austin's Scholz Garten is the oldest continuously operating business in Texas and the oldest beer garden in the U.S. For more than 150 years, Scholz, at East 17th and San Jacinto streets, has been a popular gathering place for Austinites, legislators, students and visitors to enjoy traditional German food, beer and music.
In 1866, Prussian immigrant August Carl Wilhelm "Papa" Scholz opened a bar and cafe in his boarding house. Soon after, it became a favorite meeting place for the local German population. Scholz died in 1891.
The German singing club Saengerrunde purchased the property in 1908 and added a bowling alley. During World War I, the divided loyalty of the local German community was evident in many Garten events.
The Garten has hosted a virtual who's who in Austin history. City marshal and gunfighter Ben Thompson celebrated his acquittal in a murder trial at Scholz's in 1883, and Lady Bird Johnson met there as a member of a UT women's social club. Authors O. Henry, Billy Lee Brammer and Willie Morris all referred to it in their written works.
In 1966, the Garten was honored by the Texas Legislature as "a gathering place for Texans of discernment, taste, culture and erudition." It was designated a Texas Historic Landmark in 1967 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Since 2016, it has been managed by Dan Smith.
1871: Scoot Inn
English musician, singer and songwriter YOLA performs at the Historic Scoot Inn on February 8, 2020 in Austin, Texas. [Suzanne Cordeiro for AUSTIN360] (Austin 360)
Now known as the Scoot Inn, the structure at East Fourth and Navasota streets - 1308 E. Fourth St. - is one of the oldest continuously operating commercial buildings in Austin. First opened in 1871 as a grocery store, it served both locals and travelers who arrived and departed at a nearby railroad station.
From the early 1890s to 1915, Hubert Packenius, a German immigrant, operated a saloon in the building. Police charged him with hitting a man with a "beer mallet" in 1891 and violating the "Sunday Law" in 1892.
In 1933, Madam Rahey, a spiritualist, worked out of the building. After Prohibition, Harvey P. "Greenie" Lee opened Past Time Café, a beer and sandwich tavern, in the building.
In 1940, Aubrey Clell "Scooter" Ivy opened Scoot Inn, which holds Austin's fourth-oldest liquor license.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Scoot Inn was operated by Milburn Deward "Jukie" Spiars, whose wife, Bonnie Lucille, would invite neighbors in for Thanksgiving dinner every year.
The bar survived a robbery in 1982 and a fire in 1993. Since 2006, Scoot Inn has had several owners, including ATX Brands (2012) and C3 Presents (2017), who turned it into a live music venue, booking performers such as Gary Clark Jr.
Lee died in 1937, Ivy in 1969, Jukie Spiars in 1979 and Bonnie Spiars in 2000.
1916: The Tavern
The Tavern attracts football fans for watching parties, but one guest hasn't left. (Austin American-Statesman)
The Tavern sign claims it has been here "since 1916." That is both correct and incorrect.
Correct that the building has been here; incorrect that the business has been here. Richard Niles Graham, grandson of Gov. Elisha Marshall Pease, planned for the building to host a beer hall but switched to a grocery store because of Prohibition. He had asked Hugo Franz Kuehne, UT architecture dean, to design the building to look like a German public house.
During the 1920s, the store was allegedly the front for an upstairs bar, casino and brothel, all, of course, illegal. Legend has it that a young girl named Emily was murdered by a disgruntled customer, and her ghost still roams the building.
After Prohibition ended, The Tavern was born. The Tavern's neon signs still tout "air conditioned" because it was one of the earliest establishments in Austin to have AC.
When the city was paving North Lamar Boulevard, it wanted to tear down the Tavern, but there was such a public outcry that officials backed off. Ownership of The Tavern has been a revolving door: Bill Newman and C.H. Slator in the 1950s, Wayne Overton and Bob Howerton in the 1960s, Shannon Sedwick and Michael Shelton in the 1970s, Ellis and Paige Winstanley in the 2000s, and Sedwick and Shelton again in the 2010s.
Three more stories in this series
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