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Historic Bars

Historic Bars in Chicago

Billy Goat Tavern

20s / 30s / 40s / Anything goes / Beer

Party Earth Review Tucked away on the southern end of Michigan Avenue, Billy Goat Tavern – known for being not only the subject of several Saturday Night Live sketches but also the epicenter of the infamous Cubs curse – has been drawing in a diverse crowd for burgers and beer since 1934. Neon lights point patrons down to the subterranean ... more

430 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611

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Simon's Tavern

20s / 30s / 40s / 90s Music / Casual

Party Earth Review Established in 1934, Simon’s Tavern has its roots planted deep in American history, with a red-hot (or blue-yellow) streak of Swedish pride to boot. Marked by a neon sign of a martini-drinking fish, this cozy neighborhood bar features a décor of Viking and hunting paraphernalia, including a giant mural ... more

5210 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640

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Rainbo Club

30s / ATM / Ambient / Arcade Games

Party Earth Review A Chicago staple since 1936, the Rainbo Club is a cozy one-room venue popular with a creative clientele of artists, musicians, and hipsters. Ambient blues and folk music set the tone in the spare space, whose small stage – which has hosted everything from burlesque performances to dueling pianos – now showcases a rotating ... more

1150 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622

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O'Donovan's

20s / 30s / 40s / Bar Food / Baseball

Party Earth Review In business since 1886 (it was called Schulien’s back then), O’Donovan’s is among the city’s oldest, continuously running taverns. And though it looks as lived in as it does well loved, that doesn’t dampen the energy of the young Cubs fans and friendly yuppies that make up the regular crowd. The space features a narrow ... more

2100 West Irving Park Road
Chicago, IL 60618

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Schaller's Pump

30s / 40s / Bands / Bar Food / Blouses

Party Earth Review A sports bar, a politician’s hangout, a place for home-cooked grub, and a friendly neighborhood dive all coexist at Schaller’s Pump, and have for longer than at any other watering hole in town. Established in 1881, the joint survived prohibition as a speakeasy, was the favored drinking den of five Chicago mayors (and counting ... more

3714 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60609

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The Lodge Tavern

30s / ATM / After Work / Blouses / Pub

Party Earth Review Opened in 1957, The Lodge Tavern is the oldest purveyor of drunken revelry on the infamous Rush and Division strip, and late-night hours ensure that anyone in the market for a rowdy 3am booze fest need look no further than this venue’s shingled façade and peanut-encrusted floors. Reminiscent of an old English pub, the ... more

21 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60610

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Schubas Tavern

20s / 30s / After Work / Blouses / DJ

Party Earth Review Housed in a restored Schlitz Brewery tap house, Schubas Tavern is a mellow bar and intimate music venue that hosts diverse live performances every night, often featuring artists from around the world. Distinguished by its early 20th-century building, intricate brickwork, and large terracotta Schlitz emblems out front ... more

3159 North Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657

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Kingston Mines

20s / 30s / 40s / Anything goes / Jazz

Party Earth Review Founded in 1968 as one of Chicago’s first blues clubs, Kingston Mines has stood witness to more than a few big players in the industry wailing about how their woman left them. Playbills from past performances, old photos of legendary singers, and vintage murals of African American history dot the room, while mismatched ... more

2548 North Halsted
Chicago, IL 60614

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Chicago has a long drinking history encompassing grand breweries dating back to the 1800s and a little interruption called prohibition that limited the sale and distribution of alcohol in the 1920s and early 1930s. Today there are remnants of both eras, and a good number of Chicago historic bars share in the long traditions of this booze-consuming city.

Two of the oldest historic bars in Chicago date back to 1934, with Simon’s Tavern in Andersonville and Billy Goat Tavern in Streeterville. Simon’s mixes its American history with Swedish pride as they’re known for their signature glögg wine. Billy Goat is uniquely tied to the Chicago Cubs baseball team as the owner of the tavern is alleged to have put a curse on the Cubbies when the ballpark ushers kicked him out for bringing his goat to the stadium.

Rainbo Club, meanwhile, was opened just two years later in 1936 and is a Chicago staple for an artsy set of music and art lovers and those who like spending only $3 on beer (who doesn’t like that?). Despite its name, it’s really more of a dive bar than a club, but has also hosted everything from dueling pianos to burlesque to rotating art displays over the course of its history.

There are many more historic bars in the city, like Kingston Mines – one of Chicago’s first blues clubs – and Schubas Tavern, which hosts bands every night of the week. Regardless of where you go in the city though, you’ll find a little bit of history in watering holes all over town.