Lunch, Beer, Candy -

- My three basic food groups!

Back in the '50s we lived in Louisville. My dad, descended from a line of brewers, only kept Oertles '92 in the house. He said it tasted like the beers his grandfather brewed. All I know is that it was the first beer that I tasted as a young child. I always got one sip anytime dad poured himself a cold one.

Is that Amelia Earhart popping in for some lunch? Beer? Candy?

This reminds me of a neat example of how buildings evolve. A couple of years ago the owners of the bar did a major interior remodel that involved removing the floor, exposing the unfinished basement and original stone foundation. The electric water heater was oddly located along the outside basement wall, far from the kitchen or any other plumbing. Taking a look at the 1940 photo, it totally makes sense: the water heater would have been originally gas-fired and vented through the now-gone chimney. When the building was reconstructed and the heater replaced with an electric unit they probably saw no need to go to the expense of relocating it to a more logical place (which, in fact, the new owners finally did in their 2019 remodel).

I'm glad Steve Lexington knows the history of this building.

John Vachon captured so much here, from the texture of the brick streets to the swarm of power and phone lines overhead. The building in the 1940 photo has lots of charm; but I also like the musicians' mural on the building now. And I really like the 1940 guy walking around the corner -- from his aviator's cap with the earflaps secured to the knickers without boots or even knee-high socks. He is a fashion slave to no one.

Hard to believe, but this building and the present structure at this site are one and the same. It was heavily "modernized" in the mid-20th century, probably after a fire. Now a popular neighborhood bar. I've been in there many times.

[Amazing! - Dave]