by I was having lunch on Bedford Street and I took a quick picture of the inside of Chumleys. Man. The place is completely gutted. Chumley’s is a bar and former speakeasy. From Wikipedia: “It was established in 1926 by the socialist activist Leland Stanford Chumley, who converted a former blacksmith’s shop near the corner of Bedford and Barrow Streets into the Prohibition-era drinking establishment. The speakeasy became a favorite spot for influential writers, poets, journalists, and activists, including members of the Lost Generation and the Beat Generation movements.”
I didn’t love it because it always smelled like cat urine (back in the 80’s). And we know how much I love cats.
Here’s a fun piece of trivia for you. There is a bar just down the street from me that’s named Chumley’s after your bar there. It’s one of Greensboro oldest, too, but I can’t vouch for a cat pee smell as I’ve never gone in (it is the stereotypical red neck bar. . .)
The Hemingway House in Key West also smelled of cat pee. It was very interesting though and I loved the writer’s room out the back.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliar/4386651924/
Karen, I didn’t know that!
Julia, I love how the cat is sitting right next to the no sitting there sign.