Old Night Clubs

[Scaper]

Being 36 I remember the names of some night clubs that are now completely different.

Anyone remember any of these?

Clubs like Julies?

or The Cactus Club?

etc?

[VicHockeyFan]

Merlins (now Boom Boom)

The Limit (Plan B)

94th Street (?) (Sugar)

Heaven (Jungle Room)

The Waterfront (Boom Boom)

Rumours (Hush)

The Oly (Prism, or at least Prism occupies 1/2 of what Olys was)

Brass Rail (Colony Inn, now home to Sandman/Shark Club)

The Sherwood (Fat Tuesdays)

Club Cal (Plan B)

Ice House (Soprano's)

The Drawing Room (Red Jacket)

[VicHockeyFan]

Diablos

Diesel

Al Capones

[Scaper]

So the Cactus Club was on Yates...is that still a night club?

I also remember Merlins too.

and what is now, where Julies use to be?

[Scaper]

There use to be a teen club where revolution is now. or is it evolution?

[Jada]

I remember back in the early 80's there was a discoteque in the same location as Sugar now. It was called New York New York. I actually was allowed in there at the young age of 6, to dance disco and drink all the pop I wanted. I thought it was pretty groovy.

And man, I remember Harpo's back in the day, Im talking late 70's. My dad used to play shows there and I would hang out during rehersal.. or at least thats what they called it. Harpo's was up above Darcy's pub in Bastion Square.

But the best place ever, that I remember, would be Rumours, the jolly old gay bar that is now Hush. During the height of the rave scene you could see real live tranny's and real live gay people making out in the booths. It was a sight to behold. I actually met my boyfriend there, now that I am remembering...

And Al Capones.. the first bar I snuck into when I was 18. I had like $2 on me. So I got drunk on 25 cent rum and raisin shooters. Good times.

And we cant forget about:

The Forge.

The Sketchy Mexican (mexican restaurant turned after hours club in the late 1990's.. I think its now Molé on pandora).

And that country music nightclub that was open at the Evolution spot, for awhile. I never set foot in there.

The hip hop club on Store street.

Atlantis, with the trippy blue underwater theme.

Thursdays, which is now Logans.

Oh, and the bubble room in the old Ikea.

[gumgum]

I visited the Drawing Room a few times as a tourist. I thought that place was cool. Was I being lame or was it cool for a while?

[Jada]

It was super cool with the Top 40's crowd.

[gumgum]

****. I was uncool then.
I need some time to absorb this.

[Scaper]

AHHH I fogot the Forge!!! hahahaa

[Rob Randall]

Let's see.

Yes, the Boom Boom Room down below Wharf used to be Merlins in the 80s. Before that in the 70s it was the Surfside Cabaret.

I can't remember what the club across from MEC is now. I know it was Julies in the 80s. In the late 70s it was a disco called DecaDance and the hotel was called the Century Inn. It was a nice hotel with a fancy restaurant.

When the Mosaic building on Fort was known as the Montreal Trust building in the early 60s the basement had a jazz club called "The Cellar". Around that time there was another club one block north at 1037 View called Club Tango on the site of the present vacant lot near View and Vancouver St.

Before the creation of Legends and the Sticky Wicket, The Strathcona Hotel had several clubs, including "Max Headroom", a short-lived industrial-type dance club in the basement. This was probably around 1990. They also had The Old Forge and The Sting nightclubs. Legends used to be a bowling alley in the 50s.

The Uncle Willy's buffet in the Save On Foods plaza used to be a teen dance club many years ago.

About ten years ago there was a dance club where Lyles Place is on Yates.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m256/5955483/old_clubs.gif

Note the Fox porn theatre on Quadra (now Roxy's).

[Scaper]

How about Kareoke at Louies Louies. With all the old cars shyt on the walls.

[Jada]

Scaper, I cant believe you swore!!!

Oh, I loved Louie Louies!

And Max Headroom, I remember that place. I was too young to go in, of course.

And the club @ Lyle's Place had alot of names. It was pretty popular with the Top 40 crowd, from what I remember. It was a total meat market. Not my style.

[Scaper]

Is shyt a swear word?? :shock:

[Jada]

Its a british version of the word sh!t. :)

[Holden West]

It sure is. You can't fool the Lord by merely swapping a vowel.

Sweetwaters was a popular dance club during the 80s. It targeted a slightly older demographic. It was downstairs in Market Square--the entrance was beside that Mexican restaurant. I don't know what's there now. It changed hands several times. I remember a short stint as a swanky jazz club later on.

Good memory there, VHF. I forgot about Club Cal. Catered to a rougher crowd if I remember. The Brass Rail was more rock n roll with cover bands like Roxxlyde.

Ah, now I remember Al Capone's. It was in the Ingy hotel up on Douglas.

[Mike K.]

Bar Victoria used to be where the Jungle Room is.

[Oxford Sutherland]

The Boom Boom Room was called Uforia in the 90s (I think)

and in Bastion Square above Darcy's Pub, was The Planet (I think)

[Mike K.]

Irish Times Pub took over what used to be a Polo Ralph Lauren store.

[aastra]

I thought Al Capone's was downstairs on Store Street.

[VicHockeyFan]

^ Al Capones was. But it was also once where the sports pub is now at the Ingy (Super 8).

Scandals was the Lyles Place Club.

Max Headroom, great times.

[Holden West]

For you young 'uns, the Max Headroom club was in the basement of the Strath. The entrance (now gone, I believe), was on the south side opposite The Falls lot. It was modelled after the popular (at the time) TV character (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF1q7WXJb_0). Dark, industrial, lots of corrugated metal and of course, yellow and black warning stripes everywhere. I think it was only open less than three years.

[Scaper]

Holden...that vowel swapping compent is gold hhahaha

I still want to know what Julies is now.

[Holden West]

^It's changed names so many times I don't think they even bother naming it anymore. Like that anonymous laundromat near the grocery stores on Haultain Street or that restaurant on the second level of that building on Douglas at Pandora--it has two names--Blue Nile and something else--plus a re-opening soon sign.

[renthefinn]

It sure is. You can't fool the Lord by merely swapping a vowel.

Sweetwaters was a popular dance club during the 80s. It targeted a slightly older demographic. It was downstairs in Market Square--the entrance was beside that Mexican restaurant. I don't know what's there now. It changed hands several times. I remember a short stint as a swanky jazz club later on.

Good memory there, VHF. I forgot about Club Cal. Catered to a rougher crowd if I remember. The Brass Rail was more rock n roll with cover bands like Roxxlyde.

Ah, now I remember Al Capone's. It was in the Ingy hotel up on Douglas.

Sweetwaters went deep into the early 2000's, then it was called deep for a while, not sure what it is now.

Bar Victoria, turned into 'the joint' I think, and the jungle room, what's it called now?

Sugar used to be Wastelands.

[VicHockeyFan]

Sweetwaters is now the Social Club.

That Cats Cradle articel says Len Michaux ran it.

Isn't he the prinicpal of Esquimalt High now?

[Holden West]

Interesting--it must be him. He's mentioned in a 1967 issue of the Martlet edited by Martin Segger. Small town, this.

[Galvanized]

And the club @ Lyle's Place had alot of names. It was pretty popular with the Top 40 crowd, from what I remember. It was a total meat market. Not my style.

It was far from top 40. Scandals was the only alternative night club through the 1990's. They had speaker dancers that looked like the "Suicide Girls" and played a lot of electronic music none of the other clubs played. The guy who owned Scandals also owned the country night club on Discovery. He downsized and shut down both clubs and opened Evolution in place of the country club and the Scandals crowd moved in. Evo carried over the original Wednesday 80's night from Scanals which I think is the longest running 80's night in Victoria. Too bad they didn't carry over the dancers!

[Jada]

Are you sure it played electronica and alternative every night? Because if it had, I would have been there. I know that on the weekends it was radio crap.

[G-Man]

I was there almost every sunday and Tuesday for the $5 triples. It was alternative every night. What year did it close again? 1998 - 99?

[G-Man]

What was the name of the club under Swan's Hotel. It was a jazz club for awhile. i used to go there a fair bit but can't think of the name. It is kind of bizarre to think that there is an abandoned club under that place today.

[VicHockeyFan]

Are you sure it played electronica and alternative every night? Because if it had, I would have been there. I know that on the weekends it was radio crap.

It did. I lived above it for over a year.

[Galvanized]

^Did you live in the Odeon theatre? I remember Scandals having skylights.

On Saturday nights they played rave/underground electronic stuff with some 80's/90's remixes, they also played stuff like Underword, Chem Bros before they were considered mainstream. They also had tv's in the floor and a big video screen that used play wierd videos and movies like Clockwork Orange. Evo used to have Scandals reunion nights, I have a CD from one of them somewhere, I think it says 1990-99.

[Galvanized]

What was the name of the club under Swan's Hotel. It was a jazz club for awhile. i used to go there a fair bit but can't think of the name. It is kind of bizarre to think that there is an abandoned club under that place today.

I remember the jazz club too. That place has had many names over the years. When I turned 19 it was called Al Capones. I heard it was a gay bar for a bit. I remember seeing an ad in the paper about a year ago saying it was for lease.

[VicHockeyFan]

^^ I lived in a suite in the alley above the shoe repair place. Big, ornate wood door led to steps up into my studio pad.

[Jada]

^^ I lived in a suite in the alley above the shoe repair place. Big, ornate wood door led to steps up into my studio pad.

I had friends who lived up there, and they were the guys that owned Whitebird. If I remember correctly, they also had the Sweetwaters spot for a very short while just before it became Lyle's, and had dj's there. But this place was very shortlived.

Maybe I am thinking of a nightclub that was there before Scandals that played Top 40.

[Galvanized]

Cool, I never knew there were apartments in that alley!

Whitebird tried something after Scandals was there but they had liqour license problems from what I heard.

[VicHockeyFan]

Cool, I never knew there were apartments in that alley!

Whitebird tried something after Scandals was there but they had liqour license problems from what I heard.

Just one illegal apartment... so after 6PM I could create all kinds of havoc.

[Jada]

Then the Whitebird guys lived up there too. They used to have massive parties in their space up there. It was a good party spot, with its own private stairway and all the big rooms with interior windows. Good times. :)

[Mike K.]

The Whitebird guy now runs Jungle Room.

[Jada]

Where is the Jungle Room? I'm a big fan of jungle. :)

[VicHockeyFan]

http://www.makeoutclub.com/htdocs/profiles/images/girls/theillestkitten.jpg

[Mike K.]

Where is the Jungle Room? I'm a big fan of jungle. :)

To the left of Monty's where Bar Vic used to be.

[Scaper]

That's what used to be called Julies.

[VicHockeyFan]

That's what used to be called Julies.

Or Decadance.

[Jada]

Or the Blues House.

[valdez12]

About ten years ago there was a dance club where Lyles Place is on Yates.

.

Scandals!

It was the best club! Best 80s nights on wednesdays in early-mid 90s. Only place which played heavier music back then..

They had the best lights and loudest sound in the city too! but they moved to Evolution and the vibe was never the same!

[Caramia]

What was the name of the club under Swan's Hotel. It was a jazz club for awhile. i used to go there a fair bit but can't think of the name. It is kind of bizarre to think that there is an abandoned club under that place today.

G-Man, as Galvanized said it was Al Capones for awhile, I believe it also used to be called Electric Avenue and Milleniums and Diablos at various incarnations. Swans had it for lease hoping to find a good operator for the last couple of years, during which time they rented it out as event space to people wanting to have parties down there. Over the last month Swans has renovated it and begining tomorrow, they are opening it as The Marquee Room, a conference event space catered through them. It still has all the original lighting and the sound system along with the black slate floors and marble bar. The new renovations restore it back down to its vaguely art-deco bones.

[G-Man]

Interesting. I remember it as Milleniums.

[m0nkyman]

But the best place ever, that I remember, would be Rumours, the jolly old gay bar that is now Hush. During the height of the rave scene you could see real live tranny's and real live gay people making out in the booths. It was a sight to behold. I actually met my boyfriend there, now that I am remembering...
It was spelled Rumors. and yes, it was a great club.... I worked there 1989-1990 as a doorman....

[Jada]

I used to work at the door too, but in the 90's!

[m0nkyman]

I used to work at the door too, but in the 90's!
In that case it's a safe bet that we've met at least once....

[Scaper]

Wow.....maybe old lovers hey!!! :shock:

[Jada]

No, Im certain about that! The only person Ive dated from Rumours is sitting beside me right now. :)

[Scaper]

Hmmmmm.....or are you saying that because that you can't say the opposite because that person is sitting right beside you now!!! :wink:

[Holden West]

Whoever was working the door who let me in free--thanks!

[Jada]

I let people in for free only if they tipped me $20 first.

[VicHockeyFan]

Christ. No one let me in free. A few peeps escorted me out for free.

[m0nkyman]

Christ. No one let me in free. A few peeps escorted me out for free.

Well, that was probably me. ;)

[Liv]

Mid 90's - Sugar used to be Wastelands

[G-Man]

and it was a pretty scary place though they did have cheap beer.

[Galvanized]

^Was it the patrons or the car hanging from the ceiling?

[G-Man]

There were many times that I was wishing for it to fall from the ceiling.

[Holden West]

I vaguely remember the car. But then I vaguely remember the 90s.

Check out this great photo of Club Tango, the dancehall that used to be on View Street where the View/Vancouver vacant lot is now:

http://pnwbands.com/clubtango.html

Another great photo:

http://pnwbands.com/strangers.html

[Urbalist]

What I remember of under-Swans was the best combo of decor and genre of music - Neptune.

And from Good, Bad to Ugly; Harpos, Liquid, Upstairs. Well, Upstairs isn't that ugly, but I couldn't recall the club name in between the first two. The gorgeous wood inside Harpos was ripped out and replaced with plywood panels painted matt black.

I seem to recall Sweetdaughters was known as a cougar bar, but I thought true cougars were older, much more tanned and wealthier.

For the ultimo on Victora music history, feast yourself:

http://rcmp.livevictoria.com/

[Urbalist]

But then I vaguely remember the 90s.

But, but the best thing about the 80s ... was the 90s.

The clothes. The music.

The hair.

[G-Man]

The other name for Harpo's was The Planet.

Also the cougar bar was called Sweetwaters. Now called the Social something...

[renthefinn]

^ Sweetwaters was called Deep for a short period of time as well. I remember the Planet/ Liquid/ Upstairs, but never got to experience it as Harpo's.

[Galvanized]

The first bar I ever went to was Harpo's, good times!

[victriviaqueen]

Wow. I feel very old reading this thread. :?

I recall in the mid 80s that both New York New York and Club Cal routinely lost their liquor lisences, so they alternated as teen/all ages dance clubs.

As a result, the summer when I was 16 I spent two or three nights a week at Club Cal drinking ginger beer and shandy [shudder], dancing to Dead or Alive, Pet Shop Boys and Madonna back when they were spinning 12' vinyl remixes.

In the late 80s we club-hopped between Al Capone's and Sweetwaters.

The last clubs I spent any time in were Rumors and Scandals, in the mid 90s. Then I got married. :wink:

[Holden West]

My old club-hopping pal tells me NY NY/Wastelands/Sugar was also known as Co-Co's.

Here's the list of bars/discos/cabarets inside the Strathcona around 1980:

Big Bad John's
The Old Forge
The Sting
The Cuckoo's Nest
Barney's Hideaway
Ivy's

[Holden West]

New York, New York (Sugar) was once known as Coco's in the early nineties.

[VicHockeyFan]

New York, New York (Sugar) was once known as Coco's in the early nineties.

iT WAS ALSO 94TH STREET (LIKE 86TH STREET IN vAN) BUT AFTER '94 gAMES HERE.

[VicHockeyFan]

Blue Pearl has closed permanently. Last night of operation was Saturday.

No more flaming drinks in Langford: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUXiC19KF-I

[Holden West]

Why? Is it going under new ownership? It was just built a couple of years ago. Or do they figure the new residents moving in next door will not be compatible to a violent riot scene every weekend at 3 a.m.?

[VicHockeyFan]

Why? Is it going under new ownership? It was just built a couple of years ago. Or do they figure the new residents moving in next door will not be compatible to a violent riot scene every weekend at 3 a.m.?

The latter from what I understand. The Station House will stay open until 2:30am on weekends though.

[ressen]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p150/ressen/IMG_1645.jpg

an old guest card

[martini]

Wow, this thread brought back some old memories. :D

[guyinthesky]

The latter from what I understand. The Station House will stay open until 2:30am on weekends though.


The Blue Pearl is owned by Bill Beadle ( the creator of serveral watering holes around town in the last 10 years such as the Beagle in Cook St. Village) - anyhow from what my sources tell me, Mr. Beadle has something to do with all those condo's surrounding the Station House and in order to create more value for his condo's because of the raucous crowd that liked to frequent the pearl he shut it down.

[Holden West]

Re: Ziggy's...where was 852 Mason St.? Somewhere in North Park presumably.

[G-Man]

852 Mason Street is the Nelson Music Building side door.

[Nparker]

Re: Ziggy's...where was 852 Mason St.? Somewhere in North Park presumably.

That address would put it in the vicinity of the new(ish) SOHO condos, next door to the slower-than-time-itself Palladian redevelopment of the Nelson's Music/Baptist Church building. I have lived in the neighbourhood for 10 years and have no recollection of Ziggy's, or any other night club in this area. The name does ring a distant bell from the past though.

I see now that G-Man as already clarified this for us. Cheers!

[Holden West]

Ah, interesting. Ziggy's isn't mentioned in the Palladian history (http://www.thepalladian.com/history.html), heh.

[Bernard]

Harpo's was my home away from home from 1986 to 1989 - wayyyy to many nights in there, though there were a lot of really interesting bands that came through there. I still can not remember who I saw there and who I did not.


There were two other places I went to in the 80s, though neither was an official club. Mystic Lane and the Rat's Nest

[Caramia]

uh, you were at the Rat's Nest? OK I am pretty sure I do know you then. I just don't have a face yet.

[Bernard]

I know I was there, but memories are not so easy to access as I know I was never there in anything approaching a normal state.

[Caramia]

Hehe no doubt!
Nice to see some Old Skool folks still around.

[Holden West]

Let's see.

Yes, the Boom Boom Room down below Wharf used to be Merlins in the 80s. Before that in the 70s it was the Surfside Cabaret.

The Surfside was controlled by a local motorcycle gang in the late '70s. Around that time the Hell's Angels moved in and tried to take over the club's membership. The local gang resisted and the Surfside mysteriously caught fire shortly thereafter.

Before it was the Surfside it was known as the Sunset.

[VicHockeyFan]

The Surfside was controlled by a local motorcycle gang in the late '70s. Around that time the Hell's Angels moved in and tried to take over the club's membership. The local gang resisted and the Surfside mysteriously caught fire shortly thereafter.

Before it was the Surfside it was known as the Sunset.

Hmmm, wasn't Matt McNeill supposed to turn Merlin's into a East Coast Pub style restaurant? No action down there?

[Sparky]

Harpo's was my home away from home from 1986 to 1989 - wayyyy to many nights in there, though there were a lot of really interesting bands that came through there. I still can not remember who I saw there and who I did not.

Harpo's was built by the Martay Brothers. Mike was one of the brothers. These fellows were financed by their Dad as they were draft dodgers.

The tables were built with the bowling ally wood from Gibson's if I remember correctly.

Once the Martay's were finished with the club, it was run for a short while by a fellow named Terry Paterson. He died sadly, in his speeding Porshe with 4 people in a 2 seat car. I think one person lived.

Does anyone remember Central Station where Hush is now?

[LJ]

Anyone remember the Old Forge?:rolleyes:

[G-Man]

Is that from before the regular Forge?

[VicHockeyFan]

Is that from before the regular Forge?


I think it was the Old Forge, before the remake that had all the memorabilia (I forget the name). People just called it the "Forge", but Old was part of its name.

[G-Man]

Really? I never knew :) Can't say i miss the Forge. I mean I saw some cool shows there but really I just remember feeling sick the next day and stinking of cigarettes. That place was a smoke oven.

[VicHockeyFan]

DJ "Daddy" Mack goes back a long way:

http://www.jagworksdesign.com/html/DJ%20resume.htm

Check out the resume listing for Paparazzi: (was suspened for not being gay,they wanted a gay DJ)

[victorian fan]

I went to The Old Forge after is opened in the late '60s. The band, The Brothers Forbes, had played at the Oak Bay Marina. They also played at the Empress' Paint Cellar.
Happy times.

[Sparky]

Skylark also played at the Forge with our native son David Foster.

[VicHockeyFan]

Skylark also played at the Forge with our native son David Foster.

Well, lets go back to 1972 then, shall we:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyKXW3ioY1Q

Yes, that's DF with his first wife, BJ Cook. :)

...the lyrics took 15 minutes to write, the guitar track was recorded on the first try, and David Foster did not even play on the song, and it hit 1M copies:

http://www.olografix.org/krees/dfnet2/?p=93

[Bingo]

... was a coffee house in the basement of an old hotel on Goverment Street across from present day Mountain Equipment Co-op. In the early 1960's folk music was the rage. You could still smoke in the clubs, to the point where your eyes were watering by the end of the night.

Valdy had a crew cut and wore a suit. Others were Don "the Eagle" Crawford, Tom Northcott, Pat Paulsen and Jose Feliciano to name some of the more memorable acts.

The gents wore a jacket and tie, and the ladies a fine dress. It was a brief but classy era.

[masiyou]

I'm not the nightclub type but I'm curious about the Carlton Club in Esquimalt. Does anyone know the history of that place? It seems like it's been there for quite a while.

[victorian fan]

I think it was mostly used by servicemen....correction = service personnel.

[Holden West]

I'm not the nightclub type but I'm curious about the Carlton Club in Esquimalt. Does anyone know the history of that place? It seems like it's been there for quite a while.

It's been around since at least the 80s but I can't remember its former name. I think it used to be a gay club for a while, too.

[VicHockeyFan]

I think it used to be a gay club for a while, too.

Correct! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Somehow CHAMPS comes to mind, for the old name, but that sounds so, er, gay now.

I'll come up with it.

[LJ]

I am not sure where the Carleton club is but there used to be a small nightclub on the south side of Esquimalt Rd just past Head called The Bacchanalia Club.

[Sparky]

I am not sure where the Carleton club is but there used to be a small nightclub on the south side of Esquimalt Rd just past Head called The Bacchanalia Club.

At one time they used to have strippers at the Bacchanalia. The Carleton (located across the street), used to have a Tiki Mariner kind of look to the interior, the gals used to go there looking for sailors..........sometimes the sailors were all out to sea. (wink)

[sailor]

when I first got here in '77, it wasn't the Carlton Club but The Queen's Head. Another guy and I had just arrived here after boot camp and didn't know the drinking establishments. We were at Naden, so called a cab and asked the cabbie to take us to a nice lounge. He dropped us off at the Queen's Head. We quickly realized it wasn't the kind of place we were looking for and went back outside. The cabbie said "That was quick, some guys took longer to figure it out."

It seems that he would do that to sailors unfamiliar with Victoria or Esquimalt, as a joke. He brought us downtown and dropped us off at Bartholomew's, no charge.

[LJ]

Does anyone remember a place downtown called the Tillicum Bicycle Club, IIRC?

You had to be a member to get in but the membership was quite cheap, it was upstairs but I don't remember what was downstairs, a store or office or something. It was somewhere in the Government st area, between Yates and Fort, just guessing here.

[Sparky]

If my memory serves me correctly there were two clubs. One was the Tillicum Club located upstairs on the south side of Johnson Street in the 600 block not far from Douglas Street. I think there was a men's clothing store (edit added Dorman's) ........memory flash.......on the ground floor. I knew the manager there and was able to get a membership with my medical card that had my birth date altered. These were the days when 21 was the age of majority.

The other club was on Langley street in what is now part of Bastion Square. It was officially called the "British Public Schools" club. Also nicknamed "The Jokers Club" I am a bit fuzzy here. (too much liquor at a young age) I obtained a membership there also while underage as the bartender used to live behind the gas station where I worked on Cordova Bay at Parker Avenue. His name was Ted Floor. Hell of a guy.

So, after hours of drinking illegally, we used to go the the basement of the Royal Olympic hotel and play pool. This place looked like it came out of an old movie. Cigars and Fedoras, with tiled walls.

The only "Bicycle Club" that I remember was "The Birmingham Bicycle Club" which was located in a corner of the Old Forge, where the slot car track used to be.

I probably have some of this wrong, but it might be pretty close. Anyone care to add some accuracy?

[G-Man]

Could we have some years or at least a decade for colour?

[Sparky]

I'm going to go with 1967.....I was in San Francisco in 66 on a warm night at Haight Ashberry......but in all fairness the 60's were a bit of a blurr....:)

[Holden West]

Thanks for the great stories. I'm sure the Queen's Head patrons were saddened to see yet another taxi load of fresh sailors make a hasty departure. Like taking candy from a baby.

[Sparky]

I'm surprised that I am still alive. That was one hell of a childhood. I still have other memories in the vault.

[victorian fan]

I used to go to a private club upstairs on Langley St, The Old Schoolboys or some such name.

[LJ]

Could we have some years or at least a decade for colour?

The Bicycle club I (vaguely) remember would have been closer to Bastion Square than Johnson st. This would be in the early 70's. I was pretty sure it was called the Tillicum Bicycle Club tho.

I think Sparky and I must have shared a glass or two in some of these fine establishments.

Was the Olympic hotel on Government and the pub was in the basement, or is that some other place I vaguely remember.

I too would have been better served with more sobriety at a young age.:D

[LJ]

If my memory serves me correctly there were two clubs. One was the Tillicum Club located upstairs on the south side of Johnson Street in the 600 block not far from Douglas Street. I think there was a men's clothing store (edit added Dorman's) ........memory flash.......on the ground floor. I knew the manager there and was able to get a membership with my medical card that had my birth date altered. These were the days when 21 was the age of majority.

The other club was on Langley street in what is now part of Bastion Square. It was officially called the "British Public Schools" club. Also nicknamed "The Jokers Club" I am a bit fuzzy here. (too much liquor at a young age) I obtained a membership there also while underage as the bartender used to live behind the gas station where I worked on Cordova Bay at Parker Avenue. His name was Ted Floor. Hell of a guy.

So, after hours of drinking illegally, we used to go the the basement of the Royal Olympic hotel and play pool. This place looked like it came out of an old movie. Cigars and Fedoras, with tiled walls.

The only "Bicycle Club" that I remember was "The Birmingham Bicycle Club" which was located in a corner of the Old Forge, where the slot car track used to be.

I probably have some of this wrong, but it might be pretty close. Anyone care to add some accuracy?


Ok Ok it is slowly coming back to me now, I am still confused about the name. The place that was upstairs on Johnson I couldn't remember the name at all so perhaps it was the Tillicum club and I am merging names in my mind. I spent many a Friday and Saturday there.

The place you mention on Langly st, was it upstairs as well, I seem to recall it having lots of windows looking out and being up a flight of stairs, and I thought it was called the TBC but your memory seems better than mine. That just means that I was more inebriated when I got there I guess.:eek:

[victorian fan]

It was officially called the "British Public Schools" club.

Ah Yes, that was it. Thank-you LJ.

[Sparky]

I think Sparky and I must have shared a glass or two in some of these fine establishments.

Was the Olympic hotel on Government and the pub was in the basement, or is that some other place I vaguely remember.

:D

We probably had a "few" at one time or another. The "Royal Olympic Hotel" is now called the Carlton on Johnson Street. Interestingly enough on the construction drawings back near the turn of the last century, it was refered to as the Carlton.

Although they had one of the first "beer parlors" (men in one section, women and escorts in another) that is not what I was referring to.

I was under age at the time so after drinking at one or both of the previously mentioned private clubs, my friends and I used to sober up by playing pool in the basement of the "RO' as we called it. (yes before we drove home)

The pool room in the basement was the size of the entire building footprint. Old time decor from the 20's it seemed like. Interesting characters (dressed like they came out of an old movie) hanging around trying to "shark" some money out of you at pool or snooker.

I wished I had my Mom's "Brownie" camera at the time.

You might be referring to the "Churchill Hotel" basement pub......good place to score some pot.

[LJ]

"Churchill Hotel

That's the place!

[Holden West]

The Martlet, Victoria College
Editorial
November 20, 1962 (http://library.uvic.ca/site/archives/featured_collections/uvic_newspapers/martlet_1960/The%20Martlet_1962_11_20.pdf)

LETTER HOME

i go to the place on the hill...actually the place stinks in many ways, actually...the campus is all over the country, the cafe smells so bad you can almost hear it...like cabbage...the parking lots are keen to. the faculty plays father knows, no cards nodrinkingnosmokinginclassnonono. the students' council takes the krap for what nobody else wants to do. i b*tch and cry like you and you and you but who cares? i mean who cares? i wear my scarf and go to hockey games and smoke my pipe and go to rugbygamesintherain and wear my oldest face and to to the tally-ho and wear my oldest shirt and go to the churchill. age 18 seemstobeoldenoughformost every thingexceptbooze. i mean who the hell wants to go to dances in the barn anyway? if i want to dance in an air hanger i'll dance in an air hanger why not shut the place up instead of staging milling matches? the college is o.k. too though...painting at night...hangings from the tower frosh week eggs glass scuffle vegetables costumes going very small...ropes johns suspensions a gas...a gas...classes are alright...

as i said, who cares? who actually gives a damn?...actually, who gives a damn? i don't...

[VicHockeyFan]

The Martlet, Victoria College
Editorial
November 20, 1962 (http://library.uvic.ca/site/archives/featured_collections/uvic_newspapers/martlet_1960/The%20Martlet_1962_11_20.pdf)

LETTER HOME

i go to the place on the hill...actually the place stinks in many ways, actually...the campus is all over the country, the cafe smells so bad you can almost hear it...like cabbage...the parking lots are keen to. the faculty plays father knows, no cards nodrinkingnosmokinginclassnonono. the students' council takes the krap for what nobody else wants to do. i b*tch and cry like you and you and you but who cares? i mean who cares? i wear my scarf and go to hockey games and smoke my pipe and go to rugbygamesintherain and wear my oldest face and to to the tally-ho and wear my oldest shirt and go to the churchill. age 18 seemstobeoldenoughformost every thingexceptbooze. i mean who the hell wants to go to dances in the barn anyway? if i want to dance in an air hanger i'll dance in an air hanger why not shut the place up instead of staging milling matches? the college is o.k. too though...painting at night...hangings from the tower frosh week eggs glass scuffle vegetables costumes going very small...ropes johns suspensions a gas...a gas...classes are alright...

as i said, who cares? who actually gives a damn?...actually, who gives a damn? i don't...

Obviously there was a lot more drugs than rabbits on campus back then.

[Holden West]

Victoria College so it would have been what we now call Camosun's Lansdowne Campus.

Pot? Possibly, but I'd put my money on too much Jack Kerouac.

[victorian fan]

^ And before that, Provincial Normal School.

The young student teachers would come to teach us in our classrooms while the permanent teacher sat at the back of the room.

[djride]

One Lounge - The Limit - Plan B
Icehouse - Terrible strip club across the street from Paul's motor inn, also hosted live coverbands like Hell's Bells and Nearly Neil. (They would remove the pole for those shows) - not sure if it still exists.

[AllseeingEye]

Personally I always had waaaaaaaaay too much fun at the Thatch in Royal Oak (~1977-1981); mainly because I bounced there and got lots of girls' phone numbers :D.

Also back then you could have a couple too many and "escape" (back to Gordon Head in my case) by driving over the R.O. overpass and taking the back woods route through Broadmead and Mt Doug Park. Not that I am condoning drinking-driving at all but back then there was less stigma attached to it. Saanich Police never seemed to figure that old ploy out, at least during the years I did it.

From 1981-5 I also bounced at the UVIC Sub Pub (ah, yes, good old "Felicitas) and had many a fun night dealing with everything from inebriated 1st year law students to visiting rugby players from Australia, and the like. I particularly enjoyed the thrill of the chase on "Sub Thursdays" when the main objective of half the campus was to over-consume and steal those Felicita's plastic beer jugs, usually by passing them through open windows to com-padres waiting outside. Naturally we caught most of them, but it was great fun. And we were making $11/hour simply for asking for ID and then schmoozing the ladies all night.

[VicHockeyFan]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/VicHockeyFan/10029_318163190110_684720110_931449.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/VicHockeyFan/10029_318147000110_684720110_931440.jpg

[VicHockeyFan]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/VicHockeyFan/riffraff.jpg
Persian Room, Century Inn:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/VicHockeyFan/persianroom.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/VicHockeyFan/afterhoursisco.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/VicHockeyFan/OlympicHotel.jpg

[G-Man]

^Where was that?

[VicHockeyFan]

^Where was that?

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=johnson+street+victoria,+bc&hl=en&ie=UTF8&lr=&hq=&hnear=Johnson+St,+Victoria,+British+Columbia&ll=48.426844,-123.365532&spn=0.00309,0.006899&z=17&layer=c&cbll=48.427255,-123.365269&panoid=3IKSYHQEgTEnoTU-XFJdcA&cbp=12,337.43,,0,5

Maybe? The windows look right. And that lip that runs under the bottom set of windows

[martini]

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=johnson+street+victoria,+bc&hl=en&ie=UTF8&lr=&hq=&hnear=Johnson+St,+Victoria,+British+Columbia&ll=48.426844,-123.365532&spn=0.00309,0.006899&z=17&layer=c&cbll=48.427255,-123.365269&panoid=3IKSYHQEgTEnoTU-XFJdcA&cbp=12,337.43,,0,5

Maybe? The windows look right. And that lip that runs under the bottom set of windows
That would make sense. Isn't that where Oly's was? Maybe in reference to the original hotel name?

[victorian fan]

Yes. the The Best Western Carlton Plaza used to be the RO. It was pretty tacky and I never drank there.
I had dinner at the Persian Room when it first opened. I remember the cocktail lounge quite well.

[martini]

Yes. the The Best Western Carlton Plaza used to be the RO. It was pretty tacky and I never drank there.
I had dinner at the Persian Room when it first opened. I remember the cocktail lounge quite well.

Yeah it was. But at the time being underage...we often got served there.
What was the club attached to it? I can't recall the name.

[Jill]

Wasn't it Oly's? The entrance was around the corner, off Broad? I can picture the sign. I never went, but I do vividly remember passing one night at closing time and seeing a woman crawling out on her hands and knees.

[VicHockeyFan]

Wasn't it Oly's? The entrance was around the corner, off Broad? I can picture the sign. I never went, but I do vividly remember passing one night at closing time and seeing a woman crawling out on her hands and knees.

Yes, Oly's. When I hung out there (86-87?) there was an entrance on Broad that lead into the half that had strippers, and an entrance off Johnson that had bands, you could pass between them inside, but not with drink in hand.

Different drink prices each side too.

[Sparky]

^ This was where we used to play pool in the basement, a neat old tile walled pool hall. There was also a disco type bar in later years where the room would fill with fake smoke, a guy would come out dressed in operating room garb, set you in an old dentist's chair, tip you back, and pour B52's out of two bottles......right down your throat. The club was named after the street address....642?

[glenalan54]

... was a coffee house in the basement of an old hotel on Goverment Street across from present day Mountain Equipment Co-op. In the early 1960's folk music was the rage. You could still smoke in the clubs, to the point where your eyes were watering by the end of the night.

Valdy had a crew cut and wore a suit. Others were Don "the Eagle" Crawford, Tom Northcott, Pat Paulsen and Jose Feliciano to name some of the more memorable acts.

The gents wore a jacket and tie, and the ladies a fine dress. It was a brief but classy era.

That coffee house was housed in the Westholme Hotel, which became the Century Inn in 1965. It was called "The Secret Coffee House" 1417B Government Street located in the basement of the Westholme Hotel below the Westholme beer parlour.

"Tony Else managed The Secret Coffee House which was in the basement of the Westholme Hotel on Government Street. Roy Mercer and I assembled yet another singing group called The Minstrelmen and Tony had us do a weekend gig to open for his headlining act. Later we added a fifth guy (Bob Cross, ex Mayor of Victoria.) Then Roy shipped out and we became The Chariot Singers with Irene Harris, who was a nurse in training at St. Joe's. Tony brought in Valdy, Pat Paulsen who tried to walk across the Inner Harbour and also ran for President with the same result. There was a local favourite duo of Murray McAlpine and young Robin Ross who wistfully interpreted the ballads of the Chad Mitchell Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary." Above quote from Mike Gibb and can be found here with a great poster of the place
http://rcmpsite.com/index.php?resid=23106&res_action=info&PHPSESSID=8f39af1a63c2f9000d42f80c7a18217c&ia=1

Carey Pallister of the City of Victoria Archives has written an interesting as yet unpublished history of the Songhees Grill, the restaurant that existed in the basement and under the sidewalk of the Westholme Hotel, which eventually (1968?) became the Secret Coffee House.

I am researching and writing about the history of Greater Victoria's saloons, beer parlours, hotel-bars and pubs of Greater Victoria, 1851-1999. Any questions regarding this or other great old venues can be forwarded to me where I hope to find the answers.

[glenalan54]

Merlins (now Boom Boom)

The Limit (Plan B)

94th Street (?) (Sugar)

Heaven (Jungle Room) - 40 Thieves

The Waterfront (Boom Boom)

Rumours (Hush)

The Oly (Prism, or at least Prism occupies 1/2 of what Olys was) - correct there was a cabaret, pub and lounge in the Royal Olympic at one time.

Brass Rail (Colony Inn, now home to Sandman/Shark Club)

The Sherwood (Fat Tuesdays) - now Hecklers

Club Cal (Plan B)

Ice House (Soprano's) - Originally the Crown 'n I Pub.

The Drawing Room (Red Jacket)

Added a few notes, but I can always look into the history of specific cabarets/clubs. The problem is that they change so rapidly unlike most pubs which seem to have lasted longer than most cabarets.

[Rob Randall]

Thanks, Glen. Your history (http://raincoasthistory.blogspot.com/) and photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/westcoasthistory/collections/72157600295807585/) are without parallel and are greatly appreciated here.

[glenalan54]

My old club-hopping pal tells me NY NY/Wastelands/Sugar was also known as Co-Co's.

Here's the list of bars/discos/cabarets inside the Strathcona around 1980:

Big Bad John's
The Old Forge
The Sting
The Cuckoo's Nest
Barney's Hideaway
Ivy's

A brief History of the above venues within the Strathcona Hotel:

1) Big Bad Johns: Originally opened as the very first cocktail lounge in BC on July 1, 1954 named the Strathcona Lounge; I wrote an article on it, http://raincoasthistory.blogspot.com/2007/09/strathcona-room-1954.html
John Olson, beverage manager, mentions in his unpublished biography, <u>The Olson Family in Victoria</u> "...millions of visitors coming to the Pacific Northwest [for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair] gave me an idea. I had been considering remodeling the Strathcona Lounge into a hillbilly Paul Bunion and his blue Ox type atmosphere...We got the green light to proceed with renovations from the Liquor Control Board by the end of May 1962 where we managed to complete the renovation of the room in two days (Sunday and Monday) By Tuesday noon the Strathcona Room was no more and in its place opened Big Bad Johns."
It's interesting to note that the Olson's only intended BBJ's to open for the duration of the Seattle Worlds Fair then to change it once again. But it proved so popular and a real money maker that it is still there to this day.

2)The Old Forge: November 1966 the existing bowling alley and billiard room was replaced by a banquet room which opened in February 2, 1967 as the "Old Forge" John Olson says, "The name came about when I went up to pick up building supplies from Shawnigan Lake Lumber. The owner mentioned he had crafted wooden patterns in his attic. They had been the molds used 70 years ago for the metal lamposts and fire hydrants that now grace the streets of Victoria. We blew the dust off, painted them black and decorated our new banquet room with them when we came up with the name, old Forge."
The band on opening night was the Foundry Brass, which feature a 16 year old on the piano named David Foster.

3)The Sting: The idea to open a Disco in the basement of the Strathcona came about after John Olson visited a disco in Phoenix Arizona named Marble Murphy's. The owner and John got along very well and John learned some new and innovative ideas used at Marble Murphy's.
The Sting was constructed in the old health Club in the basement of the Hotel beside the Old Forge.
An interesting side note: John got a visit on Sunday evening in 1974 (bars not allowed to be open on Sundays back then) from a couple that drove up in a limousine. It was Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward who had heard about the new nightclub and asked to take a tour of the place. So Jon, Paul and Joanne, vodkas in hand, spent an hour going through the nightclub and chatting.

4)The Cuckoo's Nest used to be called, "The Pit". This was the first real nightclub in the Strathcona Hotel built after the Strathcona Room and Barney's Hideaway. It is now part of the Clubhouse. They had a DJ upstairs that would spin rock and roll and everyone who went there remembers the MG that they used as a salad bar at lunch then hosted it up into the ceiling when the dancing started. Innovative.

5) Ivy's, Max Head Room...were side-rooms off of the Old Forge built to keep the place current and fresh. One of the reasons why the Strathcona Hotel was and continues to be, one of the best entertainment centres in Victoria is due in part to reinventing themselves and keeping the place interesting to future generations of party goers while maintaining some of their loyal and aging customers.

[victorian fan]

A brief History of the above venues within the Strathcona Hotel:

I've been to all of them except Ivy's.
The Pit really was a pit. It was filthy.

[glenalan54]

I went to The Old Forge after is opened in the late '60s. The band, The Brothers Forbes, had played at the Oak Bay Marina. They also played at the Empress' Paint Cellar.
Happy times.

John Olson, manager and co-owner of the Strathcona Hotel caught the Brothers Forbes act at the Paint Cellar located in the basement of the Empress Hotel. Larry on drums, brother John on piano and a young guitarist. He soon contracted them to play at his new club, the Old Forge.

[glenalan54]

We probably had a "few" at one time or another. The "Royal Olympic Hotel" is now called the Carlton on Johnson Street. Interestingly enough on the construction drawings back near the turn of the last century, it was refered to as the Carlton.

Although they had one of the first "beer parlors" (men in one section, women and escorts in another) that is not what I was referring to.

I was under age at the time so after drinking at one or both of the previously mentioned private clubs, my friends and I used to sober up by playing pool in the basement of the "RO' as we called it. (yes before we drove home)

The pool room in the basement was the size of the entire building footprint. Old time decor from the 20's it seemed like. Interesting characters (dressed like they came out of an old movie) hanging around trying to "shark" some money out of you at pool or snooker.

I wished I had my Mom's "Brownie" camera at the time.

You might be referring to the "Churchill Hotel" basement pub......good place to score some pot.
I assisted in the writing of this article when the manager of the Carlton Best Western asked me to research a brief history of the hotel. For the information my wife and I received a free stay at the hotel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Plaza

[glenalan54]

One Lounge - The Limit - Plan B
Icehouse - Terrible strip club across the street from Paul's motor inn, also hosted live coverbands like Hell's Bells and Nearly Neil. (They would remove the pole for those shows) - not sure if it still exists.
The Ice house was horrible. Take a great old pub (The Crown 'n I) and paint it black, get some strippers (and some back rooms) and make it loud, dark and sleazy. It died a deserved death.
The manager moved to Duncan and was bartender at the Phoenix Pub (the old Commercial Hotel).

[glenalan54]

Yes. the The Best Western Carlton Plaza used to be the RO. It was pretty tacky and I never drank there.
I had dinner at the Persian Room when it first opened. I remember the cocktail lounge quite well.
The Persian Room was located in the Century Inn, not the Royal Olympic. See:
http://raincoasthistory.blogspot.com/2009/07/arabian-chic-history-of-century-inn.html

[glenalan54]

Thanks, Glen. Your history (http://raincoasthistory.blogspot.com/) and photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/westcoasthistory/collections/72157600295807585/) are without parallel and are greatly appreciated here.
Many thanks, this is my mission in life (seriously). It's now been ten years since I have been researching material on the history of Greater Victoria Hotels and drinking establishments (besides the time I spent drinking in them from 1971 until today.)
I hope to submit a manuscript on the saloons of Greater Victoria named, "Aqua Vitae, An Illustrated History of the Hotel-Bars, Saloons and Inn's of Greater Victoria, 1851-1917."

The second manuscript covers the period after prohibition: 1925-2000. But one could not purchase a beer by the glass within Victoria City limits until 1954 unless you belonged to a Club.

Even if my procrastination prevents a book to be published I will continue to write articles on local drinking establishments. An area of research too long ignored.
There are still some great old story tellers (besides some interesting comments found here in Vibrant Victoria from knowledgeably members) that are glad to share their memories of the early beer parlours, Clubs, lounges and pubs.

[glenalan54]

A brief History of the above venues within the Strathcona Hotel:

1) Big Bad Johns: Originally opened as the very first cocktail lounge in BC on July 1, 1954 named the Strathcona Lounge; I wrote an article on it, http://raincoasthistory.blogspot.com/2007/09/strathcona-room-1954.html
John Olson, beverage manager, mentions in his unpublished biography, <u>The Olson Family in Victoria</u> "...millions of visitors coming to the Pacific Northwest [for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair] gave me an idea. I had been considering remodeling the Strathcona Lounge into a hillbilly Paul Bunion and his blue Ox type atmosphere...We got the green light to proceed with renovations from the Liquor Control Board by the end of May 1962 where we managed to complete the renovation of the room in two days (Sunday and Monday) By Tuesday noon the Strathcona Room was no more and in its place opened Big Bad Johns."
It's interesting to note that the Olson's only intended BBJ's to open for the duration of the Seattle Worlds Fair then to change it once again. But it proved so popular and a real money maker that it is still there to this day.

2)The Old Forge: November 1966 the existing bowling alley and billiard room was replaced by a banquet room which opened in February 2, 1967 as the "Old Forge" John Olson says, "The name came about when I went up to pick up building supplies from Shawnigan Lake Lumber. The owner mentioned he had crafted wooden patterns in his attic. They had been the molds used 70 years ago for the metal lamposts and fire hydrants that now grace the streets of Victoria. We blew the dust off, painted them black and decorated our new banquet room with them when we came up with the name, old Forge."
The band on opening night was the Foundry Brass, which feature a 16 year old on the piano named David Foster.

3)The Sting: The idea to open a Disco in the basement of the Strathcona came about after John Olson visited a disco in Phoenix Arizona named Marble Murphy's. The owner and John got along very well and John learned some new and innovative ideas used at Marble Murphy's.
The Sting was constructed in the old health Club in the basement of the Hotel beside the Old Forge.
An interesting side note: John got a visit on Sunday evening in 1974 (bars not allowed to be open on Sundays back then) from a couple that drove up in a limousine. It was Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward who had heard about the new nightclub and asked to take a tour of the place. So Jon, Paul and Joanne, vodkas in hand, spent an hour going through the nightclub and chatting.

4)The Cuckoo's Nest used to be called, "The Pit". This was the first real nightclub in the Strathcona Hotel built after the Strathcona Room and Barney's Hideaway. It is now part of the Clubhouse. They had a DJ upstairs that would spin rock and roll and everyone who went there remembers the MG that they used as a salad bar at lunch then hosted it up into the ceiling when the dancing started. Innovative.

5) Ivy's, Max Head Room...were side-rooms off of the Old Forge built to keep the place current and fresh. One of the reasons why the Strathcona Hotel was and continues to be, one of the best entertainment centres in Victoria is due in part to reinventing themselves and keeping the place interesting to future generations of party goers while maintaining some of their loyal and aging customers.
The Pit opened Friday November 16, 1956 at 6 PM in the Strathcona Hotel. It was a 100 seat cocktail/cabaret and was built at the cost of around 45K.
The 76 seat Mahogany Room Dining Lounge opened Friday May 20, 1955. It's hours were from 6 to midnight six days a week (closed Sundays).
For those of you that enjoy the history of the Strathcona you may like this postcard from 1964: http://www.flickr.com/photos/westcoasthistory/3418231365/

[glenalan54]

I assisted in the writing of this article when the manager of the Carlton Best Western asked me to research a brief history of the hotel. For the information my wife and I received a free stay at the hotel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Plaza
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Royal%20Olympic&w=7423414@N06

Do you remember:
Barbary Banjo located at 31 Bastion Square
The Down Under Club located at 1206 Wharf Street
The Golden Nugget Cabaret
Inferno A Go-Go
Pink Panther Cabaret
Reggies Club
The Scope Cabaret

There were so many and they changed quite quickly.

[Bob Fugger]

Yes, Oly's. When I hung out there (86-87?) there was an entrance on Broad that lead into the half that had strippers, and an entrance off Johnson that had bands, you could pass between them inside, but not with drink in hand.

Different drink prices each side too.

Hey, my scumbag uncle used to own this hotel back in the '80s! I'd love to any other stories folks might have.

[VicHockeyFan]

Hey, my scumbag uncle used to own this hotel back in the '80s! I'd love to any other stories folks might have.

Shouldn't you wait until he passes, before name-calling, in the off chance you are in his will?

[Ms. B. Havin]

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Royal%20Olympic&w=7423414@N06

Do you remember:
Barbary Banjo located at 31 Bastion Square
The Down Under Club located at 1206 Wharf Street
The Golden Nugget Cabaret
Inferno A Go-Go
Pink Panther Cabaret
Reggies Club
The Scope Cabaret

There were so many and they changed quite quickly.

Just saw this now - should have posted my "Sapphos" question here instead of in the "defunct restaurants" thread.

So, once more: anyone remember Sapphos? Early 1970s (before 1974), kind of an unofficial place, second floor, old building, old town, no license (but always BYOB in a bag, kept under the table), open till 4a.m. on weekend nights, great disco music (alt disco, in a way) (*gah, someone is going to ask me what I mean by that...), dance till you dropped.

I can't recall the street address. Been bugging me for a while now.

(* ok, what I mean is that it was a gay disco and the music wasn't the top-40 mainstream white disco music. More heavily weighted toward good music, like Isley Brothers, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and so on. Music that was really really sensual and great to dance to.)

[Bob Fugger]

Shouldn't you wait until he passes, before name-calling, in the off chance you are in his will?

Off chance? No chance. Trust me, he will try to find a way to take it with him.

[Sparky]

How about "Central Station" ? Basement south east corner of Government and Johnson. This was the first (and probably the only) of the "big band" cabaret clubs.

After the drugs wore off, I think I remember seeing Chicago there on opening night.

Sadly it succumbed to "economic combustion."

[glenalan54]

How about "Central Station" ? Basement south east corner of Government and Johnson. This was the first (and probably the only) of the "big band" cabaret clubs.

After the drugs wore off, I think I remember seeing Chicago there on opening night.

Sadly it succumbed to "economic combustion."

I have a copy of a photograph of the outside of the Central Station, when I find it I'll post it here (or a link).
I always thought that "Sauce" on the southeast corner of Wharf & Yates would make a great neighbourhood pub with live bands and open up those great roll up windows during the day and let the air and sunshine in. But I fear Victoria City council would never approve of a venue in that form.

[mangus hung]

it was a club/restaurant in the dominion hotel that was all the rage for about 2-3 years. i cant remember the name but it was very popular. might have even been early in the decade when it was around. thx!

[mysage]

How about "Central Station" ? Basement south east corner of Government and Johnson. This was the first (and probably the only) of the "big band" cabaret clubs.

After the drugs wore off, I think I remember seeing Chicago there on opening night.

Sadly it succumbed to "economic combustion."

Right you are. The clubs demise was preordained by the buildings owner (after he had leased out the space for the club) I believe. One of the more interesting ends to a club in Victoria. The smoke could be seen for miles

[http]

it was a club/restaurant in the dominion hotel that was all the rage for about 2-3 years. i cant remember the name but it was very popular. might have even been early in the decade when it was around. thx!
First guess: Hunters on main floor, Tripples downstairs.

[gumgum]

The Drawing Room?

[Mr_E_Squirrel]

The Old Forge- I remember you could buy a drink that was made in a Test Tube that you could keep.

94th St Music Hall- Used to have live rock music, 99 cent Draft, A free Chinese food buffet.

Scandals- was my favorite place, back in the 90's with the best sound and lights in any bar in Victoria. Back before the internet where DJs could spin music that the general public would have little or no access too (Pre-Internet)

The Carlton Club- or as it's also unofficially known as "The Cartoon Club" I wonder if it's still that horrible grey colour inside with the beach umbrellas. And there is a reason the men's urinals are so close together from the older days...

Brass Rail -I remember the Brass Rail always seemed to have women hanging out in the men's washroom.

[Sparky]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned before, but this site will give you an hour or two of reading about the clubs and musicians that were the start of the music scene in Victoria.

http://rcmpsite.com/

There is some good history about who owned what club.

[LJ]

^ Thought that was going to be an RCMP site with crime logs from the different venues.

[Sparky]

^ You would have had to have been there. :)

[Ginger Snap]

it was a club/restaurant in the dominion hotel that was all the rage for about 2-3 years. i cant remember the name but it was very popular. might have even been early in the decade when it was around. thx!

That is definitely Hunters.

[dirtydeeds]

Scandals- was my favorite place, back in the 90's with the best sound and lights in any bar in Victoria. Back before the internet where DJs could spin music that the general public would have little or no access too (Pre-Internet).


I loved Scandals it was fantastic, especially the triples special on Sundays served in plastic cups. Loved seeing how high we could stack them!

Also liked $1.50 Wednesdays @ Julies(beside Monty's), any highball you wanted for a buck n a half!
Good Times!!

[blind guy]

Be gentle, this is my first discussion group joined, and this is my first (attempt to) post.

Very good nostalgic stuff - I am still half-way through reading all the pages.


Ivy's in the Strath - very quiet place to hide out, opened as Max Headroom. YEARS before I recall there was a public slot-car racing layout(s) - one of JO's hobbies. Maybe ca 1969???

[Sparky]

Welcome to VV blind guy. Sounds like you are of the age to remember some of the great old time details. I loved the slot cars, bowling, pool in that old space.

[t-mitch4]

I used to go down there and watch the slot cars.
I think the slot car tracks replaced the bowling alleys.

[Sparky]

^ I think you are correct t-mitch4

[blind guy]

OK I have NOT destroyed this page or entire website on my first try and did not make a fool of myself. Demographics of users of the forum might be interesting. I am a 52 year old male native to Victoria, first "served" regularly starting 1976. Any women use this forum or just worn-out middle aged guys. I am partial to the Strath - met first fiancee in Sting, met first wife in Cuckoo's Nest. Some years later I discovered the flaw in this plan (they might like going out to the bars more than being engaged or married!)

Strath was a pretty good constant over many years, but other places could have flashes of popularity.

Deca-dance, the former 40 Thieves in the Century (now Plaza welfare suites) often featured more fist-fights and illegal substances. The gay disco @ Government and Johnson was really cool as Tres Chic, just before it was more or less strictly gay - very widespread variety of clientele.

Cherry Bank lounge nice and quiet hideout not very big on checking ID on occasion.

New to the rules of this group - is it not appropriate to mention particular individuals, club staff or other characters???

[Sparky]

^ experiences yes...names....not so much...

[rjag]

That is definitely Hunters.

Previous life it was the Barbary Coast and the gaslight lounge.

[Sparky]

^^^ Mother Superior's?

[blind guy]

The finances of some of these places can be arcane to an outsider. My best example is the old Colony Beer Parlor. As a beer parlor it was very proletarian, often a hang-out for city workers. By 1976, peelers were added (sure of that year as I sometimes spent high school lunch break there with a few pals - fake IDs all around). Early 80's it was really nicely renovated as the new Brass Rail - huge $$$ improvement. At first, they really tried to draw crowds, real good live acts ("Rocky Vaselino Show" cover band with comedy sticks out), but that dried up as did the increased business, and it reverted to pretty well a peeler bar. I think the reference earlier about women in and about men's room was probably from this latter phase.

There also was a night club more downstairs from the lobby (Sugar Shack was one name).

This is all in the present Shark Club location for you young pups.

[slinkyo]

I remember back in the early 80's there was a discoteque in the same location as Sugar now. It was called New York New York. I actually was allowed in there at the young age of 6, to dance disco and drink all the pop I wanted. I thought it was pretty groovy.

And man, I remember Harpo's back in the day, Im talking late 70's. My dad used to play shows there and I would hang out during rehersal.. or at least thats what they called it. Harpo's was up above Darcy's pub in Bastion Square.

But the best place ever, that I remember, would be Rumours, the jolly old gay bar that is now Hush. During the height of the rave scene you could see real live tranny's and real live gay people making out in the booths. It was a sight to behold. I actually met my boyfriend there, now that I am remembering...

And Al Capones.. the first bar I snuck into when I was 18. I had like $2 on me. So I got drunk on 25 cent rum and raisin shooters. Good times.

And we cant forget about:

The Forge.

The Sketchy Mexican (mexican restaurant turned after hours club in the late 1990's.. I think its now Molé on pandora).

And that country music nightclub that was open at the Evolution spot, for awhile. I never set foot in there.

The hip hop club on Store street.

Atlantis, with the trippy blue underwater theme.

Thursdays, which is now Logans.

Oh, and the bubble room in the old Ikea.

Atlantis: I think you are actually thinking of the club called Neptune Soundbar- underneath Swans Brewpub. Still has some of the old design there! Was a great place for the rave/techno scene around 1999-2001

[blind guy]

Club below Swan's (I assume Swan's is still snooty, I never quite liked the crowd) was at one point, Al Capone's. I think the chronology was Al Capone's at Swan's was leased, and as it began drawing business, the rent jumped up, so the Al Capone name moved up to the Ingraham, so another place could open at Swan's. OR I have this backwards (?)

Reference to country/western club - that was very shortlived, but a revolving door of different types of clubs moved in and out of location. This was all after I stopped going out to strange clubs.

More in the lines of my earlier point about finances and investments, Victoria had a cowboy bar downtown during Urban Cowboy fad. "The Bucking Bronc" where Monty's Showroom Horrible Strip Bar is. They had mechanical bull occasional live music and I think floor was sawdust and/or peanut shells. Lasted maybe a year before closing, reopening after a huge reno (aviator theme, faux Sopwith Camel hung above DJ stand). Again (like Brass Rail) after what seemed a very short period of time, it went really downhill. I go to Monty's Horrible Strip Bar exactly once a year for the past 20 years, and I am amazed that it can still get even more horrible than the last time!

Jada went to NY/NY as a six year-old? I believe it - I think the average female age in there sometimes wasn't much older!

[blind guy]

I am plowing through the posts backwards and got to post 105 or so where the Bacchanalia Club is mentioned. Now THAT IS OLD! The history of all licenced establishments in BC is covered by a book by a UBC History Prof (I helped in the rearch) - Capital Region's bars were allowed by municipality referendum, and ALL the early bars stretched from Esquimalt border outwards. Bacchanalia was before my time, but I will date it ca 1970. Based on the fact that club owner Tony (van de) Mortel raced stock cars and sponsored his own car (purple '67 Chevelle|) about that time.

Across the way the present Carlton Club was Queen's Head then Popeye's, both were the sole gay places at the time. On festive occasions, one old regular did a great Queen Victoria impersonation. Not that there is anything wrong with that, Costanza.

Actually I had more than a few drinks there as I waited for a very unreliable friend living next door.

About 1981 I knew a bunch of refugees from Hamilton who lived opposite the Queen's Head entrance. They would pop a BB gun (harmless at that range I think) at thelineup outside.

Statute of limitations or not, that was not nice.

More night clubs way before my time besides Bacchanalia are the Purple Onion, Club A Go-Go, and Joker's Club (private club).

[blind guy]

OOkay, I have my facts straight about some published resources.

Robert Campbell is from Capilano College and wrote "Sit Down and Drink Your Beer" which fosuses on pre-1954 liquor regulations.

Becki L. Ross is from UBC and wrote history of pre-1980 "burlesque" (strippers) published by University of Toronto Press.

Both focus on Vancouver but cover BC as well.

[Sparky]

^ There should be an official name for us that cherish the drinking establishments of yesteryear.

I know.....barflies..... We should also add the Vancouver stripper scene like "The Penthouse" et al. We used to travel to Vancouver to catch a Saturday afternoon show. There was nothing like it here.

Thanks blind guy for your input....keep it up....so to speak.

[AllseeingEye]

Ah yes thanks Sparky, great memories re: the Vancouver, ahem, "entertainment scene" I knew it well.....Number 5 Orange (remember the ladder that descended from the ceiling down to the stage?), <cough, cough>.....the Marble Arch, the Drake, the Del, and of course the Blue Boy. You're right Victoria certainly didn't have anything like them. Not that I of course was acquainted personally with all of them, you understand. No, honestly....

[blind guy]

Well in my case, I am a "recovering" barfly.

Thanks for acknowledgement - I respond well to "shut up" as well as compliments.

All of the old places...I suppose I tried most of them once. I am not too much of an elitist, but I was good at figuring out places I was actually scared to be regular at. Club Cal and all its following names. (I have a fear of falling down too many stairs all at once). I tried the Surfside when Mr, New York Seltzer opened it, and had to be forcibly dragged for return trips to Merlins's etc. Some locations just were never up to much, and some were good at some point then went to the dogs.

Oh I guess I am an elitist. I have rarely graced the West Shore bars with my presence. My absolute worst experience at a bar in this area was being talked into going out all the way to the Westwind in Langford. There was a real hell-hole called Champs (I think they played AC/DC, followed by more AC/DC). At the time I only knew about four using addicts. As soon as I entered, I got to say HOWDY to two of them. Scary part, they were both STAFF! Nice enough guys, but really.


PEELERS IN VICTORIA
I wager that I am remembering correctly, ca. 1972, this art form debuted at the Tally-Ho pub. Daily paper covered it. One of the first, if not the very first, was the well-known black woman (went by Mitzi or Monique Dupree or some such), you know, the ping-pong lady.

Again for edification of you young pups, the average age of a peeler at that time was probably 35. Evidently the average age now is 19 and 2 months. G-strings were required to be left on.

[blind guy]

Oh Vancouver Peeler Bars! They were indeed much advanced. I more often popped in at the Astor (Burnaby - sort of a dump), Fraser Arms (Fram's in South Van) and (I think) the Drake (was that just on the south end of a bridge and a real pain to get in and out of if you weren't familiar with Vancouver traffic).

And earlier, the Penthouse (Sparky mentioned), Crazy Horse, Isy's and the Foxy Lady. I always "passed" ID-wise when I was 18. I was at a conference with a 17 year old guy - darned if he wasn't gung-ho to give it a go, and darned if (either Foxy Lady or Isy's) let him pay $5 (1977 dollars) cover and serve this babyface! He was quite green, I had to pull him aside and explain that the mean-looking dude who kept interrupting Junior's attempt to pick up the lady sitting by herself was called a "pimp" and what the ramifications of his youthful enthusiasm might lead to.

[AllseeingEye]

Ha....Mitzi was a semi-'regular' at the Blue Boy when I lived in Vancouver in the 80's. Er...so I heard. I've never looked at a ping pong ball in quite the same way after catching her act...

[Holden West]

There was a story that circulated around here in the 80s, perhaps apocryphal, regarding a woman who was engaging in the act of orbiting her brass pole right at the time she was unfortunately hit by an extremely acute case of gastro-intestinal distress.

I should point out Glen Mofford's excellent history of Victoria's Drinking Establishments:

http://raincoasthistory.blogspot.com/

Here's Glen at the Beaver. He knows of what he speaks!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6IsL0aSG8ko/RtwoQ9C7VNI/AAAAAAAAAAg/YKxPV8VwEiE/s320/1975%2BBeaver%2BPub.jpg

[dirtydeeds]

Number 5 Orange (remember the ladder that descended from the ceiling down to the stage?)..

Good mammories I mean memories :)

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://numberfiveorange.com/Images/No5%2520Interior2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.no5orange.ca/%3Fpage_id%3D41&usg=__U2Hic9eXTCva_TaPjjL0okhgrm4=&h=536&w=800&sz=381&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=hEmnm2i2q_HhlM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=193&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dno%2B5%2Borange%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26 sa%3DN%26biw%3D1003%26bih%3D567%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=344&ei=oCMVTe-OI43msQO2lpiNCg&oei=oCMVTe-OI43msQO2lpiNCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0&tx=105&ty=83

[VicHockeyFan]

.....Number 5 Orange (remember the ladder that descended from the ceiling down to the stage?), ..

It's still there, I was there before a Canucks game recently. All kinds of stuff of ill-repute also used to happen in the rooms upstairs too. I suppose it still does, but now they have legitimate private dances too, for something in-between the regular stage show and the real dirty stuff that goes on in the rooms. Or so I hear.

[AllseeingEye]

Heh, good memories. And of course how can you come up with a list of Vancouver 'entertainment' establishments without a tip of the hat to the redoubtable Fraser Arms?

Of course, if you wanted to 'slum it', you could also head over to the east side and the old American Hotel and its infamous neighbor, the Cobalt. Some buddies and I got involved in a good old fashioned knock 'em down, drag-'em out fisticuff and baseball-bat swinging in the parking lot episode there one night back in the mid-80's. Ah, good memories.....:D

[VicHockeyFan]

Of course, if you wanted to 'slum it', you could also head over to the east side and the old American Hotel and its infamous neighbor, the Cobalt. Some buddies and I got involved in a good old fashioned knock 'em down, drag-'em out fisticuff and baseball-bat swinging in the parking lot episode there one night back in the mid-80's. Ah, good memories.....:D

Ya, not my style of music, so only went there twice, and in the last few years. Cobalt (pub/club) only closed about a year ago.

[blind guy]

Well I've plowed through all 8 pages now. Sorry to veer from the peeler bars, but there was an old post with photo of membership card/ticket for "Ziggy's" @ Mason and Quadra. Hazarding aguess here, in the upper level(s) in the 70's and probably earlier, was the London Boxing Club, a legit sports club that morphed into Victoria Athletics (soccer etc.). This was an excellent space to rent, you would have needed an event license, but perhaps there was a permanent licence for Ziggy's.

Previous mentions of Tillicum Club and British Public Schools Club (the Joker's Club), there were probably a dozen or more such "members only" clubs in town 1940-1960 era where this was most sensible compromise for no public establishments. Union Club still exists for the upper echelon. Authorities were flexible in this regard. Places that held public dances (Crystal Garden eg) would have a shelf under the tables that you kept your bottle while they provided the mixer. The clientele would be qualified for this favor by being able to buy the ticket, meet the dress code etc. so it wasn't a case of dealing with riff-raff. Before our time (I hope) but well-documented.

Yes, I will learn how to use the "quote" function etc. Soon.

Happy Christmas Eve - about 1983 a friend flew into town late - the only bar we found open 11 pm Christmas Eve was a very quiet Blacksmith Shop (closest bar to Sting basement entrance) in the Forge. Oh, I guess that was actually depressing. I believe "Manuel" the pipefitter was tending bar.

[Langford Rat]

I didn't read all of the posts, but at a quick scan I didn't see these gems listed:
The Brown Jug...(Broad St.)
The Purple Onion....(View St.)
The Bacchanalia... (Esquimalt Rd)
Sappho's...I think it was on Blanshard near the Memorial Arena...not really a nightclub. It was more of an "alternative lifestyle" after hours joint. They had no liquor licence but sold a lot of mix (at crazy prices!) and you just kept your bottle under the table. The cops would do a walkthrough every night but, somehow, they just didn't seem to care. My older sister took me there a few times. I guess she thought I could use a bit culture. It was quite a shock for a Langford boy. Trannies, gays, drag queens.....in Victoria? In public? Aaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!

[Sparky]

Welcome to the forum LR. Your musing's on Sappho's reminded me of Mother Superior's.

A bit off the wall as well for Victoria in those days. You should find some stories about the other three on previous posts. Take some time and poke around. :)

[blind guy]

Good to see your post Langford Rat. I was worried that I had put the thread into a coma in December.

Don't recall any posts about Sappho's or Brown Jug, some on the Bacchanalia. If you had hoisted a few at the Purple Onion, I think we can peg your age group.

If you are long term in Langford, I made a post about the unlamented "Champs" at the Westwind.

[Holden West]

Remembering Harpo's (http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/Remembering+Harpo/6462263/story.html)

By Mike Devlin, Times Colonist April 15, 2012

During Harpo's remarkable 20 years in business, some of the best and brightest stars in pop, rock, jazz, blues, punk and reggae graced its stage.

Green Day played there before becoming multi-platinum millionaires, as did No Doubt, the Tragically Hip, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blind Melon. Ditto for Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, Jann Arden, k.d. lang, Our Lady Peace, the Wallflowers, Goo Goo Dolls and Melissa Etheridge.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/Remembering+Harpo/6462263/story.html#ixzz1sAOHBM7G

Memorable acts I've seen include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, Jonathan Richman and Victoria's own Wardell's.

[pontcanna]

Yep, lots of memories at Harpo's. Great article in the T-C today.

-Graham Parker
-The Heats
-Barenaked Ladies
-Spirit of the West
-Easy Money (local powerpoppers of renown, Munro's Books manager on drums)

Certainly dating myself there. Good to know that they're opening the place up to live music again (at least some of the time).

[Langford Rat]

Man, I loved that venue...it was the best! I remember seeing the legendary bluesman, Albert Collins there. That guy was having as much fun as we were. At one point he came off the stage and onto the dance floor just wailing on that old Telecaster and dancing around as we all tried not to get tangled up in the cord. Can't believe I missed Graham Parker. Damn! What year was that?

[pontcanna]

Can't believe I missed Graham Parker. Damn! What year was that?
I have no idea. One of his post-Rumour solo tours, armed with a Telecaster. Commented on the beautiful harbour views out the window, said it reminded him of Ireland :)

[VicHockeyFan]

The Social Club has closed permanently.

[VicHockeyFan]

Sugar is now closed for extensive renovations. Ya, it probably needed it.

They might choose a new name upon re-opening, you can help pick one here, on FACEBOOK (https://www.facebook.com/SugarNightclub/app_348364511890977).