60 thoughts on “Missoula’s Lost Bars & Clubs”

1. What about the Hideaway Bar

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   • Added. Thanks, Terry.

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   • Ray Merseal
     What about The Elbow Room, Harry David’s and the Library…

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2. My father owned a bar there in the late 40’s called the Railroad Bar.

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3. Gay 90’s was on the edge of Tremper’s Shopping Center near Ruby’s Cafe.

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   • The original Gay 90’s was in the alley between Main and Front Streets. It later moved to the Brooks St area. .

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4. TOP HAT- In 1976-77 the manager was Rick? / bouncers were Richard Vick (big guy with shaved head, chest-long beard and gold earring), Pat Hayes, Mike Stolken (long-haired lanky computer whiz), and Bob Bennett.

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5. TOP HAT –

   The ever popular night club’s been a fixture on Front Street for over 50 years.

   It’s changed owners, style, and clientele, but it’s always been a Missoula mainstay.

   Kim Mace recalls Sundays, in the early 1960’s, when she was a little girl, exploring the inner sanctums of her Uncle Harry’s bar.

   Harry Boskovich ran a classy joint.

   “The men wore suits and ties and the women wore cocktail dresses,” recalls Kim, remembering her parents getting all dressed up to go to her uncle’s establishment.

   Uncle Harry, she said, wore suits, packed wads of cash, and a gun.

   “I was too young to make a judgment of it,” she said, “but I found him fascinating and colorful.”

   Kim’s dad, Steve Kuburich calls his late half brother notorious and a ladies man, but also a hard worker with vision.

   “It was just elegant, plain elegant,”said Steve of the Top Hat,” It was top trade in the town, and what was their drawing card was a piano bar that was in the bar.”

   Steve said in the Top Hat’s basement bar, Harry had poker games.

   It was against the law.

   “They had a buzzer under the bar,” said Kuburich,”that would alert people downstairs.”

   In the decades to follow, The Top Hat evolved from elegant, said Steve to a “hippie” place.

   His adventuresome daughter found the more casual night club with its rocking musical venues kind of fun.

   “It was a hot spot,” said Mace.

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   • I recall Harry the bartender, a really sweet guy who could entertain you by putting a straw through his septum.

     Best music ever in 70’s & 80’s. Lost Highway Band, Boy Toast, The Jaguars, Robert Cray, Erick Ray ‘Fingers’ and so many more. The best place to dance ever!

     I recall hearing about a spectacular urinal in the men’s room in the basement. I was once threatened by a metal rat tail comb in the Lady’s room. Never a dull night at the Top Hat!

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6. Top Hat Owner, Steve Garr’s sudden death
   Posted on February 11, 2009 by Phyllis Erck
   An uncertain Top Hat – Steve Garr’s children consider future in wake of owner’s sudden death
   By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian

   The children of legendary Top Hat bar owner Steve Garr, from left, Heidi, Nicole, Greta and Nate, spoke about their late father and about the future of the Missoula landmark Tuesday afternoon at the bar. MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian
   The Top Hat has always been a place of many faces. To some, the bar on Front Street has been a low-key daytime hangout, a place where the conversation flows like slowly poured beer and where you’re perfectly welcome to light up a cigarette if you so please. Later at night, it’s been a place where a somewhat younger crowd gathered to play pool and listen to local jam-rock bands, bluegrass ensembles or the occasional touring act.

   Whatever was happening on a given night, the crowd at the Top Hat was never homogenous. Rather, it encompassed every walk of Montana life: barely legal drinkers playing pool with grizzled bikers; young professionals and dreadlocked hippies swing-dancing on the dance floor.

   It is a place where the walls themselves are lined with memories of the diverse faces that have passed through. Photos of old blues musicians – some of whom count among the most respected and famous in America – share space with bass drum heads donated by rock bands that few people ever heard of in the first place (any Nite Snackr fans still out there?).

   But when all was said and done, those many faces were, in a way, simply a reflection of the man who owned and operated the Top Hat these past 21 years: Steve Garr.

   Gruff in demeanor and rough in appearance, Garr probably seemed an unlikely ambassador for the place to those who didn’t know him well.

   But few casual patrons of the downtown Missoula bar would have ever guessed that behind Garr’s crusty exterior lay the soul of a devoted father whose passion for music and tireless work ethic helped shape the lives of four gregarious, thoughtful offspring – who now find themselves grappling with Garr’s sudden death last week at the age of 62.

   Garr’s quartet of kids – twins Nate and Nicole, 32; Heidi, 26; and Greta, 20 – find themselves in the doubly painful position of dealing with the loss of their beloved father and determining the fate of his legacy.

   “We are looking at a huge transition either way, whether the Top Hat lives on as a memory or as an institution,” said Nate of Boise. “All four of us have put our blood, sweat and tears into this place with our father. We want to continue to do that to honor his legacy, but he was also fiercely proud of the directions we’ve all taken in our lives. So we’re facing a tough decision.”

   Nate and Nicole (“Colee,” to her friends) can still remember when their dad decided to buy the Top Hat. They were in the sixth grade, and their father was working days as a carpenter and nights as a bartender. The twin siblings still recall the excitement of that time, and the pride they felt.

   “I was ecstatic that my dad was going to be a business owner,” recalls Nate.

   “Dad was like an old farm owner: ‘You have kids to help with the business,’ ” adds Nicole, who now lives in Hawaii. “So we were always here. It wasn’t just Dad’s place; it was our life, growing up.”

   There was certainly plenty of work to be done. Though the Top Hat had existed by that name since the early 1950s, it was in a state of disrepair and neglect by the time Garr and his younger brothers, Scott and Dave, decided to buy it.

   “The old, original floor was in storage in the basement at the old Carousel (a former Missoula bar),” recalls Heidi, who was 5 years old at the time. “Dad and his brothers went and got all the wood, planed every piece of it, and reinstalled it.”

   Over the years, Garr – with help from his kids – continued to work on shaping his vision of the Top Hat. Old memorabilia including historical photographs of Front Street businesses, license plates from all across the country, farm implements, artwork and Garr’s softball trophies filled the walls, while Garr gradually upgraded the stage and the bar.

   “When we look around at the stuff on the walls, we remember when he found it,” says Greta, the only of Garr’s offspring who still lives in Missoula. “He was so excited when he found those things.”

   In the early 1990s, he found his pride and joy in Wyoming: an antique bar and backbar built by Brunswick-Balke-Collender. Garr spent 10 years refinishing the bar in the basement of the Top Hat before unveiling it for the Top Hat’s 50th anniversary.

   “It was important to Dad to serve as a facilitator for the history of Montana,” says Nate. “He loved all this old stuff, and he felt it was important to preserve it and share it – the Top Hat itself, most of all. Every little thing that went up in here that looks to be weathered, Dad touched it, he loved history and wanted the Top Hat to represent a house that can help reflect the history of this place.”

   Garr was also committed to preserving a venue for live music shows. In a town where concert-presenting nightclubs have come and gone year by year, the Top Hat stands as by far the longest-lived place where live music can be heard most nights of the week.

   It was that love for music – and respect for musicians – that Nate feels most strongly influenced his own outlook on the world.

   “Growing up here in Missoula, we had a very unique exposure to culture and ethnicity that I don’t think a lot of people did,” says Nate. “We didn’t see the bands play on stage as much as we got to know the musicians and where they came from: Chicago, Memphis, all over. They spoke differently from people from around here, and they talked to us with an incredible amount of respect because they and my dad spoke the same language of music. That’s helped me out the most in my life, besides the work ethic he instilled in me.”

   Nicole chuckles.

   “He definitely had a work ethic. He was always living nine lives at once around here,” she says. “He was a father not only to us but to everybody in the bar; he was always working on something here or building two homes or working on his Cadillac. He never slept through the night, he would just take a nap and then get back to it.”

   So what of the guy that so many people in Missoula knew – the gruff man who might, if he was in the mood, give you five minutes of his time before cutting you off midsentence?

   “Compromise wasn’t really his thing,” says Nate with a loving laugh. “And that’s a hard thing for people to receive.”

   “He always shot from the hip,” adds Nicole. “But if you don’t own a business, it’s hard to understand just how much there is to do. He didn’t waste any time B.S.-ing with anybody, he didn’t have time to be clouded by what other people thought he should do. I know I’m feeling right now that that’s something I want to be better at doing in my own life.”

   Sitting in the Top Hat, surrounded by all those reflections of their father, Steve Garr’s children admit: They just don’t know what’s going to happen from here.

   “This (the Top Hat) isn’t an inheritance in the sense that we can just do whatever we want with it,” says Nate. “It’s a huge asset but there are also a lot of liabilities out there and we have to address those first. I have the utmost faith in the capabilities of these three women (Nicole, Heidi and Greta) to not just take it on, but to take it to the level my father probably couldn’t have dreamed of, and make him fiercely proud. But the reality is, we do have limited time. We can’t rush to make these decisions, but there is a clock and it’s ticking.”

   In the short term, the Top Hat is closed, as the Garrs work to sort out their father’s estate. It will reopen for one day on Saturday, for a benefit event to raise money to cover Steve Garr’s lingering medical expenses.

   Beyond that, Garr’s children are looking for answers – not only from themselves, but from the community at large.

   “We really want to hear from the community as to their expectations of the Top Hat,” says Nate.

   He catches his breath, sits quietly for a moment.

   “The bottom line is that this is just about as heartbreaking as you can imagine for us,” he says. “It’s our dad.”

   nbsp;

   Remembering

   A potluck celebration of Steve Garr’s life will be held at the Top Hat this Saturday from 1 to 11 p.m. The event will serve as a fundraiser for Garr’s medical expenses. The event is open to the public, and musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments.

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7. Mustang Sally’s, The Cowboy Bar, Bucks Club, Harry Davids

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   • Yes! These were on my list as well! What was Harry David’s before though?

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8. What about the Heidelhaus and it’s little mini club The Library? Stein Club baby!

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9. The Holding Company, The Mining Company, The Heidelhaus

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10. My Dad had the Grill Cafe and Grill Bar on 100 Block
    Of West Main 1922–1957 Sam Poulos and George Bravos.

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11. Southeast corner of Broadway & Ryman:
    The Palace Bar; then as Maxwell’s and The Ritz;

    -&- QUESTION:
    I’m probably speaking of downtown Missoula’s heyday in the mid-1950s.
    I recall reading many years ago about the NUMBER of bars & taverns
    that populated downtown Missoula, between the river to the BN Depot,
    and Orange & Pattee Streets. Can anyone recall that number???….

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12. There was a place in the mall, on the east side, that served fishbowls – think it was Lenny’s lounge? It was there in the 80’s and early 90’s that I know of.

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    • A friend of mine used to own it. Drink was called the loading zone.

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13. I’ve been researching the dark and troubled history of the O K Corral bar at the corner of California and River, where bikes enter the California Street Bridge.

    There have been many killings there, many deaths at the bar. Supposedly there was a plane crash above the bridge, two pilots getting their parachutes entangled before falling to their deaths. A man in the 1920s jumped off the bridge.

    It gets darker if you go back to the Indian days.

    If anyone has information on this bar or the general location, please contact me.

    Greg Strandberg
    http://www.bigskywords.com

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    • Correct, The OK Corral became the Amvet’s at that location before they moved to the Monk’s Cave location.

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14. Found a good for $0.10 in trade at the Eagle bar John W Mount joy . Any record of that bar?

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15. I worked at both the Holding Company and Connie’s Lounge in 1975 1976…met my husband at Connie’s, divorced now, but plenty of fond memories of living in Missoula in that time.

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    • I worked at Connie’s Lounge for a short while in the 70s

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16. Also, pretty much across the street from Double Front, at least into the 70’s and earlier was Al and Vic’s. And Red’s Bar was downtown in this timeframe.

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    • Al & Vics still going strong, as is Red’s.

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17. 10 th street tavern
    The 41 club before becoming Trading Post Saloon

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18. Murphy’s corner (Jake’s)
    Merrill’s cocktail lounge
    Bar of Justice
    New Deal
    Peacock
    Jungle Club

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19. How about the Big Barn beer joint on the NW side of Brooks St. circa ~1968-1972?

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    • Was that The Trading Post, or what later became The Trading Post?

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      • No, It’s the Les Schwab location on Brooks. It was Big Barn then My Place then Les Schwab,

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    • Actually the Big Barn was running in 1975-1976 when I was around Missoula

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    • Nickle beer from 1:00 to 1:30 (p.m.!) daily during the early ’70s.

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20. What about the Red Baron???? Fun place!!!

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21. Jays Upstairs
    Harry Davids
    Boomer’s
    Gay Nineties
    Red light/Green room
    Trails End/Trails West

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22. You forgot the grog shop on north Higgins and the turf bar on west main and the Roadhouse in west riverside

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23. Harry O’s (Park Hotel Building), Maxwell’s & The Ritz (Palace Hotel Building), The Mad Hatter (Before 8-Ball & Desperado), Trading Post Saloon, My Place, Big Barn (I think that’s what it was called. The Original Bar where the Les Schwab Tire Building on Brooks is. Lenny’s Lounge (Mall), Rusty Nail (Now Eagles), The Speakeasy

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24. Luke’s Tavern (Front St.), Trails End Bar, Osprey Nest, The Limelight (W. Broadway), The Brewery (before The Rhino), Frontier Lounge (a.k.a. Andre’s Frontier Lounge), Fairway Liquor – Squires Pub – Boomers, Corner Pocket (now Katie O’Keefe’s), Jekyl & Hide’s (Before the Star Garage). Winner’s Circle (at the Wye), Park Place (after the Trading Post Saloon and before Sign Pro).

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25. Duelin Dalton’s, The Benchmark (now the Fox Club)

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26. The Candle, (1960’s) in Basement across the ST from the Palace Hotel, Jakes , in the alley before it became the Gay Nineties,
    The Flame, a classy place to take a date.

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27. Don’t forget Mr. C’s Lounge in the Holiday Village. Home of the St. Patricks day parade and everything Irish.

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28. Nickle beers at the library

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29. Nickle beers,at the library

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30. The bar on the ground floor of the Brunswick building at the top of Woody Street was called “The Baron” when I moved to the zoo in 1970. It was the worst bar I’d ever been in – full of drunken frat boys, the floor perilously slippery from spilt and thrown beer. The walls were covered with Playboy centerfolds. Went there once for about 5 minutes.

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31. Does anyone remember a bar in one of the buildings on Higgins? It had a big round fireplace and live rock bands. I think it was Boondocker but? Also there was a club in the basement of the building across from the courthouse.

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    • There was a bar that more or less fits your description at the SE corner of Ryman and W. Front. It was called Jekyll and Hydes. The walls were shag carpeted. The club in the basement was Monk’s Cave, later on just “The Cave.”

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32. I remember the Big Barn was open during the 1975-1976 school year. (UM)

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33. The name of the :teen club: across from Hellgate High School on Higgins was called The Hideout back in the late 70’s. I remember a guy named Vern ran it.

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34. Here’s a few I can remember
    Tap Room (back bar at the Flamingo)
    Hellgate Saloon (w. Broadway
    Andre’s Frontier Lounge (W. Broadway)
    White House Old Highway 93 Across from the Dog House
    & later Vince’s
    Speakeasy (after the Dog House)
    Murphy’s Corner (Ironhourse)
    Crystal (Rhinos)
    Havana Bar (W. Front)
    Thunderbird (W. Front)
    Main Spot (W. Main)
    Jerry’s Lounge (Chucks/Jays)
    Tony’s Lounge (N. Higgins under Yandt’s Mens Wear)
    Garden City Bar #2 (Next to Garden City #1)
    New Montana Bar (Woody Street)
    Northern (Depot)
    Palace Bar (Badlander)
    Fritz’s Lounge (In Palace Hotel)
    Osprey Nest (W. Broadway)
    Gay Nineties (Brooks Street)
    Red Barn (W. Broadway & Mullan RD.)
    Bar of Justice (Ryman St.)
    Hawaiian Room (Missoula Hotel)
    Rathskeller (Candle / Amvets) Ryman St.)
    Harry David’s (Paxton Plaza)
    Shack Bar & Grill (Front St.)
    Moulin Rouge (Florence Hotel)
    Curley’s (Brooks)
    Mr. C’s (Holiday Village)
    Mel’s (Milltown)
    Happy Bungalow (Turah)
    Blackfoot Tavern (Bonner)
    Roundup Bar (highway 200)
    These are a few I remember I’m sure some of them have been posted

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35. Red Lion (W. Broadway
    Golden Pheasant (N. Higgins
    Hammer Jacks (Badlander)
    Mulligans (in The Oxford)
    Nine Mile House
    Stampede (Jokers Wild)
    Jokers Wild Same Location)
    Mansion, The (ShadowsKeep)
    New Deal ( either the Brunsdick or Odrazi’s
    Club Chateau (Del’s Place )
    (Queen Of Hearts)
    (Tibby’s)
    Swanson’s (Johnson’s Place)
    Across from the Rivercity Grill)
    Dishman’s Fisher’s( Roper’s)
    Golden Goose (Rockaway Dance Club
    Lolo Highway 93
    Paddock W. Broadway
    Swallow W. Broadway
    Black Angus W. Broadway
    10 TH Street Tavern (10TH Street)
    Cedars Lounge (Five Valley Bowling Alley)
    Alibi Room (Liberty) Bowling Alley)
    Hole-In-The-Wall (Fish Creek Road)
    MRS. Hamilton’s (Graves Creek no liquor License but could always drink)

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36. I Hope my last two posts will bring you some more information
    I really can’t remember any more but am sure there are more out there
    With your post it really brought back some good memories
    thank you for starting this
    PLEASE FREE TO CONTACT ME ABOUT ANY MORE
    ROGER INGERSOLL

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37. I remember the cabin bar in East Missoula.
    I’m also wondering what ever happened to one band, Dave and the Furries (not sure it’d that’s correct)…

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38. There was the Big Barn operating during the mid 1970’s..

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39. One of the rite of passage featured cocktails at the Flame Lounge, the “Harpooners Holiday” can be had at Jimmy’s bar in the St. James Hotel in Red Wing MN.

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40. I worked at 8 ball billiards in the mid to late 1980’s. What ever happened to Mark Collier, the owner? When did it close? Thanks, Geri

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41. When I taught creative writing at UM 1973-76, I lived near the Elbow Room, and logged a lot of time there. In my book Famous People I Have Known (1985), there’s a chapter called “Drowning in the Land of Sky-Blue Waters” that features the animated Hamm’s Beer sign behind the bar in the Elbow Room. The story incorporates a song by the same title, a melancholy lament describing the sign, from the point of view of a drunk (namely me) sitting at the bar at closing time.

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42. Grog Shop and Winner’s Circle

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43. The Carousel bar and the Rocking Horse at the mall. Early to mid 80’s

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44. Eastgate Liquor Store and Lounge at Broadway & Van Buren. Now Diamond Jim’s Casino.

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45. That last let relieved my mind. I was so sure there was an Eastgate lounge. It and the Trails End Bar was owned by Sammy Thompson. He was the local stock car racing hero back in the days when I lived there. What fun days those were. Sammy was the best bartender ever!

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46. Bobby aka: Eyeball was my dad… he and his friends were always at the Trails End/ Trails West Bar.

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