Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Beneath the Evergreens, where murder, mysteries, and mayhem lurk in the shadows of the Pacific Northwest. I'm Jess. And I'm Anna. From haunted forests and unsolved disappearances, to true crime cases buried deep in the moss and the mist, we're digging into the dark secrets hiding under the evergreens.
Speaker: Each episode will explore real cases, eerie encounters, and the legends that keep the Pacific Northwest up at night. So grab your flashlight, lock your doors, and join us beneath the evergreens.
Speaker: Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back. Welcome back. Another wonderful episode. Very excited for today. here Me too. Jess, how's your week going? My week is going good. Good and busy. did get a shirt that has changed my life.
Speaker: Tell me all about it. You saw it yesterday. probably That was really cool. You probably didn't focus on it, but it is a, you know, the Goofy movie? Yeah. Yeah. It's my favorite Disney movie or one of my favorite Disney movies. right And I got the Powerline shirt and i want to wear it everywhere.
Speaker: i I wish you would have told me that because I noticed that you're wearing like a cool shirt. Like have like the low yellow like. Yeah. All right. And I was like, that's cool. I like that. Yeah. And then I was focused on something else. and I didn't get to a chance to appreciate it. Clearly. Yeah. You were very busy. So, no, it's my new favorite shirt. I want to wear it everywhere. I'm trying to figure out how I can wear it in the corporate world.
Speaker: i don't think it's going happen. But, you know, like a blazer and like maybe some nice slacks or something. We can figure it out. Yes. Like a Friday. It's a Friday vibe for sure, but I am obsessed with it. So that is, that was like the peak of this week. I've already washed it four times because washed, I've worn it pretty much every day. Oh my gosh.
Speaker: Thank God you're washing it. I was a little bit afraid. How about you? How's your week? What have you been up to? Oh my gosh. It's been a little crazy. Um, yeah.
Speaker: God was like sick earlier the week. I'm getting better now. But no, we're just kind of hanging out. Like, don't know. feels like the summer is kind of coming to an end, which I'm a little sad about. Also a little happy about. I feel like summer gets so busy that it's just like I'm excited for the like, nothing like have nothing going on in the fall.
Speaker: Yes. Yes, me too. And spooky season. It's my favorite season. Yes. Yes. What story do you have for me today? I'm super excited. So... Today we're going to talk about the oldest bar in Washington. Woo. Yes. So jess Jess actually gave me the idea for the story last week. And when she mentioned it, I was like, wait a second. I feel like – like I looked it up and I was like, I've been there. I've been there multiple times. um And this place is so fun.
Speaker: So I'm going to highly recommend that everyone after to listening listening to this go to Roslyn, Washington. Go to the brick. um super cool saloon like now that i'm digging into it a bit but bit more like everything just seems so much more interesting like i remember walking and being like this is a really cool bar like this is very fast there's very interesting um but now i need to go back so the town also seems kind of cool too dude it seems so cute yeah it is so cute um the first time i went was so okay I have family in like the west side of the state, family in the east side of the state. We meet up in Cle Elum because it's like kind of in the middle. So we went to this brewery in Cle Elum. And then we went to dinner in Roslyn afterwards because it was like kind of close by. we're like, oh, well, this place has some rooms. we went to the the brick.
Speaker: And it was so good. And the food was delicious. The vibes were great. And then we just like walked around the town. And I was like, this is so fun. It's just this cute little downtown. It feels very like western almost. like yeah It feels like it hasn't changed since.
Speaker: Like, but the eighteen ninety s when it was first built. Definitely looks like that from the pictures. Have not been. Need to go. Oh, it's it's really fun. It's really fun. Just like the Roslyn-Cleellum area broadly is really cute. Yeah.
Speaker: There's just a lot of really fun, nice things. And it's, like, not actually that far from, like, the west side. So, we will get started. So, the Brick Saloon was... so was Its origins state that it was built in 1889 by John Buffo and Peter Giovanni. So it was not called the brick at this time, but there was a saloon in the like corner lot that is now the brick. And this is why they call themselves the oldest ah bar in Washington.
Speaker: So the tavern was rebuilt in 1898. It's about nine years after it initially opened okay using 45,000 from Roslyn. Okay. from rosalind And that's how literally how it got named got its name, the brick.
Speaker: Oh, my God. 45,000 bricks. Just think about it for a second. And like this is 1890. They're doing this. This is like all manual. Like and you have you seen how tall the walls are? Like it's like it's ah it's not a small building. Yeah.
Speaker: No, it's it's an impressive feat. So are they still the same bricks today? That's a dumb question. But yeah when you touch it, you're touching 1890. Yeah. I mean, they problem probably for the most part, right? There's probably probably filled in some gaps here and there.
Speaker: um But for the most part, it's the same bar. I love that. So... It was actually – so the bar opened in 1889, the same year that the state of Washington gained statehood. So it's like it's like the – it is the state essentially.
Speaker: Yes. Which like is crazy because Roslyn a small town now. I cannot imagine how small of a town Roslyn was back in 1890. I almost want to look up the census records and see if it was bigger than than it is now because it might have been like a mining town or something where – people that That's exactly it. It was a ah mining town.
Speaker: um Everything in that area, I mean, it's still pretty rural, but there's like a lot of like coal mines all over the place. Like Cle Elam is out there as well. I think they were all just like coal mining conglomerates, if you will. So there is actually a little bit of disputing. this Yeah, a little bit of a dispute over what was the oldest bar in the state. So the BRIC claims it because they say that they started in 1898, like I said, when there was that initial bar on that same property. Okay. However, excuse me, the Bluebird Inn in Bickleton, which can't actually where Bickleton is right now. um
Speaker: It was built in 1887, but has operated under different names. Okay. So the brick has been the brick forever. The brick has been the brick since 1898. 1898. Wow. I didn't even know Bickleton was a, I feel like I need to go to this.
Speaker: Road trip round two? Road trip round two. It's next to Blue Light. um it's it's on It's by the Yakima, or it's right outside the Yakima Indian Reservation by Topanish, Wapato, Prosser.
Speaker: Yeah. It's probably like a 30-minute drive from Prosser. Okay. Cool. Yeah. So... We're drinking on the east side, apparently. We're continuously drinking after coal mining, farming, yeah all that good stuff.
Speaker: So another really interesting piece about the brick is not just like the brick exterior, but the actual bar in the brick. So the actual, the back bar is 100 the It was originated in England. Like they purchased this bar from England and look up photos of it, but it is this beautiful piece of wood. Like there's carvings all over it. It's it's majestic. And the minute you walk in, it's like the first thing you see. And I remember it caught my eye. Like it just looks so so intricate.
Speaker: And especially in a time where like, I feel like you walk into a bar now and they all kind of the same way. You don't notice the bar. you Maybe you notice that it's a little bit stickier than other places, but this just looks magnificent. Like it is definitely like the centerpiece of the room.
Speaker: I like that. Yeah. So it was so was originated in England. It was purchased brought in Portland, Oregon after flowing through the European shipping lanes. And then actually flowed through like Cape Horn. So like kind of down with Columbia. that's how they got it to Roslyn.
Speaker: So this is like also a historic piece of wood. Yes. That's really cool. And it's it's huge. Like, oh my gosh, it's probably like 10, 15 feet long. Like it's it's a huge. And it's like it's very large. It's like that like that centerpiece, like it is takes up a lot of the room. And so I'm just trying to imagine how they got it from Portland through the Columbia, like all the way up to Roslyn because it's not like an easy trek. It's not an easy trek today. It's been even harder back in 1889.
Speaker: ah so You know, I just heard a story. This is kind of like a tangent, sorry, but of a person who lived concrete Washington, like way back in the day, they were migrants. I think in her family was there in like 1855. So kind of like similar area. Well, not, it's not similar at all, but like Like timeframes. Timeframes, similar. She, in order to start their farm up, the wife got in a canoe with a whole bunch of Native Americans, flowed down the Columbia River until they got to Tacoma or whatever river takes you to do Tacoma.
Speaker: That's where she purchased her livestock. And then she walked the livestock from Tacoma all the way back to concrete. What? And that's like how they did things. So I'm assuming it's something where like the owners traveled by river somehow, picked up this thing and like horse and buggyed it back. That's that's crazy.
Speaker: But then add in the, if they purchase from Portland, you're going to have to go over mountain range. Yeah. that's That's a feat. Yeah. Like there's no pass at this point, right? You're just like kind of trudging along and like... Yeah. you Think about how like... you like I feel like we don't think about seasons quite as much. Like obviously in the winter time, the pass is crazy, but like that pass would be impassable in the winter time. Like you would have had to like strategically gone over in like late spring, early summer. And then like, you're on a tight timeframe to then either get back or stay where you're at for the next year. Yeah. And then not only that, but you're also 1890.
Speaker: eighteen ninety That's peak fighting between settlers, native Americans. So you're also having to contest with, with all of that. Yeah. Very interesting.
Speaker: It's crazy. Okay. I did look up a a fun fact. So, so sorry. According to the AI overview on Google, which we're just taking it, in 1890, 1,480 people were recorded to live in the town of Roslyn proper.
Speaker: As of today... That seems like a lot of people. That is a lot of people. As of today, 961. Again, that's Google AI, so who who knows how accurate that is, but...
Speaker: Yeah. So about the same amount, give or take. That's crazy. Yeah. That's kind of cool. I kind of like it. Yeah. So... Back to the cool bar because I'm like hyper fixating on this cool bar now. I love it. um the The actual bar. the ah There's also a spittoon in it, which is super unique to this specific bar. And like now I want to go back because didn't even notice it. Every time I've gone, that it's been – don't know. For some reason, I'm always there like 6 o'clock on a Saturday and it's super busy. So I've never actually sat at the bar. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker: um however there is so it's essentially back in this time chewing tobacco super common um so people would they have like brass containers that you would just spit your chew in yes the brick was unique because it had this essentially like 23 foot long gutter um with like like flowing water so you would essentially spit in that and then it would just like take everything away afterwards and you know who probably invented that Who? The wife.
Speaker: Who is tired of cleaning up. She says, you build something else right now. ah like Could you imagine you're after a long night, you're like emptying these containers with all this like chewing it? Oh my God. That is awesome though. like Especially because for some reason, my brain's like, how did they, i can't even today figure out how they would Like where does the water go? Does it just recycle through and like spit into it? But like what where does what happens to it?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, I feel like you'd have to... I don't know. cause would start to smell after a while. So you wouldn't want to just like to continue recycling it. Yeah. But I also don't know what you would do with it after the fact. Like, are just like sending it outside?
Speaker: putting it down a drain? But that's like chewing tobacco could back up the pipes. That's interesting. Yeah. Especially in the 1890, right? I don't think the plumbing was superb. It probably just were not went out went out a hole in the wall and like just went down the side streets. Yeah. The whole town actually smells like two chewing tobacco. It's crazy.
Speaker: But so the spittoon actually still works to this day. It's still operational. um And there the bar has what they call spittoon races where like toy boats that are homemade um or race the length of the bar. And then, yeah like everyone you win like cash prizes or alcohol, whoever wins. It's kind of fun. i want to do that. That sounds fun.
Speaker: Right? Yeah. next time it Next time it happens, we'll have to make the trip over to Roslyn and go check it out. For sure. I'm making the coolest boat ever. yeah i feel like a real rubber duck because i like a little floating around yeah oh so like another couple interesting pieces about the brick so that's the bar and that's like the the the essence of it if you know but it's been so popular and it's been featured in a lot of different things moving forward so actually no going to back up one more second because one other cool thing about the brick is that the but in the basement, there are jail cells or there were jail cells. Okay. I haven't seen them. I've sat in the basement every time I've been there and I haven't noticed anything. Okay. At least nothing that i I didn't think wasn't like a gimmick or something. like Because it looks like an old building and I was like, was this – it's supposed to be here, but –
Speaker: Again, next time I go, I'm going to check it out. But some people say that it served as like the city's drunk tank. So you got a little bit too rowdy. Hey, need to sleep it off. We'll just like throw you in these cells downstairs. um But there's also like not – I wouldn't find a consensus on what they were used for. It was like a county jail at some point time because if it's been around for over 100 years, right? It's probably – The needs have changed in this small town. Yes. Yes. Another interesting piece is that the brick. So it opened up before the prohibition. OK. So some say that during the prohibition, there was a tunnel in the basement that moonshiners could deliver alcohol without being spotted like spotted by um revenue agents or things like that.
Speaker: I love it. We've got to find where this came where this hole was. Absolutely. see where goes and like it's juste This is a huge bar. like They have the whole front area when you walk in. that's like It's pretty deep. and their whole like I think it's what they're being in by the basement. but It's this whole extra of room that opens up like towards the backside. wow and it's It's a really big rush like bar restaurant. That's very interesting. Was it ever a brothel?
Speaker: Not that I could find. but i also don't know if they would advertise that. at this point that is true that's true um yeah i could definitely like i mean if it was like the oldest bar and there was there don't think there's zoom any other thing out i don't know there's any other bars in braslin that i could see like in like roslyn proper well maybe not because usually brothels don't they have like an upper level which is where the rooms were whatever sounds don't have an upper level it was probably just yeah i don't think there's an upper level don't know either way there sounds cool it sounds fantastic
Speaker: Right. I need to go see it. Yes. And so Roslyn itself is not particularly popular. Like like lot of people haven't heard of Roslyn. However, in the entertainment industry, the brick saloon and the town of Roslyn have been used a number of times.
Speaker: sure So I mentioned those, um, jail cells in the basement. Yes. So do you know Dick Van Dyke is? I do. he was actually in those jail cells while filming a movie. Oh, wow.
Speaker: Yeah. So the movie is car called, uh, the runner stumbles. Okay. And it's, so the, the movie is set in Michigan, but a lot of the, the filming was done in Ellensburg and Roslyn. Like the brick saloon is a very like key part of this. Oh, and they don't, they changed the name for the movie. Um,
Speaker: But yeah, it was heavily featured in the in the film. So Dick Van Dyke and a bunch of other people. i think I think Bo Bridges, he might have been in another one, too, but on the other show that I'm going to talk about. But like some big names were in this area filming the filming these movies. And they're immortalized now.
Speaker: these buildings yeah yeah exactly and then the show northern exposure don't you've ever heard of that it won a bunch of emmys it was popular in like the 90s i think it was also filmed in roslyn and the brick saloon was a key part of that like this was actually like that whole show it took place in alaska um but it was filmed in roslyn that's so cool it's also interesting to hear like the behind the scenes of movie making where it's Like when you watch it you're like, oh, that's so totally Alaska. And then you're like, oh, wait, this was just down the road for me.
Speaker: Yeah. That's right. Also a little bit sad that no one wants to to credit Small Town Roslyn with like being the feature of this film. and just ah With being so picturesque that you can actually film movies here. Like it's back in the Exactly. That's cool.
Speaker: exactly cool Yeah, but Northern Exposure, I mean, it won a bunch of Emmys. um Some really popular actors were on that as well. And they were all just like hanging out in small town Roslyn.
Speaker: I adore that. That's so cool. I haven't heard of it, so I'm going to have to look look into it now. Right? I was going to watch a couple episodes. it sound They both sound really interesting. So The Runner stumbles is about this Catholic priest who falls in love with a nun and then is accused of murdering her. Oh, wow. Which seems right down an alley. It's not an alley, I think. Yes.
Speaker: And then Northern Exposure is about this like New York City doctor who goes to, who moves to Alaska and is like confronted with the the oddities of the Arctic. Interesting. That actually sounds really cool too.
Speaker: Yeah. They both sound really interesting. yes Yeah. So next, when you watch it, take a peek for, if there's a big brick saloon, you know where it's at. You know that is. It's a 45,000 from the brick. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah Well, that concludes my my talk about the Brick Saloon. um Highly recommend everyone go visit. um It's not just a cool historical monument and like the architecture is really cool, but the food is actually really good as well. um Highly recommend.
Speaker: I love it. And everyone, they're super nice. Is it but just like typical bar food or do they have anything kind of special there? It's pretty typical yeah bar food. um From what I remember...
Speaker: um They had like a, think it was like a taco salad. There had some kind of salad that was massive and it was so freaking good. You know what I love about small towns when I do visit them, they don't skimp on the food.
Speaker: They do not. Every time I go to a small town, I feel like I ordered something. I'm like thinking, yeah oh, it's going to be like maybe a cup of lettuce. No, it's a big ass bowl. Exactly. And a saucer full of Italian dressing. Oh, good Lord. I, that still haunts me a little bit. That was so much dressing. That was insane.
Speaker: It was. I loved it. Well, that was a wonderful story. Thank you so much. I now need to go immediately. so we're going to have to plan our next road trip. Road trip round two.
Speaker: Well, that's it for today's dive into the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest. If you love the stories or shivered a little, be sure to subscribe and follow so you don't miss what's lurking beneath the evergreens next time. Thanks for joining us on Beneath the Evergreens.
Speaker: We appreciate you diving into the mysteries with us. Until next time, keep your eyes open and your door is locked.
