Ratskeller (German: "council's cellar", pl. Ratskeller, historically Rathskeller) is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall (Rathaus) or nearby. Many taverns, nightclubs, bars and similar establishments throughout the world use the term.
The Bremen Ratskeller, erected in 1405, has one of the oldest wine cellars in Germany and was a centre of the wine trade in Bremen.
The Ratskeller in Lübeck is one of the oldest in northern Germany, with parts dating from the Romanesque era. The earliest documented use for wine storage dates from circa 1220.
The Athenæum (Das Deutsche Haus) Ratskeller restaurant in Indianapolis, known as the Athenaeum, received historic landmark status and has served Bavarian cuisine since 1894. [1]
The California Hall (formerly Das Deutches Haus) was built in 1912 in San Francisco and had a Rathskeller restaurant in the basement. [2]
The Rathskeller in Boston was a famous rock and roll club from 1974 to 1997, a locus of Boston's alternative rock scene, hosting local bands like The Cars and Pixies as well as many other bands such as The Police and Metallica before they achieved breakthrough fame.
The Minnesota State Capitol, completed in 1905, contains a Rathskeller that was renovated in 2017. It contains 29 painted German mottoes and currently serves as a cafe. [3]
The Rathskeller & Gardens, in State College, Pennsylvania, adjacent to the University Park campus of Penn State University, was opened by State College resident, "Pop" Flood, three days after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. [4] [5] In 1934, Flood sold to C.C. “Doggie” Alexander, who changed the name to The All-American Rathskeller, the name that remained with the bar until it closed on January 28, 2018. [6]
Many universities and public institutions have pubs or student center dining facilities located in repurposed basements. To market these nontraditional eating locations, many are termed "Ratskeller" or some variation thereof.
Charles Trotter was an American chef and restaurateur. His most well-known restaurant, Charlie Trotter's, was open in Chicago from 1987 to 2012.
Athenaeum may refer to:
The Memorial Union is located on the shore of Lake Mendota on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. On the lakeshore to the north of the building is the Terrace, a popular outdoor space overlooking the lake. It has gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful student centers on a university campus.
John Muir College is one of the seven undergraduate colleges at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). The college is named after John Muir, the environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club. It has a humanitarian emphasis focused on the "spirit of self-sufficiency and individual choice." The college opened in 1967, at the height of the American environmental movement triggered in part by Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring. John Muir College describes itself as the "Heart of UCSD" and boasts a strong and distinct character after fifty years of existence.
Revelle College is the oldest residential college at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California. Founded in 1964, it is named after oceanographer and UC San Diego founder Roger Revelle. UC San Diego—along with Revelle College—was founded at the height of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. As a result, the initial class of 181 undergraduates comprised only 30 non-science majors. Revelle College focuses on developing "a well-rounded student who is intellectually skilled and prepared for competition in a complex world."
The 21 Club, often simply 21, was a traditional American cuisine restaurant and former prohibition-era speakeasy, located at 21 West 52nd Street in New York City. Prior to its closure in 2020, the club had been active for 90 years, and it had hosted almost every US president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It had a hidden wine cellar where it stored the collections of celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren.
A student center is a type of building found on university and some high school campuses. In the United States, such a building may also be called a student union, student commons, or union. The term "student union" refers most often in the United States to a building, while in other nations a "students' union" is the student government. Nevertheless, the Association of College Unions International has several hundred campus organizational members in the US; there is no sharp dichotomy in interpretation of union in this context. The US usage in reference to a location is simply a shortened form of student union building.
The West End Bar, also known for a time as the "West End Gate", was located on Broadway near 114th Street in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. From its establishment in 1911, the bar served as a common gathering place for Columbia University students, faculty and administration. The bar was also a meeting place for many Beat Generation writers as well as many 1960s student activists when they attended the university.
Bern's Steak House is a steak restaurant in the Hyde Park district of Tampa, Florida, founded in 1956. It is known for having one of the largest wine collections in the world.
Bascom Hill is the iconic main quadrangle that forms the historic core of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It is located on the opposite end of State Street from the Wisconsin State Capitol, and is named after John Bascom, former president of the University of Wisconsin.
The Rathskeller was a live music venue in Boston that was open from 1974 to 1997. It was considered the "granddaddy" of Boston rock venues.
An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a supper club or closed door restaurant, is a social dining restaurant operated out of someone's home, generally bypassing local zoning and health-code regulations. They are usually advertised by word of mouth or unwanted advertising. Websites such as BonAppetour have been created to help people find and book these restaurants.
The Athenæum, originally named Das Deutsche Haus, is the most ornate and best-preserved building affiliated with the German American community of Indianapolis. Once used as a German American Turnverein and clubhouse, it currently houses many groups, organizations, and businesses. The Athenæum is located across Massachusetts Avenue from the Old National Centre. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 21, 1973. On October 31, 2016, it was named the 41st National Historic Landmark in Indiana.
Harpers Ferry was a live music venue and bar in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was in the high traffic central student section of Boston, equidistant from both Boston College and Boston University. Hosting national touring acts and regional acts, Harpers Ferry became known as "Boston's Best Live Music". The development of the "Allston Rock City" music scene centered on Harpers Ferry as a primary venue. Harpers Ferry closed down unexpectedly on October 31, 2010. The location is now home to the Brighton Music Hall.
A buttery was originally a large cellar room under a monastery, in which food and drink were stored for the provisioning of strangers and passing guests. Nathan Bailey's An Universal Etymological English Dictionary gives "CELLARIST – one who keeps a Cella, or Buttery; the Butler in a religious House or Monastery." As the definition in John Stevens's The History of the Antient Abbeys shows, its initial function was to feed and water the guests rather than monks: "The Buttery; the Lodging for Guests". In a monastery a buttery was thus the place from which travellers would seek 'doles' of bread and weak ale, given at the exterior buttery door. The task of doling out this free food and drink would be the role of the butterer. At larger monasteries there would also be a basic hostelry, where travellers could sleep for free.
The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) is a non-profit corporation founded in 1962 that feeds and houses Oberlin College students. Located in the town of Oberlin, Ohio, it is independent from but closely tied to Oberlin College. OSCA is the second-largest student housing cooperative in North America, with the largest per-capita of any student co-op.
Forbes Island is a floating island and event space near Bradford Island, California, United States. It was formerly a restaurant, located between Pier 39 and Pier 41 in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. It was the only "floating island" restaurant in the Bay Area. The restaurant was inspired by Captain Nemo's marine dwelling. The restaurant closed in 2017, and the floating platform was moved to the Holland Riverside Marina in Brentwood, California.
The Student Prince Cafe & The Fort Restaurant, commonly referred to as The Student Prince, is a German restaurant, established in 1935, located at the corner of Fort and Main Street in the Metro Center neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts. The restaurant has been described by The Boston Globe and The New York Times as a city landmark, and has served German foods and beer in its grand hall for 88 years. Closing briefly from June until November 2014, the restaurant was purchased from longtime owner Rudi Scherff by Peter Picknelly of Peter Pan Bus Lines and Andy Yee, of the former Hu Ke Lau restaurant, in an agreement making them general partners, with Scherff remaining "the face of Student Prince". In 2008, Gourmet listed it among "20 Legendary American Restaurants", among the company of Galatoire's, Locke-Ober, and the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant.
California Hall, originally named Das Deutsches Haus, is a historic commercial building and event venue built in 1912, and located in the Polk Gulch/Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It started as a German social meeting hall. At the 1965 Year Years Ball, a fundraiser took place in the building for many gay charities, and brought trouble with the police and a legal battle. The event marked a turning point in gay rights in the west coast. It later was a popular concert hall in the mid-1960s and 1970s; performers that played at the California Hall include Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Grateful Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
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