Gaslight Tavern

This article is about the Gaslight Tavern. For other uses, see Gaslight (disambiguation).

The Gaslight Tavern was located at 1241 Oread (as in 13th & Oread on The Hill), just off the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas, and was right next (west) to the Abington Book Shop (the "City Lights" of the midwest[1]) that was owned by the beat poet, John E. Fowler (publisher of GRIST[2][3]) and wife Sara.[4] The Gaslight was a popular hangout for students and non-students alike over several decades, from the peaceful times of the Silent Generation to the more turbulent times of the Counter Culture.[5]

The Gaslight has been featured in poetry and fiction.[6] During the era of Folk music, the Gaslight opened the stage to local artists.[7] Later, beat poet George Edward Kimball held 'court' at the Gaslight. [8] George was noted for running for Douglas County sheriff in 1970 and losing the race; however, Phillip Hill was voted in, and removed from his office, as justice of the peace.[9]

KU student Nick Rice [10] was shot to death in front of the Gaslight [11] by local police during an anti-war riot in summer 1970. On the night of July 16, 1970, KU freshman, Rick "Tiger" Dowdell was shot in downtown Lawrence.[10]

The building burned in the '70s, under suspicious conditions.[12][13][14][15] [16] The original location of the Gaslight is now a parking area for the KU Student Union which was burned in the 1970 riots.

In its heyday, the Gaslight, as a bar and grill, offered varieties of 3.2% American lager and adequate hamburgers. Entertainment consisted of juke-box music, pinball machines, and a pool table (and conversation). Live entertainment was not a regular event.

## History

[edit]

The establishment was known as Oread Cafe in 1918.[17] It was Brick's Cafe in the 1940s and 1950s. In April 1948, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) had a sit-in at the Cafe. The protestors included black and white students. Counter protestors "physically removed the protestors from the restaurant."[18]

From 1963 to 1969, the Gaslight Tavern was owned by Donald L. Ebeling who was known as Cueball. He died in Topeka in 2008.[19] Reginald Scarborough bought the tavern in 1969.[20]

## Gaslight Gardens

[edit]

The Gaslight Gardens reopened on March 17, 2012[21] and uses a "European beer garden motif."

Earlier, the establishment was known as Gaslight Tavern for several years,[22] operated in north Lawrence, Kansas as a bar and coffeehouse [23] and offered live entertainment on a regular basis. While the interior only offered a capacity of 39, there was an unusually large patio area.

The Gaslight did not renew their lease for 2009 and was closed temporarily.[24] It reopened on July 3, 2009.[25][26]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ John Fowler on James McCrary
2. ^ GRIST On-line from GRIST
3. ^ McCrary, Jim (2017) "Grist" (via From a Secret Location)
4. ^ John E. Fowler
5. ^ Monhollon, R.L. ()"This is America"" The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas
6. ^ The Beat Generation in the Heartland
7. ^ Heritage of the Great Plains, Kansas History website
8. ^ George Kimball
9. ^ November 3, 1970 – Yippie wins election for Justice of the Peace in Douglas County – (2006) via Douglass County Law Library
10. ^ a b KU History July 16, 1970 A long weekend in a long hot summer
11. ^ ktka dot com /news/2010/apr/21/1970-racial-unrest-sparked-deadly-violence/ 1970: Racial unrest sparked deadly violence – stale
12. ^ LJ World July 15 25 Years Ago
13. ^ LJ World 1970: Memories of violence in city still strong
14. ^ kansan dot com /archives/2005/04/27/counterculture-at-ku/ _counterculture/ Counter culture at KU – stale
15. ^ mobile.ljworld dot com /news/1991/apr/18/hippie_tales/ Hippie Tales – stale
16. ^ Lawrence wants to have a say
17. ^ Lawrence Journal-World, October 2, 1918
18. ^ Harvey, Douglas ("Sit-ins at Brick's Cafe to Protest Racial Discrimination, Lawrence KS, 1948") It's been quite a show tonight, hasn't it? University of Kansas website, KU History (via theClio.com)
19. ^ Obituary Donald Lee Ebeling (1934–2008).
20. ^ Obituary Reginald Scarborough (1947–2003)
21. ^ lawrence.com
22. ^ Turn on the Gaslight (includes photos of the current and the original Gaslights)
23. ^ Gaslight Tavern
24. ^ kansan dot com /news/2008/sep/30/gaslights/?news Extinguishing the last flame – stale
25. ^ lawrence dot com /news/2009/jun/29/re-ignited/ Reignited – stale
26. ^ lawrence dot com /places/gaslight/ The Gaslight Tavern – stale

## External links

[edit]

* Brick's Cafe, prior establishment, CORE attempted to integrate in 1948 (KU History is offline, for the time being)
* Long weekend in a host summer (1970), has photo of Nick Rice
* Photos from 1970, LJWorld.com: GEK III, Gaslight, Student Union burning, Lawrence High protest
* A Generation Ablaze The University Daily Kansas, 20 Apr 2010
* The 60s
* Current website