Rathskeller
Rathskeller (German: "council cellar", modern spelling: Ratskeller) is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar below street level. The term originally referred specifically to restaurants that were located in the basement of city hall (Rathaus). As a proper noun, many taverns, nightclubs and similar establishments throughout the world now use this as a name.
The word had been used in English since the mid-19th century.
At least one New York restaurant called itself a "rathskeller" in the 19th century.
Notable Rathskellers
The Boston, Massachusetts, Rathskeller (nicknamed The Rat) was a Kenmore Square live music venue that opened in 1974. It is notable for being one of Greater Boston's premier music venues for three decades and the starting point for the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble.
The Ram's Head Rathskeller in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was opened in 1948 by an Austrian Jew by the last name of Danziger, who came to Chapel Hill as a refugee from the Holocaust. "The Rat" was the first restaurant in the area to employ an entirely African-American staff. Long a popular spot with students and alumni, the restaurant, which extends over a catacomb-like basement with many different rooms, was filled with UNC memorabilia and history. "The Rat" was one of the oldest continuously operating businesses in Chapel Hill, but was closed down in 2008 due to non-payment of taxes. Its decor and memorabilia was auctioned off leaving just the bones of the structure. The future of its unique location is unknown.
Read House in New Castle, Delaware served as a speakeasy during Prohibition, using the underground location to hide the covert activity.
Das Deutsche Hause rathskeller restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana received historic landmark status. Now called Athenaeum, it has served Bavarian fare since 1894.
The Aztec Brewing Company in San Diego, California included a rathskeller as the tasting room at the brewery. Murals on the wall depicted various scenes of Aztecs painted by renowned Spanish artist Jose Moya del Piño. When the city tore down the structure, the murals were preserved for future use.
James Lawrence Kernan operated an upscale rathskeller in the basement of the Maryland Theater (Baltimore) in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jason Glodt operates a rathskeller in the basement of the Grand Opera House in Pierre, South Dakota.
Popular culture
Rathskellers occasionally show up in popular culture. In The Naked Brothers TV shows and movies, the father character plays the accordion at a fictional restaurant called The Hoboken Rathskeller. Child actress Adele De Garde starred in a 1918 silent movie called The Rathskeller and the Rose.
Campus dining
Many universities have pubs or student center dining facilities located in re-purposed basements. To market these untraditional eating locations to students, many of these are termed "rathskellers" including:
Binghamton University
Boston College ("The Rat")[http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/fall_2006/linden_lane/changes-at-the-rat.html]
California Institute of Technology
College of New Jersey
Colorado State University ("The Ramskeller" [http://lscdolby.sc.colostate.edu/dining/ramskeller.asp website]
Cornell College
Florida Institute of Technology
George Mason University
Hofstra University
Kent State University
McMaster University (Converted into a vegetarian restaurant.)
Montclair State University
Oberlin College
Pennsylvania State University
Quinnipiac University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rochester Institute of Technology
St. Bonaventure University
Transylvania University ("The Rafskellar", a nod to 19th Century professor Constantine Samuel Rafinesque)
Tulane University
Union College
University of Cincinnati ("The Catskeller")
University of Dallas
University of Göttingen
University of Illinois at Chicago (Now converted for use by the Muslim Student Association.)
University of Miami
University of Tampa
University of West Florida
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wright State University
|
