FROM MULLIGAN’S SALOON TO ANCHOR PUB

110 YEARS OF BREWS AND HAPPY PEOPLE

The solid masonry structure we see today at the Bayside foot of Hewitt Avenue, a triangular shape on Everett’s busiest avenue due to the Great Northern Railway mainline, was born in November 1906 as the sales office of Al Densmore, a log scaler and maker of spars, piles and poles based at the 14th Street dock. MULLIGAN’S SALOON opened the next spring in the west end of the wedge-shaped flatiron building, a scant 20 feet from the mainline tracks. During the prolonged periods of local, state and federal prohibition of alcohol sales, a San Francisco seller of piles, spars and poles operated here. Louis O. Wick, a retired tugboat captain, opened the ANCHOR BEER PARLOR in 1934. For some 80 years, Hewitt Avenue continued west past the ANCHOR and across the mainline tracks to meet the old City Dock, the site of the Everett Massacre in November 1916. Teamsters, horse teams, auto, truck and pedestrians used this access to the many waterfront jobs and industries for a very long time. You will note the red brick pavers there today from long ago. The ANCHOR’s name has endured a long series of ownership changes. The man standing in front in a popular 1952 photo is thought to be Roy Rand, the owner at that time. Walls once separated the long building into the spaces of 1001, 1003, 1005, And 1007 Hewitt Avenue. The ANCHOR PUB now occupies the entire building, and also had a significant remodel and updating in the 1990s. A cheerful professional staff continues the tradition of quality brews, spirits and cooking, to a full and happy clientele going on three years now. Another tradition unique in Everett if not everywhere, $1.00 Train Beers are served by request as every freight and passenger train roars by shaking the very floor and walls. That can be often, since the BNSF mainline connects with California to the south and Chicago to the east, sometimes carrying fresh new Boeing 737 airliner fuselages on their way from Wichita, Kansas, to Renton, Washington. Maybe you will see one on your next pub visit.

THE ANCHOR’S HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN EVERETT

Everett, Washington, was conceived by Eastern Industrialists including John D Rockefeller as “the Pittsburgh of the West”, in the early 1890s, rather later than most Puget Sound cities from the 1850s, and was an early example of pure industrial speculation. A broad array of industries was planned, but failed to materialize beyond a paper company, nail works, smelter and barge works, due to the world wide Panic of 1893, the most severe depression to that time. By 1900, Everett and Snohomish County had begun to come back, thanks to an almost singular focus on forests, logs, and the lumber business. “City of Smokestacks” and “Mill Town” were common references for the city for 80 years. Thanks to the efforts of The Empire Builder John J Hill and his neighbor from St Paul, Frederick Weyerhaeuser. So it is natural that Everett also generated a broad and colorful array of drinking establishments for the logger, the longshoreman, the railroad worker, and the paper, shingle and lumber mill stiffs. And make no mistake, these establishments were not for the ladies of Everett. Unless, of course, one includes the “demi-mondes” who practiced their age old trade in 2nd floor rooms above both saloons and businesses, in the many early hotels, and in the cluster of “cribs” that flourished on both the Riverside and Bayside ends of central Hewitt Avenue. Those who grew up in Mill Town will smile while recalling the line:

“Everett — 52 bars and 52 churches!"

Amazingly, we find exactly that number of beer parlors in 1952. Everett — a city whose people like their beer!

HEWITT AVENUE IN THE MODERN ERA

Today’s Hewitt Avenue is rather tame when compared with the crude and rowdy saloons and the unregulated alcohol of the city’s wild pre Prohibition youth. But the “Hewitt Run” remains a hallowed tradition for serious party people, especially those celebrating 21st birthdays. This tradition dates back to World War II. The premise is simple. Begin with a drink at the ANCHOR, cruise east along Hewitt up and over the Colby crest along the north side, grabbing a drink at each bar. When one reaches BUCK’S at Pine in Riverside, cross the street and return along south side of Hewitt, where more beer awaits. The number of beers consumed if one completes the mission varies from year to year as bars and clubs open and close. In the rough and tumble 1950s, it was an unseemly 29 drink proposition. Today, just a 15 or so beer circuit. In any case, bring a sober driver or be ready to dial for a cab. Researched and written by Dave Ramstad, with gratitude to Historic Everett. Please join us to help celebrate and preserve the rich history of Everett. www.historiceverett.org